( 73 ) HYMN FOR SERMON XXXIV THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST. COMMON METRE. HOW is our nature spoil'dby sin ! Yet nature ne'er hath found The way to make the conscience clean, Or heal the painful wound. In vain we seek for peace with God By methods of our own: Jesus, there's nothing but thy blood Can bring us near the throne. the threat'nings of thebroken law I apress our souls with dread IfGod his sword of vengeance draw, It strikes our spirits dead. But thy illustrious sacrifice Ilath answer'd these demands: And peace and pardon from the skies Come down by Jesus' hands. Here all the ancient types agree, The altar and the lamb : And prophets in their visions see Salvation through his naine. 'Tis by thy death we live, OLord; 'Tis on thy cross we rest: For ever be thy love ador'd, Thy name fur ever blest. SERMON XXXV THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST. nou . iii. 25. Whom God hath set forth to be 'a propitiation, HAVING explained the manner in which Christ is a propitiation for sin ; I come in the Second place, to propose some reasons to evince the truth of this doctrine, namely, That God hath ordained his Son Jesus to be our propitiation or sacrifice ofatone- ment. And here I shall proceed by degrees, from some apparent probabilities, to more evident and convincing proofs. I. The first reason I shall give for it is this, that an atonementfor sin, and an effectual method to answer the demands of an offended God, is the first great blessing which guilty mankind stood in need of: but the powers of nature could never procure it, nor could the light,of reason ever shew them how to obtain it : Now it is 'the design of the gospel of Christ to supply the wants and deficiencies ofguilty nature, that is both impotent and blind; it is to introduce an effectual reconciliation he-
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