3ERbI. XXXV.) THE ATONEMENT bF CHRisír. 75 son and their awakened consciences. And this is no where to be found in so evident and complete a manner, as in the deathof Christ. Il. The very first "discoveries of grace, which were made to man after his fall, implied in them something of an atonement for sin, and pointed to the propitiation which Christ has now made ; Gen. iii. 15, i &c. The first appearance of grace was the promise given, that the " seed of the woman should bruise the head of the ser- pent," that is, he should abolish the guilt, mischief, and misery that sin and the tempter had introduced : But in order to do this, the woman's seed must have his heel bruised, must sustain some personal sufferings.. Immediately after this, sacrifices of beasts were inAti- tuted* as a type and prefiguration ofsome future glorious sacrifice and atonement that should be made to God for the sins of men, Ntw it is the very notion ofan expiatory sacrifice, as I have shewn before, that some creature is provided to stand in the room of the original transgressor and tobear his guilt and suffer punishment in his stead, that thereby the transgressor having his guilt taken away, may be de- livered and saved. And when Adamwas ordered to put a beast to death which had not sinned, in order to wor- ship or honour God by it, and when he found that he hiníself who had sinned, was not put to death, it was not hard for hint to understand that the beast was put to death in his, room and stead : And it is not unlikely that God told him so. Let us consider further, that it is exceeding probable, when the " Lord God made coats of skins for Adam and his wife," Gen. iii. 21. these were the skins of the beasts * Though we have no express revelation in scripture, that sacrifices were now instituted, yet there is abundant reason to believe it ; For, I. Abel offered bloody sacrifices. Now we can hardly suppose that Adam or Abel would everìnvent such a strange ceremony to please God with it ; Norcould reason ever dictate to them, that God, their Creator, would be pleased with such a bloody practice, as cutting his living creatures to pieces, and then burning them with fire. Nor would God who is so jealous of his prerogative in matters of worship, ever have shewn his ac- ceptance of theserites, if he himselfhad not appointed them.. 2. Though we do not read that Adam offered sacrifice, yet it was plain he was not permitted to eat flesh; and therefore it is more probable, that when he killed beasts, it was for sacrifices: And God taught him to make cloth- ing for himself out of their skins, This was immediately after the fall.
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