all the fins of his people, their tranfgreffions of the law of God; and by his facrifice expiates them, or makes atonement for them, and fo is the ransom of them. For the further illuftration of this precious truth, I fhall briefly fhew you what that is which Chrift has given as a ransom, which is fufficient; and for whom it is given. 1. What that is which Chrift has given for the ransom of men: and from fcripture it appears that it was his precious blood; for as redemption is always afcribed to the blood of Chrift, as the procuring cause of it, that must be the redemption or ranfom-price; and the apostle Peter is exprefs for it; he fays, ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as filver and gold—but with the precious blood of Chrift"; a price fufficient to purchase the whole church of God, to expiate all their fins, and ranfom their fouls from ruin; and therefore may well be called precious blood; blood of great price and value: hence under the law fo much regard was had to blood; it was to be covered with dust, and was not to be eaten, becaule it made atonement for the foul, though but in a typical way; for not the blood of bulls and goats, but the blood of Christ is our real atonement and rantom-price. Again, from a text before-mentioned it is clear, that it is the life of Chrift that was given for a ransom; he came to give bis life a ransom for many": life, than which nothing is more dear and valuable, and especially fuch a life as Chrift's was; a life entirely at his own difpofe, which another man's is not, and which he laid down, and took up again of himself; it was not forfeited by any act of his own, or forced from him by another; it was what he freely laid down, and voluntarily gave into the hands of men, juftice and death, in the room and ftead of his people; and as a ransom-price for them; his life for theirs moreover, it is faid to be himself that is this ransom; who gave himself a ransom for all; and fo it is often expreffed, that be loved us and gave himjelf for us, that he might redeem us; and gave himself, an offering and a facrifice, and offered himself without fpot unto God, even his soul and body, his whole human nature; and this as in union with his divine person; which union ceafed not when he became the ranfom-price. And what is contained in this word himself, who can tell? this we may be fure of, it was a fufficient ranson), whereby the law was fulfilled, and justice satisfied. This is a full ranfom or redemption from fin, from all fins original and actual, from all the demerit of them; and in consequence of this men are freed from the dominion and power of fin, under which they were held captives, and will be from the being of it; for Chrift has by his atoning facrifice finished and made an end of fin, and put it away for ever, and perfected them that are fanctified: it is a compleat ranfom of them out of the hands of Satan: the Lord hath ransomed Jacob u 1 Peter i. 18, 19. - Matt. xx. 28. Heb ix. 14. * 1 Tim. ii. 6. out out of the band of him that was stronger than he; by virtue of this ranfom the prey is taken from the mighty, and the lawful captive is delivered; and even captivity itself, or he that led others captive, is himself led captive by the Saviour and Redeemer of finners. This is a plenary ransom from the law, its curfe and condemnation; Christ has redeemed his that were under it from it, being made a curfe for them, and fuffering its fentence of condemnation to be executed on himself; and therefore there is none to them that are in him; and they may boldly fay, who is be that condemneth? it is Chrift that died; and by dying he gave his life a ransom for them, and fo fecured them from the curfe and condemnation of the law. In a word, it is a full ranfom from hell, and wrath, and the second death, to which men are liable through fin; Chrift has even ranfomed his people from the power of the grave, as a punishment for fin, and so as that they shall not be always detained in it; as well as has redeemed them from the second death, by which they fhall never be hurt, and which shall never have any power over them; he has delivered them from wrath to come, and from going down to hell, or the pit of corruption. But I proceed to fhew, 2. For whom this ranfom is given. It is faid to be given for many; even for as many as are ordained to eternal life; for as many as the Father has given to Chrift; for thofe many for whom his blood has been fhed for the remiffion of their fins; for those many whom he justifies by his knowledge, or by faith in his righteousness; for those many fons, he, the captain of their salvation, brings to glory; and these are a great number, which no man can number; and on account of which, as well as many other things, this ransom or redemption by Christ is called a plenteous one, and lays a good foundation for hope in him: but then it is not for all men, or for every individual of mankind; for though he is faid to give himself a ransom for all, it is not expreffed for all men, or for every man; but the fenfe is, that he gave himself for all the chofen, or for men of all