weighty Scruples to be removed, before Perfons of a liberal and enlarged Way of Thinking, can acquiefce in your Opinion. Who, for Instance, can perfuade Himself, that what You call The Satisfaction of CHRIST, is confiftent with the Dictates of Reason, or with the Perfections of the DEITY? Afp. Let Gentlemen be candid in their Inquiries, and truly liberal in their Way of Thinking; then, I flatter myself, thefe Scruples may be removed, without much Difficulty. GOD, the almighty Creator, and fupreme Governor of the World, having made Man, gave Him a Law; with a Penalty annexed, in Cafe of Difobedience.-This facred Law our Fore-father Adam prefumptuously broke; and We, his Posterity, were involved in his Guilt. Or, fhould that Point be controverted, We have undeniably made, by many perfonal Tranfgreffions, his Apoftacy our own.-Infomuch, that all have finned; have forfeited their Happiness, and rendered themselves obnoxious to Punishment. Man being thus ruined, none could recover Him, except his injured Maker. But shall He be recovered, fhall He be reftored, without fuffering the Punishment, due to his Crime, and threatened by his Creator ?---What then will become of the Justice of the divine Lawgiver? And how fhall the Honour of his holy Law Law be maintained? At this rate, who would reverence its Authority, or fear to violate its Precepts?-Sinners might be emboldened to multiply their Tranfgreffions; and tempted to think, that the GOD of immaculate Holiness, the GOD of unchangeable Veracity, is altogether fuch an One as themselves*. Does it not appear needful, that some Expedient be devised, in order to prevent these difhonourable and horrid Confequences? Ther. Proceed to inform Us, what the Expedient is. Afp. To afcertain the Dignity of the fupreme Administration, yet rescue Mankind from utter Destruction, this admirable Purpose was formed, and in the Fulness of Time executed. The fecond Perfon of the ever-bleffed TRINITY unites the human Nature to the Divine; fubmits Himself to the Obligations of his People; and becomes responsible for all their Guilt. In this Capacity, He performs a perfect Obedience, and undergoes the Sentence of Death: makes a full Expiation of their Sins, and reestablishes their Title to Life.-By which means, the Law is fatisfied; Juftice is magnified; and the richest Grace exercifed. Man enjoys *This was actually the Cafe, as We are informed by the Searcher of Hearts, when, on a particular Occafion, Punishment was only retarded. How much more would fuch impious Opinions have prevailed, if, on this grand Act of Dif obedience, Punishment had been intirely forborne? Pfal. I. 21. enjoys a great Salvation, not to the Difcredit of any, but to the unspeakable Glory of all, the divine Attributes. This is what We mean by CHRIST's Satisfaction. And this, I fhould imagine, wants no Recommendation to our unprejudiced Reafon; as, I am fure, it is most delightfully accommodated to our distressed Condition.—It is also confirmed by many express Passages of Scripture, and illuftrated by a Variety of very fignificant Images. Ther. Pray, let me be favoured with some of your fcriptural Images. After which, We may inquire, whether your Doctrine will stand the Teft of Reason. Afp. What is your Notion of a Ransom? When Priam redeemed the dead Body of Hector from the victorious Achilles, how was it done? Ther. By paying a Price*.-Thus Fabius recovered the Captives, that were taken by Hannibal. He tranfmitted the Sum required, and they were discharged from their Confine ment. Afp. Such is the Redemption, procured for Sinners by our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Of fuch a Nature, (though incomparably more grand Φέρων τ' απερείσι' άποινα, an infinitely rich Price. Hyperbolical this, as applied by Homer: strictly true, when referred to CHRIST. grand and august in all its Circumstances) and expressed by the very fame Word *. The Son of Man came, not to be miniftered unto, but to minifter; and to give his Life a Ransom for Many. CHRIST allo paid a Price—a real Price -a moft fatisfactory Price. In Confideration of which, our Freedom from every penal Evil is granted. Ye are redeemed+, fays the Apostle, not with corruptible Things, Silver and Gold, but with the precious Blood of CHRIST.—Let me add one Text more; which, in the fame Style of commutative Juftice, afferts the fame Truth. CHRIST has redeemed Us‡, hath brought Us off, from the Curfe of the Law.-Yes, my Friend, The Λυτρον, απολυτρόω, are ufed in this precife Signification, by the moft approved Authors of Greece.-Απεπεμψε τα λυτρα των Αννίβα, και τες αιχμαλωτες απέλαβε, fays Plutarch. Ο υίω τε άνθρωπε ήλθε δεναι την ψυχην αυτό λυτρον αντί Tov, fays our bleffed Saviour, Matt. xx. 28.-ATEAUTOWσE ταλαντίων εννεα, is the Language of Demofthenes. Εν ω εχόμεν την απολύτρωσιν δια το αιματο αυτό, are the Words of St. Paul. Eph. i. 7.-To establish this important Point, and to familiarize the comfortable Idea to our Minds, the facred Writers abound in this Phrafeology: See Luke i. 68. ii. 38. xxiv. 21.-Rom. iii. 34.-Tit. ii. 24.-Heb. ix. 12. + 1 Pet. i. 18. We have an equivalent Expreffion, used in the fame Signification, by one of the correcteft Writers in the World; Et Fratrem Pollux alterna Morte redemit. VIRG. Gal. iii. 13. Enyogarev-We are faid to be bought, I Cor. vi. 20. Not in a metaphorical Senfe, but really and properly. For, here the Price is mentioned; and by St. Peter the Price is fpecified, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. The Ransom was paid down. The Fund of Heav'n, Heav'n's inexhaustible exhausted Fund, Ther. Hold a little, good Afpafio. Confider the Confequence of what You maintain. If there was a Ranfom in the Cafe, to Whom was it paid? The Devil had led Sinners captive. They are faid to be the Slaves of Satan. And fhall the bleffed JESUS pay his Life to that accurfed Fiend? Shocking to imagine!-Yet, fhocking as it is, it must follow from your own, and your Poet's Affertion. Afp. You mifapprehend the Cafe, Theron. The Ransom was paid to GOD. Thoy haft redeemed Us to GOD+, is the Confeffion of the Saints in Light.-Satisfaction was made to the divine Law, and to the divine Justice. The one of which was offended; the other violated; and both concurred to denounce the Tranfgreffor's Doom.-Of which Doom Satan was only the deftined Executioner. Whofe Malignity, and implacable Rage, GOD is pleased to make the Inftrument of inflicting his Vengeance. As He formerly used the idolatrous Kings of Affyria and Babylon, to chastise the difobedient Ifraelites. *Night-Thoughts, N°. IV. When + Rev. v. 6. |