mercy may be extended to them through the mediation. of an illustrious personage who hath undertaken their cause; and that in compliance with this gracious scheme, "God hath sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

God gave his Son, as the medium of conveying his pardoning mercy to the guilty who will turn from their wickedness, in the same manner as he affords particular persons the friendly assistance of their fellow-creatures; when without such assistance their temporal ruin would be the inevitable consequence of their wickedness and folly. And if we will receive him as our Saviour, and endeavour to obey his precepts, he will save us from all those spiritual punishments in a future state, which, without his mediation we would have been exposed to suffer. But not only did God appoint this method of our redemption; our Saviour himself loved us and gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and procure the remission of our sins; he interposed in such a manner as was necessary and effectual to prevent that execution of justice upon sinners, which God had resolved otherwise to execute upon them. The necessity of some mediatorial scheme thus appears to be founded on the principles by which the natural and moral government of God is conducted, since we find invariably that sin of every kind renders us liable to punishment, unless it is averted by the interference of a third person satisfying the demands of the one that has been injured, and restoring reconcili ation between the offended and the offender. God will not pardon us upon our repentance and amendment of life, but requires the substitution of a Mediator to make satisfaction for our past transgressions, and for every future violation of his laws. As perfect obedience must be rendered to magnify the law and make it honourable, and as this cannot be undertaken by ourselves, it must therefore be done in the person of our surety," who hath" accordingly "fulfilled all righteousness" in our behalf, done every thing requisite to procure the remission of our sins, and "suffered for us the just for the unjust, that he might

bring us unto God." "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus; for he hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us."

It was necessary according to the divine economy, that he should not only procure absolution for our past offences, by performing what we ourselves should have done; but also that he should secure us from the vindictive justice of the Deity, by sustaining all that wrath and indignation which we should have suffered as the consequence of guilt. Accordingly, scripture informs us, that "the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all; that he bare our sins in his own body on the tree; that the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." We are also assured, that his death was necessary as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, past, present, and future; that" once in the end of the world did he appear to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins; and that not by the blood of calves and of goats, but by his own blood, he hath entered into the holy place, having thereby obtained eternal redemption for us."

For this purpose, it was necessary that he should be a divine person to make an infinite atonement for the sins of mankind. For sin demands an infinite punishment, as it is a breach of the laws of an infinite God; and therefore we must either have suffered to all eternity, or if we were released, an infinite atonement was necessary to expiate our offences, which was only to be found in the person of Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever.

No created being, however illustrious, was found adequate to undertake our redemption; for they are all of finite power, and therefore could not render a sufficient ransom for our souls. Accordingly scripture represents the Almighty as saying, that he "looked and there was none to help; wondered there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought salvation to him, and his righteousness sustained him; and he laid our help upon one who was mighty to save."-This being the case, I proceed to consider,

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II. The nature of his mediation which was interposed for this purpose.

This is usually comprehended in the offices which he undertook to execute in order to accomplish our redemption. These may be easily understood from what he has done, and is still doing in our behalf. When he dwelt on earth in the form of humanity, he instructed mankind more fully than had been hitherto attempted, respecting the most important truths which are necessary to be known and believed for our edification and growth in grace. Thus he was our prophet to reveal to us the divine will; and this office was most necessary to be undertaken by our Redeemer. For, consider how much we required instruction on various particulars of which we were ignorant. We knew not the nature, perfections, or character of God, till our Lord declared them in the most explicit terms, and afforded various notices of him which are contained in the scriptures. Indeed who but a divine person could fully reveal any thing certainly respecting a Being so far surpassing our apprehensions. But our uncertain conjectures respecting the character of the Deity are now removed; for Christ our Mediator who is "his only begotten Son," and "who was in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

Also, our Saviour was most fully qualified to reveal the divine will and purposes, respecting the salvation of man. He was intimately acquainted with the counsels of the Eternal, for he was always by him as one brought up with him; he was daily his delight, and rejoiced before him" from the ages of eternity. Therefore whatever he declares respecting the will of God, must be certain and infallible.

But he has also discovered to us the condition in which human nature is now placed by original and actual transgression that we are in a state of condemnation, and that he came into the world for the purpose of seeking and saving us who were lost, and makes an offer of the divine mercy through his own mediation to all who should believe in his name, repent of their sins, and obey his com

mands. He declares that "God is" through him "willing to reconcile the world to himself, not imputing unto men their trespasses." He hath taught us to amend our lives, and bring forth the fruits of righteousness, delivered the most pure, holy, and perfect system of precepts for the regulation of our conduct, and revealed to us a future judgment, when "we shall all receive according to the deeds now done in the body, whether these have been good or evil." Thus, as a prophet, he hath performed an important and necessary office as our Mediator; since we could not have been assured of such truths, except by the instruction of the Son of God, who was in the beginning with his Father, and knew what was requisite to be revealed for our belief and practice in order to salvation.

When our Lord had finished the work of his public instructions on earth, he voluntarily submitted to death, offered up himself a sacrifice for sin, and thereby acted in the capacity of our priest. That the death of Christ was intended as an expiatory sacrifice to pacify divine wrath, and satisfy divine justice, is manifest both from the nature of vicarious institutions, and from the whole tenor of scripture respecting the sufferings of our Redeemer. The nature of an expiatory sacrifice was this; that the sin of a person was transferred to an animal, which was thereupon offered up to God, and suffered in the room of the of fenders; and by this oblation, the punishment of the sin being laid on the victim, an atonement was made for it, and the sinner was considered as reconciled to God. This was the design and effect of the sin and trespass offerings among the Jews, and more particularly of the scape goat which was offered up for the sins of the whole people on the day of expiation. Now, the sacrifices among the Jews were types of the great atonement which was to be made in the end of the world, by our Lord and Saviour, who was "to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself."

In what respect the victims offered among the Jews expiated ceremonial pollutions; or how the death of Christ was effectual to atone for the sins of mankind, scripture

does not inform us, farther than that God hath appointed them as means for obtaining forgiveness. It is usually supposed by divines, that the sins of the whole world were imputed to Christ; so that he bore in his agony on the cross a punishment equivalent to what the redeemed should have suffered to all eternity. But we are not au thorized from any thing which revelation discovers on this subject, to determine in what manner our sins were expiated, whether by a transference of our guilt to him, and a commutation of punishment; or, whether it was merely by the sovereign appointment of God, a positive means which he was willing to make use of, whereby he would pardon our sins, and reconcile us to his favour.-Scripture only assures us of the fact," that we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of his grace, by which he hath made us accepted in the beloved."

From the general tenor of holy writ on this subject, we are led to infer, that God intending to reconcile the world to himself, and to encourage sinners to repent and return to their duty, thought fit to offer the pardon of sin, and the other blessings of the gospel in such a way as should both indicate the guilt of sin, and his hatred of it; by appointing our Mediator to die as a sacrifice for expiating it before he would be propitious and merciful to us his offending offspring; that the death of Christ was accepted by God, instead of that punishment to which we were obnoxious: for "he suffered for our sins," the just for the unjust, that he might bring us unto God: he is an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling savour, and is set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God: who hath thus become just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus." Thus the sacrifice of Christ being offered, and God having accepted it, "there is now no condemnation to those who believe in Christ Jesus, and who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit."

But, it is to be considered that the remission of our