forts, ranks and degrees, high and low, rich and poor; and for all forts of finners, for Gentiles as well as Jews, as the context fhows: those that are ransomed and redeemed, are ranfomed from among men, and are redeemed unto God by the blood of Christ, out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation; and cannot be all men, every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, or every individual of them: the ranfomed ones are reprefented as a peculiar people, and have such characters afcribed to them as do not agree to all men; they are the church of God, the general assembly and church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven, which are purchased by the blood of Chrift; and they are his sheep, he has laid down his life, and given it as a ransom for: moreover, the ranfomed of the Lord come to Zion with fongs of everlasting joy, fooner or later; either VOL. I. 3 X το Rev. xiv. 4. and v. 9. to the church below, or to heaven above; to neither of which do all mankind come. Add to all this, that if the ranfom-price is paid for all, all would be ranfomed, and fo eternally faved, which is not true; or elfe the ranfom-price is paid in vain, which furely will not be faid; it reflecting fo much dishonour on the justice of God, and the blood of Chrift. The typical ransom-price under the law, the half-shekel, was paid for the ransom of the fouls of Ifraelites only, and fo is the real one; though not for all Israel in a literal fenfe, because all were not Ifrael who were of Ifrael, only a remnant according to the election of grace; it is the spiritual and mystical Israel of God whom he has chofen for his own peculiar people; the whole Ifrael of God, or all his elect, confifting both of Jews and Gentiles, that Chrift is become a ransom-price for; and who, in confequence of it, through his fpirit and grace, are Ifraelites indeed, in whom there. is no guile. God so loved the world of the Gentiles, as to fet and send forth his own Son to be the propitiation or expiatory facrifice for their fins; and Chrift is become the propitiation, not for the fins of the Jews only, or his elect among them, but for the fins of the whole world; or for the fins of all his people throughout the whole world, even for the fins of all the children of God that are scattered abroad'. This ranfom-price, as the typical one, is given for the ranfom of the foul; it is that which has finned, and is liable to death, the second death, or an eternal one; it is for that most excellent part of man, and therefore to be most regarded; and hence it requires fo great a price: the redemption of the foul is precious; and nothing can ranfom it but the blood of Chrift; and therefore it is so great a bleffing as it is to be ranfomed, because it is no other than the redemption of the life or foul of man from destruction: and this ranfom-price, like the typical one, is paid equally for all alike; every Ifraelite gave an half shekel, the rich did not give more, nor the poor lefs; the fame price of Chrift's blood is paid for one as for another; for though fome fins be greater than others, and some are greater finners than others are, and are redeemed from more fins than others be, yet there is but one price paid for all; for every fin being objectively infinite, requires an infinite price to be paid to make fatisfaction and atonement for it, and which has been given; hence all obtain the fame precious faith, are justified by the same righteousness, and share in the fame common falvation. And, to add no more, this price is paid for them into the hands of God; for it is against him that fin is committed, and who only can pardon it, and does upon the foot of fatisfaction made: he is the law-giver, whofe law is broken by fin, and must be fulfilled; the judge of all the earth, whose justice must be satisfied, or he will not clear the guilty; and the creditor to whom men owe more than ten thousand talents, and have nothing to pay; and therefore the price, by the fo * Ads xx. 28. John x. 15. Ifai. xxxv. 10. ↑ John iii. 16. and xi. 51, 52. 1 John ii, z. the furety, must be given into his hand to clear off the debt, and ranfom from prifon; and accordingly Chrift has given himself an offering and a facrifice unto God, and has given to him a ransom for his people, and has redeemed them unto bim by his blood; and hence they fhall certainly be faved by him, and in him, with an everlasting falvation. But I haften to confider, 2dly, The act of finding this ranfom, and to whom it is to be afcribed. If it refpects the original fcheme of it in eternity, as it feems to do, it was found out by God the Father; who laid help upon one that is mighty; exalted one chofen out of the people; found David bis fervant, and anointed him with his boly oil*; that is, he found his own Son to be the most proper person to be the Saviour and Redeemer of his people; one that was mighty, almighty, and fo equal to the work of redemption; and of all the individuals of human nature he defigned to bring into being, which came into his vaft and infinite mind, he chofe out of them all one fingle individual of