RO TAE ATONEMENT OF CTtRPST. [SEEM. XX king, and continued them in his political favour, or rector- ed them to it, after some breach of the Jewish laws. 'hhis seems to be the sense of the apostle, Heb. ix. 13. " The blood of bulls and goats sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh," as well as of many expressions in the books of 1\Ioses. And yet these same sacrifices might make a typical atonement for their moral guilt in the sight of (7od, considered as their God, that is, as the Lord of conscience, and the God of the souls of men : And all this with adirect aspect upon the sacrifice of Christ, the great and real atonement that was to come And indeed,' the next Tords? Heb. ix. 14. intimate so Much, " How much, more shall the blood of Christ purge your consci-' ences from dead works ? that is, from -works of sin which deserve death in the sight or judgment òf God,. considered as the supreme Lord ofsouls and consciences. These sacrifices, I say, could make but a typical atone- ment for moral guilt in the sight of God, considered as' their God ; for it is sufficiently evident to any thinking mind, that it was not possible for' the blood of bulls and 'goats to take away sin," as committed against a God ; Heb. x. iv. And therefore the Jews themselves, when they had offered their chief sacrifice of yearly ex- piation, had not so clear, so full, and so. satisfactory a peace in their consciences, as the gospel of Christ be- stoves on Christians ; The apostle says; verse 1, 2. " the corners thereunto were not made perfect ; " for if they had " the worshippers once purged, would haveno: vnore conscience of sin," or sense of guilt. " Wherefore, when Christ came into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering, that is, -of bulls and goats, thou wouldst not, for they were not sufficient, but a body hast thou prepared me ;" and for what end this was done, the following verses tell us, that sinners might be purified from the guilty defilements of sin, " through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, verse 10. Thus the blessed God, who designed in due time to make his own rSon an atonement for sinners, did early give some emblematical notices of this divine atonement to those few who were taught to understand them And in this manner he kept alive in the world ` thehope of some such glorious future transaction, which should be the ground -workof peace between GOcl and men, hy: the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=