day thou eateft thereof, thou shalt furely die; which as it was the fanction of that pofitive law, is of every moral precept. Now the veracity, truth, and faithfulnefs of God are engaged to fee the fanction established and threatening executed, either upon the tranfgreffor himself, or on a furety for him; for the judgment of God, is, that fuch a perfon is worthy of death; and his judgment is according to truth, and muft and will moft certainly take place; let God be true, and every man a liar. 3. Nor does it agree with the wifdom of God, that fin fhould be forgiven without a fatisfaction for it. It is not the wifdom of any legislature to fuffer the law not to take place on a delinquent; it is a weakness whenever it is admitted; and is either through fear of fome perfons or things, or through favour and affection, and the influence of fome about the throne of a prince; it may be called tenderness, lenity, and clemency, but it is not juftice: nor is it an act of prudence; the confequences of it are bad; it tends to weaken the authority of the legislature, to bring government into contempt, and to embolden tranfgreffors of the law, in hope of efcaping with impunity; the all-wife lawgiver will not act fuch a part: befides, the fcheme of man's reconciliation and redemption by Chrift, is reprefented as the highest act of wifdom known to be formed and brought about by God; for herein he has abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence: but where is the confummate wifdom of it, if it could have been done in an easier way, with lefs expence, without the fufferings and death of his Son? Had there been another and better way of faving finners, infinite wisdom would have found it out, and divine grace and mercy would have pursued it. 4. Nor does it seem fo well to comport with the great love and affection of God to his Son Jefus Chrift, called his beloved Son, his dear Son, the Son of his love, to fend him into this world in the likeness of finful flesh, to be vilified and abused by the worst of men; to be buffeted, lafhed, and tortured by a fet of miscreants; and to put him to the most cruel, painful, and fhameful death of the cross, in order to make reconciliation and atonement for fin, if fin could have been forgiven, and the finner faved without all this; even by a hint, a nod, a word speaking to a finner, telling him his iniquities were forgiven, and he should be faved: nor does it fo fully exprefs the love of God to his faved ones, but tends to leffen and lower their fentiments of it. God giving his Son to fuffer in the room and stead of finners, to die for them while they were finners, to be the propitiation or propitiatory facrifice for their fins, is always afcribed to the love of God, and reprefented as the ftrongest expreffion of it; but where is the greatness of this love, if falvation could be effected with lefs expence, and at an easier rate? and indeed if it could have been done in any other way: the greatness of his love appears in this view, either the finner muft die, or Chrift muft muft die for him; now rather than the elect finner fhould die, fuch was the love of God to him, that he chofe his only-begotten Son fhould die for him. To evince the neceffity of a fatisfaction for fin, in order to forgiveness of it, it may be further observed, that there is fomething of it appears by the light of nature in the fentiments and practices of the heathens, who had nothing else to direct them in this affair; which though it did not provide and direct to a proper fatisfaction for fin, yet gave some hint of the neceffity of one: by the light of nature they were led to fee the evil of finful actions, at least of fome of them; hence accufations of confcience in them upon finning: they were also fenfible by it, that when fin was committed, deity was offended, and even angry with them, and incensed against them; hence those dreadful horrors and terrors of mind in them, left they should be punished by it: they faw it was neceffary that deity fhould be appeafed fome way or another; hence the various, though foolish and fruitless methods, they took to appease the anger of God; and fome even barbarous and inhuman; as to give their first-born for their tranf greffions, and the fruit of their bodies for the fins of their fouls; which thews their fense of a neceffity of making fome fort of fatisfaction for offences committed, and of appealing justice, or vengeance, as they call their deity; Alls xxviii. 