ments of Sin. For if the Blood of Bulls and Goats, and the Abes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean, fancti.

fieth to the purifying of the Flesh; how much more shall the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit of. fered himself without Spot to God purge your Consciences from dead Works, to serve the living God? Chap. ix. ver. 11-15. The Blood oi Chrili cannot make that not to have been done which was once done; nor that not to be an Ofence, which in the Nature of it is an Offence; much less could the Blood of a Call or a Goat. But as, in the o e Ca'e, the Offence notwith. standing the Offender, in virtue of the Sacrifice, was, in View and Construction of Law, or as to all Purposes of legal Privilege, considered and treated as guilciels; fo in the other, we, though Sinners, are, through the Blood of Christ, accounted as righteous, and as such accepted to the Privilege of eternal Life. To the same Purpose a little after : Almost ali Things are by the Law purged with Blood, and without shedding of Blood is no Remission. It was therefore necessary, that the Patterns of the 7 hings in the Heavens Juould be purified with these, but the Heavenly Things then felves with better Sacrifices than theje, ver. 22, 23. The Patterns of the Things in the Heavens, or of the Heavenly Things, fig. nify the legal Osconomy, as jvadozzing out the Evange. lical, which is the Dispensation of Things per:aining to a better Life, as the Law was a Difpensation of Things pertaining to this And what the Apostle here fays is to this Effeet, chat the Sacrifices appointed under the one must needs be inferior in Nature and Efficacy to those appoined under the other, inasmuch as the Subjtance is more worc y than the Shadow. It is to this purpose he peaks a litile below, Chap. x. ver. 1-4. For the Law having a Shadoze of good Things to come can never with those Sacrifices which they offered up Year by Year continually make the Comers thereunto perfeet. It is not possible that the Blocd of Bulls and Goats should take arvay Sin. To this the Law itself gave ample Confession, by the frequent Repetition of its Sacrifices, which the Apostle allo notes, ver. 2, 3.

a

Then (says he) i. e. if the Law had made the Comers thereunto perfect, would they have ceased to be of. ferei, because that the Worshippers once purged should have had no more, Conscience of Sins ; but in those Sao crifices there is a Remembrance of Sins made again every Year. But what the Apostle denies of the legal Sacrifices, that he' affirms of the Sacrifice of Christ, as it follows' ver. 11. And every High Priest Randeth daily ministring and offering oftentimes the same Sacrifice, which can never take away Sins. But this Man (Christ) after he had offered one Sacrifice for Sins, for ever sat down at the right Hand of God, from thenceforth expecting till his Enemies be made his Footfool. For by one of fering he hath perfected for ever ebem that are sanctified. Again, Chap. ix. ver. 24-28. Clorift is not entered into the holy Places made with Hands, which are the Figures of ibe true, but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the Presence of God for us. Nor get that he should offer bimself often, as the High Priest entereth every rear into the Holy Place with the Blood of others : But now once in the End of the World hath he appeared to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto Men önce to die, but after this the Judge ment ; lo Christ was once offered to bear the Sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall be appear the second Time, without Sin unto Salvation. God hath left this Testimony of his Displeasure against Sin, that all the Sons of Adam are subject to the Law of Mortality (for otherwise the Threatning, in the Day that thou eates thereof ihou shalt surely die, would have been absolutely without Effect.) But this is but for once, and for a Time; for Christ is to appear a second Time, in order to judge the World, when all Enem:ies shall be put under his Feet ; and as Sin is done away by his Sacrifice, fo Death shall be destroyed by the Resurrection from the Dead.

This is the plain Scripture Do&trine ; and without it, it will be impossible to give a consistent Account of many Passages in Scripture relating to Christ and his Minifry. There are those who consider jesus Chrif

;

fimply under the Norion of a Prophet, sent to declare the Will of God, and to leave us an Example of Hu. mility and Patience. But consistenly with the Scripfure Accounts of him this cannot be. For, l. The Apoftle pla.nly diftinguishes Chrijit from the Prophets. God, uho ai lundry I imes, and in divers Manners, Spake in Time paji unto the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in these lan Days spoken unto us ký his Son, Heb. i. 1. Chrif therefore was not merely a Prophet, but more than a Prophet; and yet if he came only to declare the Will of God to Mankind, in what Refpe&t did he differ from the Prophets that went before him ? 2. With respect to his Nature and Dignity, he was the son of God, the Meir of all I hings, the Brightness of bus Fa. ther's Glors, and the express Image of his Person; HE by when the Worlds were made, and who upholdeth all Things by the Word of bis Forer. This greai, this divine Person, far above all Angels and every Name that is named, condescended to take upon bimself Flesh a od Blood

