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charged upon him as our substitute, and under that view fatisfaction exacted for him, as if they had been his own. I know what the Socinian evafion is, that Chrift's being made fin, fignifies no more than his being reputed and esteemed a finner, and treated as fuch in the eye of the world. But furely nothing can be more empty and trifling than this; for befides the impropriety and absurdity of this expofition of the phrase, that to be made fin by God (for what is here faid of Chrift, is spoken of as the act of God) should mean no more than being reputed a finner by man, the text itself, by ftating fin in oppofition to righteousness, is its own best interpreter: After the fame way and manner in which we are made the righteousness of God in him, was he made fin for us; Our being made the righteousness of God is not, as a learned writer notes *, that we are righteous in the opinion and efteem of the world, but that in a law sense we are constituted and confidered as righteous in the fight of God; fo, therefore, his being made fin, is not that the world reputed him a finner, but that he was legally and judicially charged with our fins, and bore the full and proper punishment of them. And this is fometimes faid to be for many, for his church, his people, his sheep, all that were given him of the Father in that eternal covenant and compact, which I mentioned before, in which the grand scheme of our redemption was adjusted through all the periods of it.

We cannot but obferve, in the feveral paffages that I have referred to, that thofe expreffions are used and applied to the death of Chrift, which

*Hoornb. Socin. confut. Tom. II. p. 563.

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which import a real substitution, and by which the nature of piacular facrifices was all along defcribed. And, indeed, the ftrongeft facrifical phrafes are used to fet forth the nature and ends of the death of Chrift; " so that we must con "clude that either his death was a propitiatory "facrifice, or else we must despair of finding 55 out the meaning of any thing that can be expreffed by words." And a celebrated writer *, who feems to have examined this argument with a peculiar nicenefs and care, has obferved, "that "the Apoftles of the New Teftament have not " left one fingle phrafe that belonged to facri"fices in the Old Teftament, which they have (6 not applied to the death of Chrift in the "New." This argument would receive yet further force by confidering, that, the facrifices under the law, efpecially the expiatory ones, were but types and figures of the facrifice of Chrift; and that the feveral rites and ufages that were appointed to be observed about them, ftill referred to fomething in him, in which they had their proper accomplishment t. I might add, what has been obferved with great force, that as the Apostle used many of these facrifical phrafes in an epiftle, that was purpofely wrote to the Jews or Hebrews, to inform them of the true nature and defign of the death of Chrift,

to

* See this argument placed in a strong light, and purfued to a juft length in Bishop Burnet's four dif courfes to his clergy: Of which what is faid in his expofition of the articles feems to be but an abridg-»

ment.

+ Vid. Outram de Sacrific. Lib. 1. cap. 18. & paffim.

to whom fuch phrafes were familiar, and their meaning well known, we cannot fuppofe but that he used these phrases in their common and proper fenfe; confequently, that Chrift's death, must be as true and real a facrifice, as any under the law, as it was of dignity and efficacy fuperior to them all. Without fuppofing this, we muft make the Apoftle to be one of the moft weak and abfurd writers that ever was, or else that his defign was not to instruct but to confound his readers.

And this accounts for all the weight and terribleness of Chrift's fufferings, and for that af tonishment of foul, that feized him' at their ap proach. This made him fo much deprecate the bitter cup, and pray with fo much earneftnefs, that if it were poffible it might pass from him; and he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, faying, O my Father, if it be poffible, let this cup pass from me, Matth. xxvi. 39. And the Apostle speaks of his offering up prayers and fupplications, with strong crying and tears, and of his being heard, in that he feared, Heb. v. 7. This made him in the garden, when preparing for his laft fufferings by retirement and prayer, fweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground, Luke xxii. 44; and, when he faw the ftorm thickening, cry out, My Joul is exceed ing forrowful, even unto death, Matth. xxvi. 38. And when hanging upon the cross in yet greater diftrefs, My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me, Matth. xxvii. 46. Bleffed Jefus ! thou hadft no fin of thine own for which to fuffer and to anfwer, for furely the eternally beloved Son had never done any thing for which his Father's bowels

bowels fhould be eftranged from him; and it is a thought infinitely unworthy of the Saviour, to fuppofe that he was filled with fuch horror and astonishment of foul, merely at the profpect of his undergoing a violent and bloody death when fo many of his followers have embraced a ftake with joy, and with the greatest firmness of mind met death, when it has been clad with its utmoft terrors: But here, O moft compaffionate Saviour is the miracle and mystery of thy death and love; when we fee thee bleeding, it is for our fins; when we fee thee groaning, it is under their weight; when we fee thee crying out under the hidings of thy Father's face, it is fin that has drawn the thick cloud between thee and him. This fharpened the arrow, that pierced the Redeemer's bofom, and mingled fo much bitterness with his cup. The law found him in the finner's place, and then God spared not his own Son: Juftice found him charged with the finner's guilt, and then it ftirred up all its wrath; Awake, Ofword, against my shepherd, against the man that is my fellow: Nor did it withdraw its terrors till he could fay, It is finished; so he bowed his head, and gave up the ghoft, John. xix. 30. Such plentiful evidence have we through the whole fcripture, that what Chrift did and fuffered, was in the room and ftead of his people, as charged with their guilt, and that he might make fatisfaction to the justice of God for their fins.

And this fully removes an objection, that has been often made against the doctrine of Chrift's fatisfaction; that fuch fufferings could not be agreeable to the justice of God, which forbids

us

us to fuppofe any perfon perfectly innocent capable of being punished. "We must be care68 ful upon this occafion (to borrow the words "of an eminent writer *) to remember the dif"ference there is between the fame pei fon, when "confidered abftractedly, or by himfelf, and "when fuftaining the character or reprefentati

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on of others: Since fuch a one's innocence, "though it render him incapable of punishment "ftrictly fo called in the former of thefe refpects

yet hinders not at all why he may not be a "juft and proper object of it in the latter. The "reafon is, because then the law no longer looks " upon his private, but altogether upon his re65 prefentative capacity; confequently, if they "in whofe place he ftands be guilty, the recompence due to that guilt is now devolved upon "their proxy."

And, what a foundation does this lay for the imputation of Chrift's righteoufnefs to us? He wrought it out under the character of the furety of his people; as their fubftitute, and ftrictly and properly in their room and ftead. It was defigned

* See Stanhop's Sermons at Boyle's Lecture, Serm. V. fecond year, pag. 19, 20. I have chofen to return an answer to this objection, in the words of a writer of principal note in the Eftablished church, not only be caufe it is juft and folid, but because it expreffes all that is intended by thofe phrases; that Chrift was the federal head and reprefentative of his people; that he food in their law place; and that there was in the eye of the law an exchange of perfons between Chrift and them; which fome have been fo ready to except againt; and upon the foot of fuch reprefentation it is, that our beft writers have defended the doctrine of Chrift's fatisfaction against the Socinians.

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