we have in great measure depraved and put off; and let us put on bowels of mercy towards those that are in mifery, and be ready to relieve the poor for his fake, who being rich, for our fakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.

To conclude: Let us imitate him in that which was his great work and business here upon earth, and which of all other did beft become the Son of God; I mean, in his going about doing good, that, by giving glory to God in the highest, and by endeavouring, as much as in us lies, to procure and promote peace on earth, and goodwill amongst men, we may at last be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light, through the mercies and merits of our bleffed Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.

Almighty God, who hast given us thy only begot"ten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this "time to be born of a pure virgin, grant, that we being 66 regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and

grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit, 66 through the fame our Lord Jefus Chrift, who liveth "and reigneth with thee and the fame Spirit, ever one "God, world without end. Amen"

SERMON

XLVII.

Concerning the facrifice and fatisfaction of Chrift, &c.

HE B. ix. 26.

But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to take away fin by the facrifice of himself.

A

Mong many other great ends and reasons for which God was pleafed to fend his Son into the world to dwell amongst us, this was one of the chief, that, by a long courfe of the greateft innocency and the greate ft fufferings in our nature, he might be capable to

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make

make a perfect expiation of fin: But now once in the end of fhe world, ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων, in the con clufion of the ages, (that is, in the last age of the world, which is the gofpel-age), hath he appeared to take away fin by the facrifice of himself.

The general defign of God in fending his Son into the world, was, to fave mankind from eternal death and mifery, and to purchafe for us eternal life and happiness. So the author of our falvation himself tells us, John iii. 16. that God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perifh, but have everlasting life.

Now, in order to the procuring of this falvation for us, the impediments and hinderances of it were to be removed. These were, the guilt, and the dominion of fin. By the guilt of fin we were become obnoxious to the wrath of God, and to eternal condemnation; and by the defilement and dominion of it we were incapable of the happiness of heaven, and the reward of eternal life.

To remove these two great hinderances, two things were neceffary; the forgiveness of fins paft, in order to our deliverance from the wrath of God, and the eternal torments of the next life; and the reformation of our hearts and lives, to make us capable of eternal life and happiness in another world. And both thefe, if God had fo pleased, might, for any thing we certainly know to the contrary, have been effected by the abundant mercy and powerful grace of God, without this wonderful method and difpenfation of fending his Son in our nature to take away fin by the facrifice of himself. But it feems the wisdom of God thought fit to pitch upon this way and method of our falvation; and no doubt for very good reafons; amongst which these three feem to be very obvious, and very confiderable.

1. To vindicate the honour of his laws, which, if fin had gone altogether unpunifhed, would have been in great danger of falling into contempt. For if God had proclaimed a general pardon of fin to all mankind, without any teftimony of his wrath and displeasure against it, who would have had any great veneration for his laws, or have believed in good carneft, that the vio

lation of them had either been fo extremely offensive to him, or fo very dangerous to the finner?

Therefore, to maintain the honour of his laws, rather than fin fhould pafs unpunished, God would lay the punifhment of it upon his only begotten Son, the dearest perfon to him in the world; which is a greater teftimony of his high difpleasure against sin, and of his tender regard and concernment for the honour of his laws, than if the finner had suffered the punishment due to it in his own perfon.

2. Another reason of this difpenfation, and that likewise very confiderable, was, that God might forgive fin in fuch a way as yet effectually to discountenance and difcourage it, and to create in us the greatest horror and hatred of it; which could not have been by an absolute pardon, without any punishment inflicted, or fatiffaction made to the honour of his juftice. For had fin been fo eafily forgiven, who would have been fenfible of the great evil of it, or afraid to offend for the future?