4. As for the Jews, who were favoured with a divine revelation, the cafe is quite clear with them, that they had knowledge of the doctrine of fatisfaction for fin, and pardon upon the foot of it; and were directed by the facrifices they were instructed to offer, to the proper method of fatisfaction for fin and pardon of it, through the fufferings and death of the Meffiah: all their facrifices, especially thofe of a propitiatory kind, were typical of it, and plainly fhewed the neceffity of a fatisfaction for fin; and plainly pointed out forgiveness as proceeding upon it: how often in the book of Leviticus is it faid, that the priest fhould make atonement for the fins of the people, and their fins should be forgiven them? fee chap. iv. 20, 26, 31, 35. and chap. v. 10, 13, 16, 18. and chap. vi. 7. Indeed thefe did not and could not really, only typically, expiate fin, and make atonement for it; but if God could forgive fin, without any fatisfaction at all, why not forgive it on the foot of such facrifices? The true reason is, and it is plain, because he could not, confiftent with himself and his own perfections, do it without the facrifice of his Son, typified by them. Wherefore, upon the whole, it may be strongly concluded, that a plenary fatisfaction for fin by what Chrift has done and suffered, was abfolutely neceffary to the forgiveness of fin; without Shedding of blood is no remiffion: there was nó typical remiffion under the law, without the shedding of the blood of animals; and there was no real remiffion or forgiveness of fins then nor now, without the fhedding of the blood of Chrift, Heb. ix. 22. there never was, nor never could be, any without it. There There are various objections made to this doctrine; fome of the more common and principal ones I fhall take notice of, and return a brief answer to. 1. It is fuggefted, as if the doctrine of fatisfaction for fin to the justice of God, and as required and received by that, is inconfiftent with the mercy of God, and leaves no room for it. But the attributes of justice and mercy are not contrary to each other, they both fubfift and accord together in the fame divine nature. God is defcribed by them both, gracious is the Lord and righteous; yea, our God is merciful, Pfal. cxvi. 5. merciful, though righteous; and righteous, though gracious and merciful; fee Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. and as they agree as perfections in the divine Being, fo in the exercise of them they do not clash with one another, no not in this affair of fatisfaction; here mercy and truth are met together, and righteousness and peace have kiffed each other. Justice being satisfied, a way is opened for mercy to display her stores. 2. It is objected, that pardon of fin upon the foot of a full fatisfaction for it, cannot be faid to be free; this, it is fuggefted, eclipfes the glory of God's free grace in the forgiveness of fin: it is certain, that remiffion of fin is through the tender mercy of God, and is owing to the multitude of it; it is according to the riches of free grace, and yet through the blood of Chrift, and both are expreffed in one verfe as agreeing together; in whom (Chrift) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of fins, according to the riches of his grace, Ephes. 1. 7. The free grace of God is fo far from being eclipted in the forgiveness of fin through the fatisfaction of Chrift, that it fhines the brighter for it; for confider, it was the free grace of God which provided Chrift to be a facrifice for fin, to atone for it; as Abraham said to Ifaac, when he asked, Where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? My fon, says he, God will provide himself a Lamb for a burnt-offering, Gen. xxii. 7, 8. fo God of his rich grace and mercy has provided Chrift to be an offering and a facrifice for fin; and his grace appears the more, in that it is his own Son, his only-begotten Son, he provided to be the atoning facrifice, the lamb to take away the fin of the world: it was grace that fet him forth in the divine purposes and decrees, propofed him in counsel and covenant, and fent him forth in time to be the propitiation for fin; it was grace to us that he fpared him not, but delivered him up for us all; and it was grace in God to accept of the fatisfaction made by Chrift; for though it was fo full and complete as nothing could be more fo, yet it would have been a refufable one, had he not allowed Chrift's name to be put in the obligation. Had it not been for the compact and covenant agreed to between them, God might in ftrict juftice have marked our iniquities, and infifted on a fatisfaction at our hands; he might have declared, and abode by it, that the foul that finned, that should die; it was therefore • Socin, Prælect. Theolog. c. 13. p. 571. de Servatore, par. I. C 1. f Racov. Catechef. c. 8. qu. 15. therefore owing to the free grace and favour of God, to admit of a furety in our room, to make fatisfaction for us; and it was grace to accept of that fatisfaction, as if made by ourfelves. Befides, though it coft Chrift much, his blood, his life, and the fuffering of death, to make fatisfaction for fin, and procure the forgiveness of it by it; forgiveness coft us nothing, it is all of free grace to us. Moreover, grace in fcripture is only oppofed to the works of men, and fatisfaction by them, but not to the work of Christ, and his fatisfaction. 