ISISC. VI.] THE ATONEMENT OF'CHRÍST MANIFESTI:IY. 20â last place,, God would not deal thus with his holy pro- phets of the Old Testament, and his apostles in the New,. whether Jews or christians, to make _therm the ministers of a shewy and shadowy dispensation, which had no sub- stantial and everlastingblessings belonging to it. III. Rem. What a divine and distinguishing blessing is it to us, in this age and this nation, that the doctrine of the pardon of sin, by the atoning blood of the Lamb, has been preached to us from our infancy, and yet conti- nues to be preached to us by the ministersof the gospel ? O blessed be God, that we arenot found in those popish nations, where the priests would teach us to trust in masses and penances, in long and idle repetitions of formal prayers in Latin, and merits of the saints, and useless addresses to them, represented in figures of silver, or gold, -wood or stone, or brass, in order to reconcile us to God ; in sprinklings with holy water, and other fooleries, instead of the only appointed sacrifice of the Son of God, whereby they Make void the blessed gospel of Christ, and overwhelm it with their superstitious in- ventions ? How sad a thing would it be for us, if we were left upon a' dying pillow, and had no, other' hopes but these to rest our souls upon ? ; Here it maynot be improper to give an answer to this objection.: If this doctrine of the atoning blood of the Lamb that was slain, be so glorious in itself; and so needful to dur salvation, how comes it to pass that our Saviour speaks so little of it in the whole of his mini- stry, while he was three years preaching among the towns of the Jews ? Answer. See a large and full answer to this objec- tion in my sermon on the Atonement of. Ch2°ist ; (VoL. I.) and urther inswers are repeated in my treatise of Orthodox] and Charity united, in the three last pages of the First Essay of the Substance and Matter of the Gospel. Another objection may be raised- here : If this doc- trine be-so glorious, and so very needful, How comes it to-pass, that it is so much neglected among men that pro- fess 'christianity ? And that men who believe it, are no more affected with it ? Answer. 1. Though a thing be never so useful and necessary, yet the mere commonness of these things VOL. iii. V
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