SECTION VII. STi meresupposition of his death as an attestation to the truth of his doctrine, or as a mere emblem of what our sins deserved. Let me represent the matter to you, Cavenor, in this manner : Suppose a wholeprovince under the dominionof somegreat king should have rebelled against him, and as he has shewn himself upon all occasions a prince of strict justice, so he has made it appear that he has equal sentiments of compassion and mercy : Suppose this offended sovereign should send his only Son with a message of forgiveness to all that would lay down their arms and return to their allegiance, and should appoint him to yield up his life to discover how sincere he was in the delivery of his Father's message : Or suppose he should be required to die in their sight, in order to represent to them to them that each one of all those millions of rebels had deserved death ; I grant there would be some encouragement for these traitors to repent and return to their duty, and trust in the mercy of their king : Though by the way, this king would seem to be not over-wise, if he were so lavish of the life and blood of his own Son, as to appoint a person of his dignity to die for two such purposes, as a much meaner and more ignoble life might attain. But now on the other hand, suppose he should send them a much kinder message by his Son, viz. that though they had been guilty of such rebellion, yet he was very unwilling so large a province of his dominion should perish, and yet his laws and his government demanded their lives, unless some surety or substi- tutecould be found whohad dignity enough to equal the valueof all the guilty number, and at the same time had compassion enough to stand in their stead, and to becomea sacrifice for them : Suppose then that the King's Son himself by the Father's ap- pointment should give up himself as a surety and sacrifice to die in their room, and to redeem their lives with his own, with assur- ance that every repenting criminal should enjoy the benefit ofthis redemption. As this would be a much more abundant evidence of the justice and mercy of the king, would it not also encourage . the faith and hope of the poor guilty creatures in his forgiveness to a much superior degree, when they saw the royal sacrifice as their surety bleeding before them ? Such is the goodness of the Son of God ; such is the mercy of the Father ; and now the sinners amongst mankind who repent and trust in this merey, may be more abundantly assured of forgiveness,for they can say, God is not onlyfaithful to his word, but just to his Son_ in forgiving penitent ()(}'enders ; he isfaithful and just toforgive us our sins, for the blood of Jesus Christ his Son redeemetle and eleanseth us front all unreghteousness ;. I John i. 7, 9. Ile will neverexact the dreadful punishment of the principal offenders since he has received so honourable a satisfaction from the surety. Here is justice itself as well as mercy engaged on' the side of forgiveness, Vox.. IV. 0 o
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