3. It is pretended, that the scheme of pardon, upon a fatisfaction, makes the love of Chrift to men greater than that of the Father, and fo they are more beholden to the one than to the other; it reprefents the one as tenderly affectionate, compaffionate, and kind to finners; and the other as inexorable, not to be appeased, nor his wrath turned away without fatisfaction to his juftice: but the love of both is most strongly expreffed in this affair of Chrift's fatisfaction; and he must be a daring man that will take upon him to fay, who of them fhewed the greatest love, the Father in giving his Son, or the Son in giving himself, to be the propitiatory facrifice for fin; for as it is faid of Chrift, that he loved the church, and gave himself for her; and loved us, and gave himself for us; and loved me, fays the apostle, and gave himself for me, Ephes. v. 2, 25. Gal.ii. 20. So it is faid of the Father, that he fo loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son to fuffer and die for men; and that herein his love was manifefted, not that we loved God, but he loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation for our fins; and that he commended his love towards us, in delivering up his Son to death for us, and that while we were yet finners; John iii. 16. 1 John iv. 9, 10. Rom. v. 8. Can there be greater love than this expreffed by both? and which is greatest is not for us to say. 4. It is faid, if Chrift is God, a divine perfon, he must be a party offended by fin; and if he has made fatisfaction for it, he must have made fatisfaction to himself, which is reprefented as an abfurdity h. All this will be allowed, that Chrift is truly God, a divine perfon in the deity, and as fuch equally offended with fin as his divine Father; and that he made fatisfaction, and that in fome fenfe to himself too, and yet no abfurdity in it. There are fome cafes in which men may be faid to make fatisfaction to themselves, without being charged with abfurdity; indeed in cafe of a private pecuniary lofs, it would be a mere farce, and quite abfurd for one to repair the lofs, and make it up to himself, and make fatisfaction to himfelf for it; but in cafe of a public offence to a community, of which he is a part, he may be faid, by making fatisfaction to the whole body, to make fatisfaction to himself, without an abfurdity. So a member of parliament, having violated the laws and rules of the houfe, and is called to the bar to make g Racov. Catechef. c. 8. qu. 16. h Socinus de Servatore, par. 3. c. 4. p. 102. make fatisfaction, when he makes fatisfaction to the houfe, he may be faid to make it to himself, as a member of it. It is poffible for a lawgiver to make fatisfaction to his own law broken, and fo to himself, as the lawgiver. Thus Zaleucus, "a famous legislator, made a law which punished adultery with the loss of both "eyes; his own fon was the firft that broke this law, and in order that the law. might have full fatisfaction, and yet mercy be fhewn to his fon, he ordered "one of his own eyes and one of his fon's to be put out; and fo he might be "faid to fatisfy his own law, and to make fatisfaction to himfelf, the lawgiver." But in the cafe before us, the fatisfaction made by Chrift, is not made to God perfonally confidered, that is, to any one perfon in the Deity fingly and feparately, but to God effentially confidered in all the three perfons, or rather to the justice of God fubfifting in the divine nature common to the three perfons. This perfection fubfifting in the divine nature as poffeffed by the first perfon, the Father, is offended with fin, refents it, requires fatisfaction for it, and it is given by the fecond perfon in human nature, or as God-man; the fame divine, perfection fubfifting in the divine nature as poffeffed by the fecond person, the Son of God, fhews itself in like manner in loving righteoufnefs and hating iniquity, is affronted by fin, and demanding fatisfaction for it, it is given it by him as the God-man and mediator; who, though a perfon offended, could mediate for the offender, and make fatisfaction for him, without any abfurdity or contradiction, as making fatisfaction to himself. The fame may be observed concerning the juftice of God, as a perfection of the divine nature poffeffed by the third person the Spirit, requiring fatisfaction, and having it given by Chrift, the furety and Saviour of finners; fo that the fatisfaction is not made to one perfon folely and fingly, but to the juftice of God in all his perfons; who is the Lord, Judge, and Governor of the whole world; and who ought to maintain, and does and will maintain the honour of his juftice, and of his glorious majefty, and of his righteous law. L 5. Once more, it is faid', that this doctrine of Christ's fatisfaction for fin, weakens mens obligation and regard to duty, and opens a door to licentiousness; but this is so far from being true, that on the contrary it ftrengthens the obligation, and excites a greater regard to duty, and promotes holiness of life and conversation in those who have reason to believe that Chrift has made fatisfaction for their fins; for the love of Chrift in dying for them, in being made fin, and a curse for them to fatisfy for their fins, constrains them in the most preffing manner to live to him, according to his will and to his glory; being bought with the price of Chrift's blood, and redeemed from a vain converfation by it; they are moved the more strongly to glorify God with their bodies and spirit, which are his, and to pafs the time of their fojourning here in fear. The grace of God VOL. I. S s which i Racov. Catechef. c. 8. qu. 17. |