576 THE SACRIFICE OE CHRIST. sed Saviour is represented in a much more glorious light by this doctrine of his suffering as a sacrifice in the room andstead of guilty creatures, and it should engage our returns in love in a much higher proportion. Pray, Cavenor, think with yourself, should a person come down from heaven to preach to you forgive- ness of sins upon repentance, and in order to assure you of the truth and authority of his cotilnìission, should he expose himself to death to bear witness to his message, or should he suffer him- self to be put to death to shew you in emblem what your sins required ; would this represent his love and compassion to you in half so high a degree, as if you who are the offender were de- manded by God himself to terrible and eternal execution, unless you could find a surety to suffer for you, and the blessed Jesus stepped forth and freely became your surety, and had the agonies and the anguish of death executedupon him in your stead ; and suppose thereupon you were not only released from bonds, but had also a title to eternal life given you on the account of what he had done and suffered ? Methinks the love manifested in the one case above the other is superior to all comparison, and demands a more abundant measureof our gratitude and affection. As for the mereproof of his 'commission to publish pardon to penitents, the miracles of Christ effected this much more than his death could do : Nay his death couldnever have clone it with- out hismaracles. All that his voluntary death could pretend to, was towitness his own sincerity in bringing this message, but it could never of itself prove this message tobe divine. And asfor the demonstration of what our sins deserved, this was perhaps more effectually manifested to the world in emblem by bleeding lambs and bullocks every day, month, and year, than by the sin- gle death of Christ once in six thousand years. But neither miracles, nor bullocks, nor lambs, nor wonders wrought, nor bleeding beasts sacrificed, couldever express such amazing pity and love as the, Son of God expressed by dying as our surety, agonizing in the midst of torments whichyou should have suffer- ed, and expiring in your stead. Would not this excite and kin- dle your love to a dying Saviour in a much superior degree toall the representations and pretences of Agrippa'screed : And would you not think all your zeal andyour future diligence in obedience infinitely his due, who had done and suffered so much for you ? These thoughts were doubtless warm and powerful in the heart of the blessed apostle, when he is crucified and grows dead to every thing by the cross of Christ, when he livesonly to the ser- viee of Christ, who loved me, milli he, and gave himselffor ene.. IV. Our faith and hope in the pardoning grace of God is greatly encouraged, and confirmed, and exalted tomach higher degrees by the appearance of Christ's dying as a surety and substitute in our room and stead, than ever it could be by the
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