But when God makes his own Son a facrifice, and lays upon him the punishment due for the iniquities of us all, this is a demonftration, that God hates fin as much, if it be poffible, as he loved his own Son. For this plainly fhews what fin deferves, and what the finner may juftly expect, if, after this feverity of God against it, he will venture to commit it,

And if this facrifice for fin, and the pardon purchafed by it, be not effectual to reclaim us from fin, and to beget in us an eternal dread and deteftation of it; if we fin wilfully after fo clear a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteoufnefs of men, there remains no more facrifice for fin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation to confume the adverfaries. For what could God do more to testify his difpleasure against fin, and to difcountenance the practice of it, than to make his only Son an offering for fin, and to give him up to be wounded for our tranfgreffions, and bruifed for our iniquities? In what clearer glafs can we at once behold the great evil and demerit of fin, and the infinite goodness and mercy of God to finners, than in the forrows and fufferings of the Son of God for our fins and for our fakes? 3. Another

3. Another reason of this difpenfation feems to have been a gracious condefcenfion and compliance of almighty God with a certain apprehenfion and perfuafion, which had very early and univerfally obtained among mankind, concerning the expiation of fin, and appeafing the offended Deity, by the facrifices of living creatures, of birds and beasts; and afterwards by human facrifices, and the blood of their fons and daughters; by offering to God, as the expreffion is in the Prophet, their firstborn for their tranfgreffion, and the fruit of their body for the fin of their fouls:

And this notion of the expiation of fin by facrifice, whether it had its first rise from divine revelation, and was afterwards propagated from age to age by tradition; I fay, from whence foever this notion came, it hath, of all other notions concerning religion, excepting those of the being of God and his providence, and of the recompences of another life, found the most universal reception; and the thing hath been the most generally practifed in all ages and nations, not only in the old, but in the new difcovered parts of the world.

And indeed a very great part of the Jewish religion, which was inftituted by God himself, feems to have been a plain condefcenfion to the general apprehenfion of mankind, concerning this way of appealing the offended Deity by facrifices; as it was alfo a figure of that great and efficacious facrifice which should in due time be offered to God to make atonement once for all for the fins of all mankind.

And the Apostle to the Hebrews doth very particularly infift upon this condefcenfion of God to them in the difpenfation of the gofpel. And whereas they apprehended fo great a neceffity of an High Priest, and of facrifices, to make expiation for the fins of the people, that it was an established principle among them, that without fhedding of blood there was no remifion of fins, God was pleased to comply fo far with thefe notions and apprehenfions of theirs, as to make his own Son both a priest and a facrifice, to do that once for all which their own High Prieft pretended to do year by year.

And from hence the fame Apostle takes occafion to recommend to them the new covenant, and difpenfation of

the

the gospel, as having a greater and more perfect High Priest, and a more excellent facrifice, than were the High Priests and the facrifices under the law; the Son of God having by one facrifice of himself obtained eternal redemption for us, and perfected for ever them that are fanctified.

And this apprehenfion prevailed no lefs in the Hea→ then world, and proceeded to the facrifices of men, even of their first-born. And with this apprehenfion, not to countenance, but to abolish it, God was pleased to comply fo far, as to make a general atonement for the fins of mankind by the death of his Son, appearing in our nature to become a voluntary facrifice for us: God permitting him to be unjustly put to death, and his blood to be shed by the malice of men, in appearance as a malefactor, but in truth as a martyr; and accepting of his death as a meritorious facrifice and propitiation for the fins of the whole world; that by this wife counsel and permiffion of his providence he might for ever put an end to that barbarous and inhumane way of ferving God which had been fo long in use and practice among them: the Son of God by the voluntary facrifice of himself having effected all that at once, and for ever, which mankind, from the beginning of the world, had in vain been endeavouring to accomplish by innumerable and continual facrifices; namely, the pardon of their fins, and perfect peace and reconciliation with God.

For thefe ends and reafons, and perhaps for many more as great and confiderable as thefe, which our fhallow understandings are not able to fathom, the wifdom of God hath pitched upon this way and method of delivering mankind from the guilt and dominion of fin by the facrifice of his Son. And to this end it was requifite, that he fhould appear in our nature, and dwell amongst us for fome confiderable time, that, by a long courfe of the greatest innocency, and of the greatest fufferings in our nature, he might be capable of making a perfect expiation of fin.

So that two things were requifite to qualify him for this purpofe; perfect innocency and obedience, and great fufferings in our nature, even to the fuffering of death. Both these the scripture declares to be neceffary qualifications of a perfon capable to make expiation of fin; and

both