S&RM. XXXV i1 iOP C3IRIST'S ATONEMENT. 109 'ix. 1?. Christ by, his. own .blood entered. into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for ,Did tlrè cursed guilt of our sins bring theSon -of God, down from heaven th earth, -did .it sniiteahim to - death, and layhim low in the grave Butthe poorer of his corn- :plete atonement has broken the bonds of death and the grave ; this has brought him back to life again; and has =raised him from earth to heaven ; and by the sarne blood of his cross he has opened an effectual way for our rising from the dead, and our final admission into the: place of blessedness. As Aaron the Jewish high -priest might not dare to venture into the holy ofholies without the blood of expiation, so Christ our great High-priest, when he had once taken our sins upon him, might not ascend to heaven into -the_presence of God, till in the language of scripture he could carry his blood with him, till 'he could :show a full atonement. Now that very same blood. and sacrifice which gave Christ himself a joyful admission into heaven, who was the great Shepherd and the Re- presentative of his people, will alsogive every one ofhis sheep a safe and Orions entrance into the presence of God. This ive. may hope for with a chearful hear, when our departing spirits are called away from this lower world. And for the further joy of our faith, we should remember also; that in the virtue of the same blood we shall be raised from the grave : The grave shall obey the voice of him that died for us ; for he has ransomed us from the power of it. Then the sJul:and body ofevery disciple of Christ shall be introduced with divine accept- ance to dwell where Jesus is, and to behold' his:glory ; John xvii. 24. .Reflection.. Why then art thou so terrified, Omy soul, at. the thoughts of,dying? Why all these shudder - ings of.th.e flesh, and these agonies'òf spirit.at the appre- henhiòns of death and the:grave? Are the sins of thy life great and numerous ? Do they throng in upon thy con- science, and: fill thy thoughts with tumult and terror ? Remember the time, the dark and dismal hour, when Jesus thy Saviour bore all those very sins:in his own bo- dy on the- tree : There the demands of Divine Justice were all answered, and sin has now no power to con- demn the saint, nor has death power to .hurt him 'in his asst interests ; Rom. viii:.. 34. ` Who shall eonderrarr ?
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