For what? Merely to be a Preacher of Righteousness ? An Office which the lowest of the Sons of Men, instructed with Power and Authority from God, might and did execute as fuccefsfully as he! The Apostles were the Preachers of the Goriel, and more eminently were they so clian Chriji

, who if he came for nothing else but to preach, you will not easily reconcile his Office to his bigh Original, nor account for the shore Period of his Ministry; for within the Compass of about three Years preaching, not to all the World (which by one Man, in such a Space of Time, could not be) but to his Countrymen only, all was finished by his Death. And here arises a new Diffi culty; for 3. Why, it may reasonably be asked, was Christ crucified ? Why did Goj lay this Burden upon him? Why did it behove Chrif to suffer ? Say what you please, That it was to confirm his Doctrine,

That it was to give an Example of Patience to his Followers; or whatever else you can think of, but one ; you will never be able to distinguish him in this Respect from the lealt of his Apostles, who were all

proceed:

delivered unto Death for the Gospel sake. Yet St. Paul aiks, Was Paul crucified for you * ? No; Paul was not crucified. But Paul suffered as much, and was at last a Martyr to his Religion; and his Blood had as much the Virtue of a Testimony, and an Example, as the Blood of Christ. But Paul's Blood had not the Virtue of a PROPITIATION. This is the true specific D.fference which makes Sense of the Question, and solves ail Difficulties. For it will not be hard to fupple, that when the Sins of all the World were to be laid upon one, the E!erna! Son of God, both God and Man, might, in the Wisdom of God, appear to be ibe only Perfon qualified to bear them; nor that, when the chief, or rather fole, End of his coming in the fleth was to die for us, he fiould, after a very fhort Stay on Earth, through Death, return again to God, and leave the Miniitry of the Word to other Hau.ds.- -To

The Declaration of this gracious Parpose of God to restore Life and Immortality by or through the Sacri. fice of Christ, is strictly and properly To Eúzłyérov, THE GOSPEL. The Gospel is good News or glad Tidings ; as Luke ii. 10. Behold I bring you GOOD TIDINGS of great Joy, which shall be to all People. What these good Tidings were, the following Words Thew ;-For unto you is born this Day, in the City of David, a SAVIOUR, which is Christ the Lord. So Aals xiii. 32. And we declare unto you GLAD T.. DINGS,

mise was fulfilled which was made to the Fathers, i.e. the Promise of the Forgiveness of Sins, and Jufti. fication unto Eternal Life. But it is carefully to be observed, that the Offer of Reconciliation by the Gof. pel is not an absolute A& of Graco, but à Declaracion of Pardon and Acceptance to those only who believe, under the Qualification of Repentance and good Works. The Scriptures suppose a general Defečtion in Mankind from the Law of God, to which they are called back by the preaching of the Gospel, and all who, qualified by Repentance, shall accept the Gofpel, and rely upon the Mercies of God in Chrif for Salvation, are, actually, in a State of Reconciliation with God, i.e. their past Sins are freely forgiven, and they stand intitled to Eternal Life, on Condition of future Obedience. But as without the Gospel all Men were Sinners, fo Faith in Chrif notwithftanding, all are ftill Sinners; for the Gospel doth not qualify us for Perfection. The Gospel requires Repentance ; and Repentance is nothing less than a returning back to the Obedience of the Law from which we have swerved. But perfect Obedience is no where to be found ; no where to be expected, either without the Gospel, or with the Gospel: The Consequence of which is, that as it is by the Grace of God in Chrif that our past Sins are forgiven when we come to the Gospel, so it is by the same Grace that our imperfect Obedience is accepted whilft we live under the Gospel ; and to both must be applied what St. Paul says, Rom. iii. 23, 24. We are justified freely by his Grace through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus. For all have finned and come short of the Glory of God. And this is what he means when he says, (ver. 28.) A Man is juftified by Faith (zweis žgwr vóme) without the Deeds of the Law: The Apostle's Meaning, I say, is no: that Obedience contributes nothing to our Salvation, or that we may be saved by Christ, whether we are obedient or not; but that we cannot claim upon our Obedience, because our Works are not perfect before God. By Faith we may claim the Promises of God, to which

our