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Ought not Chrift to have fuffered these things, and to enter into his glory? Luke xxiv. 25. And again, he said to the whole body of difciples, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Mofes, and in the prophets, and in the pfalms concerning me.-Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Chrift to fuffer, and to rife again from the dead the third day. Ib. ver. 44, 46. St. Peter made the fame declaration to the Jews in his preaching, after our Saviour's death; Thofe things which God before had fhewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Chrift fhould fuffer, he hath fo fulfilled. Acts iii. 18. And in the fame manner St. Paul addreffes them; They that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor uet the voices of the prophets which are read every fabbath-day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. Chap. xiii. 27. So that the arguments against any part of our Lord's mediatorial character, which are drawn from the ignorance of the Jews refpecting it, are evidently invalid, because it appears clearly that they did not know his real character.*

8. " Though

* I am quite at a lofs how to reconcile this argument against the doctrine of atonement with our author's own fentiments; for he frequently fpeaks of the antient predictions of our Lord's fufferings and death, without gi

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8. " Though our Saviour frequently explains the reafon of his coming, and the neceffity of his fuffering, it is never on any fuch account," viz. that of making atonement. Ib.

Our Lord appears to have paid fome attention to the prejudices of the Jews, in the things which he fpake concerning himself; and the chief fubjects of his preaching feem to have been thofe, which would lead them to receive him under his proper character, when all things neceffary to afcertain that character were accomplished. He taught the truth to his moft intimate and faithful difciples in a gradual manner, as they were able to bear it; and profeffed to them a little before. his death, that he ftill left many things unfaid, which he would afterwards teach them by his Spirit; I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit, when he the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. He fhall glorify me: for he fhall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John xvi. 12, 13. We ought, therefore, to look for these things in the writings of the apostles; and we may reafonably conclude, that the truths referred to by our Lord were thofe, which his fufferings and refurrection would

ving the least intimation that he thinks them either ́unintelligible or obfcure. See Theological Repofitory, vol. 1. P. 129. 341, &c.

would make more plain and intelligible. If then we find it declared in the apoftolic writings, that one defign of our Saviour's death was to make atonement for fin, we have no reason to doubt of the truth of this declaration, though our Lord had not given the least intimation of fuch a defign. But many intimations of this were given during his abode on. earth, though it was not taught fo explicitly before as after his fufferings. At the first introduction of our Saviour into his miniftry, his great herald pointed him out as one who fhould make atonement for fin; Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the fin of the world. John i. 29.* This was a very uncouth fimilitude, if Chrift took away our fin only by his doctrine and example; for lambs never took away fin in this manner, nor in any other manner but that of expiatory facrifices; and St. Peter intimates, that the death of Chrift bore this relation to our redemption; re were not redeemed with corruptible things as filver and gold, from your vain converfation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Chrift, AS OF A LAMB without blemish and without Spot. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. ||

Our

* The author of the Appeal claffes this text amongst those in which Chrift is represented as a facrifice. Theological Repofitory, vol. 1. p. 125.

Should any one object, that the redemption here fpoken of is from the power of fin, which was not the pro

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Our Lord informed his disciples, that he fhould give his flesh for the life of the world. John vi. 51. And added, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. This expreffion Ver. 53. is undoubtedly figurative, but the figure is quite unnatural if Chrift died merely as a teacher of divine truth; but if his death is to be confidered as a facrifice, then the figure of feeding upon him is eafy and familiar. Knowledge is often reprefented, in metaphorical language, as the food of the mind; but the expreffion of feeding upon the teacher himself, merely as a teacher, was probably never heard of. St. Paul fays, I have fed you with milk, i.e. the most plain doctrines of Chriftianity, and not with strong meat, i. e. the more obscure; but he never talks of feeding christians with his flesh and blood; nor do we find any declarations of St. Peter's flesh being meat indeed, and his blood drink indeed.

When our Lord, at the inftitution of that ordinance which was defigned to perpetuate the remembrance of his death, informed us, that his blood was fhed for the remission of fins,

per effect of expiatory facrifices; it should be remembered, that a true faith in Chrift, by which we partake of the benefits of his facrifice, is always attended with holiness of life, and therefore our deliverance from the guilt and power of fin are always fuppofed to accompany one another, though one of them is often specified alone when our falvation is spoken of in fcripture.

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and that the new covenant was in or through his blood, he furely gave an intimation, at least, that his death bore the relation of a facrifice to us, and was the confideration on which our pardon is granted according to the terms of the new covenant.

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9. "When our Saviour describes the proceedings of the day of judgment, he doth "not represent the righteous as referring "themselves to the fufferings or merit of "their judge for their juftification; and the judge himself exprefsly grounds it on their "good works only." Ib.

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The conclufion which our author means to establish by this argument is, that our justification is not grounded on the sufferings or merit of our judge, but on our good works only. If this is his meaning, and I do not fee what elfe he can mean, he has argued as much against his own doctrine, as against that he opposes; for he tells us in his Appeal, p. 18, "That no man who is a finner (and all men "have finned) can be justified by his works. "We all ftand in need of, and must have re"course to free-grace and mercy." But our Saviour does not reprefent the righteous as referring themselves at the day of judgment to the free grace and mercy of God for their justification, but exprefsly grounds it on their good works only; therefore, according to our author's

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