The power of reafoning, chufing and acting then, must be left free and unforced in angels and men, though they may abufe it and bring into the creation much evil and mifery by it. And many of the angels did fo; who by cheating the first human pair, corruption and guilt. less guilty than the dearer to God, he refolved to remedy the evil with regard to them, by transferring the fault from them, and taking it upon himself; which he referved for the fulness of time, when he was to do the bufinefs defcribed above.

brought them alfo under But human nature being angelic, and by much

It is evident from various circumftances, that Adam and Eve were ordered to offer a facrifice of fin-offering the evening in which they were called to an account: on this occafion, they were taught to confefs their fin over the facrifice, whereupon the fault paffed over from them to the devoted beaft, which was

guilty and unworthy to live;

man and woman were fpared,

punished, as if

and the guilty

as if innocent.

The beafts were then divided into clean and unclean: Cain and Abel, Noah and his fons

offered facrifices;

fo did Abraham and all

the primitive faints; until Mofes. By him the whole was written down by fupernatural and infallible direction. And at the fame time feemingly several additions made to it; and the corruptions and innovations introduced by human fancy and fuperftition, thrown out.

Thus Adam and Eve were directly unfinned, as foon as they were brought to repentance. And they, and all the patriarchs were taught by these facrifices to exprefs their confidence, that when Chrift came to finish the worlds, he would become a general facrifice, of which thefe devoted beasts

were figures, to take away fin from all men. They had indeed but a dark and obfcure idea of the work, but yet knew that it would be done, and done effectually and gloriously; and and therefore all the prophets and antient faints, earnestly wished to see how he would do it, yet died without the fight, as Our Lord tells the apoftles.

It was chiefly covered and concealed under these figures and ceremonies; and opened gradually

Or as

dually as mankind came by degrees able to bear it. But at laft, within a few hundred years of the fulness of time, by the most eminent of all the prophets, Daniel 9. 24. it was pofitively declared without a fymbol, that befide bringing in everlasting righteousness, he would finish tranfgreffions and make an end of fins. we have expreffed it, befide justifying, which was his original plan, he will alfo at the fame time, unfin the whole world. I ufe the word unfin here, as fhort, and explanatory of all the terms used in fcripture to set forth this subject. I fay therefore, that agreeable to all the preceding figures and predictions, when the fulness of time was come, Chrift, befide juftifying did actually and gloriously unfin the whole human race.

The work was done, as to the manner of it myftically; leaving every thing feemingly just as it was. And yet, he has done it fo perfectly ̧ that the world is, as though it was never ftained with any fort of moral evil. To finish tranfgreffion and make an end of fin, is, I fay, declared to be a part of his work when he fhould come: and, accordingly, at the time appointed he did appear

O 2

appear, and finished the whole.

Sin is therefore

fo nullified, that it is, as though the idea of it had never exifted as a crime in human

nature.

The nature of it was figured in the facrifices among the jews. There, a man fallen into fin brought an appointed beast to the altar: laid his hands upon his head and confeffed it: and thereupon the fin was diffolved and detached from the finner, and paffed over unto the beast: then the innocent beaft died, as if faulty and the faulty man lived, as if innocent. finner remained in poffeffion of existence, as if he had been worthy, and the finlefs beaft ceafed to be, as unworthy of life. This was a fhadow, and as it was intended for no more than a fhadow, must be imperfect.

The

Agreeable to the reprefentations made by thefe figures, when Jefus came to be the real facrifice, we fee in Ifaiah 53. 6. That the Lord laid upon him the iniquities of us all. Or as the margin has it, He caused to meet together upon him the iniquity of us all. Every thing foul or faulty,

that

that ever was or will be in the world, was fathered upon him. Every thing difhoneft and uncreditable, every thing void of sense and honor, either done or attempted, was made over unto him by transfer. Yea, all that was out of character and mifchievous to be found in the past, prefent, and future scene of finning; all that ever was thought, faid or done amifs, by man, woman or child, in the depth of antiquity or futurity, afcended together, and found him, and gathered about him, and faftened upon him. They were, I fay, fathered and fastened upon him: they were appropriated unto him: they were made wholly his own: came in contact with his mind: and, fenfibly touched his feelings.

And thus he ftood upon his legs, which indeed he could fcarce do, and looked round all the ages of time, and could fee no person in any century or period under difgrace but himfelf. He ftands forth, or rather hangs down his head, as if he was the only person in the world from firft to laft, who had acted unreafon. able. His confeffion upon the occasion we have pathetically delivered to us in the Pfalm 40. 12. Innumerable