human nature, to be united to his own Son in due time; and fo he invefted him with the office of mediator; and thus a ransom was found for men: and this is not the invention of angels, nor of men, but of God only; not of angels, for they knew nothing of the matter but by revelation; fo far were they from having any concern in the finding it out, that when it was found, they were ftrangers to it until it was made known unto them; and whatever hint might be given them of it immediately from God himself, whofe invention this is, previous to the fall of man, as fome have thought; which occafioned a great part of them to leave their first eftate, and become apoftates, rather than be fubject to Chrift in human nature; yet it seems as if great part, at least, of their knowledge of this affair, is attained to by them through the church of God, and the miniftry of the word in it; fince it is faid, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known (that is made known) by the church, the manifold wisdom of God'; that wonderful wisdom of God in finding out a ransom for men: yea, it looks as if their knowledge of it was not yet perfect; or however, that they have not fully fatisfied themselves with it, but take fresh pleasure in the contemplation of it; for it is faid, which things the angels defire to look into ", even yet more and more; they bow their heads, as it were ", they ftoop, they look down, and curiously pry into the mysteries of grace: the allusion is thought to be to the cherubim over the mercyfeat, which looked to one another, and both to the mercy-fear, the type of Chrift, the propitiation and ransom of his people. Nor is this the invention of men; could all mankind have been fummoned together, and had ever so long a time allowed them to have found out a proper ransom for them, it would ever have remained a puzzling question to them, how should man be just with God? or who will be a propitiation or ranfom for him? for they could never have thought of the Son of God as a ranfom; it could never have entered into their hearts to conceive it; for if the world by wisdom knew not God, it could never, with all its wisdom, find out a way of reconciling themselves unto God: and we see what fooleries the heathens have gone into, being left to the dim light of nature, and without a revelation, in order to make the Deity propitious to them and even when this scheme of redemption and falvation by Chrift is declared, it is treated by carnal men with contempt and ridicule; we preach Chrift crucified, to the Jews a ftumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; and therefore this can never be an invention of man's: no, it is the invention of God himself; all things are of him, and especially in a way of grace, and particularly our reconciliation, and the scheme of it. God was in Chrift reconciling the world to bimfelf; drawing the scheme of their reconciliation, ransom, and redemption; this flows from his divine counfels, who does all things after the counsel of bis will; as there was a confultation held about the formation of man, no doubt there wasone about his ranfom and recovery; and which, with great propriety, may be called the council of peace, that was held between the eternal three on this special affair: this is the fruit and effect of his infinite wisdom, which shines in all his works, but abounds in the ranfom and redemption of men, and the contrivance of it; this is the manifold wisdom of God, the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the bidden wisdom, ordained before the world for our glory; this is the refult of an eternal purpose he purposed in Chrift, of a refolution and determination he came into to have mercy on his people, and fave them by the Lord their God; whom he set forth in his decrees and purposes to be the propitiation for their fins, and fore-ordained before the foundation of the world to ransom them with his precious blood. This is owing to a covenant of grace, which he made with Chriff, in which he called and appointed him to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the preferved of Ifrael: and in confideration of his making his foul an offering for fin, and giving himself a ransom for his chofen, he promised him a numerous feed, length of days for ever and ever, and the utmost profperity and glory as man and mediator; to all which he agreed, and faid, Lo I come to do thy will'; which was no other than to give his life a ransom for many. And now it was with the utmost pleasure, and to his great fatisfaction, that he found such a ransom; and which feems to be expreffed in the language of the text, I have found a ranfom; Chrift, as fuch, was the object of his delight and joy when he was fet up as mediator by him from everlasting. But this must be understood of God the Father, not to the exclufion of the Son', fince the council of peace 1 Cor. i. 23. was 92 Cor. v. 18, 19. * Ifai. xlix. 5, 6. and liii. 10-12. Pfal. xl. 7. • Verum recte de utroque, patre & filio, id dicitur, tanquam veris auctoribus confilii de nostra redemptione. Joh. Henr. Michaelis notæ uberiores in loc. |