SEEM. XXXIV. THE ATONEMENT OP CHRIST. C9 Thus I. have endeavoured tó perform the first thing I proposed, and that was to shew In what manner I con- ceive of the Son of God becoming an atonement for the sins of men. Far be it from me, to imagine that every one must believe these things just after the same order,' and in the same manner in which I have learned tocon-' ceive of them: Several learned and piousmen have ex- plained the manner of this atonement in another way : But they agree in the doctrine of a proper satisfaction' for sin. Different persons behold the representation of these great and important things of christianity in differ ent lights: And though, according to my measure of knowledge in the scripture, this manner of conception of the atonement of Christ seems most agreeable to the wordof God, yet, I am fully persuaded, God has never made salvation to depend upon a nice exactness ofsenti- ment about the mere order ofranging these divine disco- veries, or about the precise logical relations of the suf-, ferings of Christ, to our sins, or to our pardon. Who- soever sincerely confesses and repents of sin, and trusts in the all- sufficient atonement and sacrifice of Christ, to remove the guilt of it, has abundant assurance from scripture, that the blood of JesusChrist will cleanse him from all sin, and that the Son of God has. been, and will 'be his High-priest, to reconcile him to God the Father. THE RECOLLECTION. It becomes me now to reflect on what I have heard this day. The atonement of Christ is one of the chief glories, and most surprising wonders of my religion : It is the ground of my hope, it is the very life of my soul. Here I have been learning the several transactions of the great God, the Creator and Ruler of the world, with all the children of men from the beginning of their creation. The light of nature informs me in an imper- fect manner, and the scripture with much brighter evi- dence assures me, that I was made under the law, and not born to live at random, according to the wild dic- tates of appetite and passion. I am informed also, my Creator has guarded the honour of his law with indig- nation and wrath, with pain of the flesh, and anguish of the mind, and death itself, as the penalties to be in- flicted on those that break it. A law divinely wise and righteous, and a' sanction of solemn and divine terror 1 Y:3
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