SECTION VII. 513 And first, let us begin with the atonement of Christ. The peculiar advantages that it has to promote all christian duties are such as these : I. It gives us a more areful and dreadful sense of sin, and awakens us by a more solenn motive to sincere and hearty repent- ance : For hereby it appears that sin is so highly offènsive to the blessed God, that he could not think fit to forgive it in his crea- tures, even where he designed to shew merey to them, without requiring some compensations for the honours of his broken law ; and that by such a glorious sacrifice as his own Son. Does not sin appear more hateful when God thought it requisite that such a divine person, who is One with the Father, should pay down: his life and blood, and yield to so many agonies of soul, if he would undertake toexpiate the guilt of it ? What is there in all the pretences of the death of Christ as a witness to the truth of his gospel, or as a mere representation of what our sins deserv- ed ; what is there, I say, in all this, comparable to the grand and awful idea, that the Son of God must be made a sacrifice beforethe evil of sin could be removed, even by a God of mercy and forgiveness ? -This more powerfully excites us to hate alt sin, and that with greater detestation; to seek the mortification of it with a warmer zeal, to mourn more sensibly for our past trans- gressions, and to walk with greater watchfulness for time to come, lest we again defile our souls with such abominations which the soul of God hates with so intense and irreconcileablea- hatred. H. This doctrine of the atonement of Christ for our sins, raises in us much more grand and sublime ideas bothof the jus- ticeand of the mercy of God, than if sin were pardoned, with- out an atonement, and teaches us to contemplate those perfections of the divine nature with double veneration andacknowledgment. By this means our religious fear of God will be greatly increased, and our love to him be inflamed to a much higher degree, as indeed the benefit of our forgiveness, when it is set in this- light, requires. Sinnerswill be more effectually deterred from ventur- ing to affront that justice which willnot suffer mercy itself topar- don sin without a satisfactionto the rights of government. Such justice will be more revered which would not spare the Son of God himself when he had undertaken to become a sponsor fer guilty creatures : And mercy will be adored. with so much greater gratitude, since God himself, the person offended, bath in his rich mercy found out and provided - such a fall satisfaction for his justice. I do but hint these things, Cavenor, in brief lan- guage to yourjudgment in this conversation, which if mentioned by a- preacher, would furnish out abundant matter for amplifica- tionand. oratory: III. The condescension, the compassion and love of our Nei-
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