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This is the only argument for the Dr's purpose, that can be formed out of the words before us. But every body must see, that the conclufion of it is wrong drawn: for the only conclufion, that follows from the premises, is this, therefore the blood by which Chrift hath redeemed us, is precious blood; a conclufion, which will do nothing for the Doctor.

Among the Jews, all lambs that were without fpot and blemish, or bodily imperfection, were precious lambs, or lambs of value and worth: but all lambs, that were without fpot and blemish, did not make atonement for fin, merely because they were without spot and blemish, or lambs of value and worth: No lambs, however perfect or valuable, ever did, or could do this, unlefs they were killed, and offered to God in the way appointed by him. The natural perfection of their bodily parts rendered them fit for being offered in facrifice; but it did not conftitute a facrifice: nothing but their death, and the oblation of them to God in the way prescribed by him, did this. Juft fo, the perfect piety and goodness of Jefus Chrift qualified him for being offered in facrifice; but they did not constitute that facrifice of himself which he offered to God for fin; nor could they, of themselves, ever have availed to make atonement for fin, in the way of facrifice. Nothing could do

this,

this, but the fhedding of his blood, the pouring out his foul to death, and the offering himself a flain victim to God. Wherefore, no argument can be taken from the confideration of him, as a lamb without Spot and blemish, to prove, that his perfect obedience and goodness was the blood or facrifice by which he redeemed us; any more than an argument can be taken from the natural or bodily perfection of lambs in the land of Judea, to prove, that the natural perfection of these lambs, as being without Spot and blemish, was the facrifices which made atonement for the fins of the Jews. So that there is nothing of argument in what the Dr. here advances.

The Dr's Scripture-evidence continued.

§. 13. IV. To prove that the blood or facrifice, which Chrift offered for fin, was his perfect obedience and goodness, the Dr. fays further, "The end of his coming into "the world was to do the will of God, Heb. x. 7. (John v. 30.-vi. 38.) not to offer figurative or ceremonial facrifices, but to perform folid and fubftantial obedience, "in all acts of usefulness and beneficence "to mankind; by which he became a

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high-prieft after the order of Melchizedec, "the king of righteousness, and the king of "peace or happiness, Heb. vii. 2. And hẹ

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"abode in his father's love, or continued to be the object of his complacency and delight, because he kept his comandments."

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ANSWER.

S. 14. BECAUSE our bleffed Lord had received a commandment from the Father, (John x. 18.) to lay down his life for his Sheep, his laying it down for them, in a voluntary manner, was a folid and subftantial act of obedience to his will, or a doing of his will. And it is the doing of the will of God, by this particular act of obedience, and not by the obedience and goodnefs of his whole life, that is mentioned as an end of his coming into the world, Heb. x. 7. This feems to be very evident from ver. 10. where it is faid, By which will (of God, done by Chrift,) we are fanctified, by the offering of the body of Chrift once. This is the fcripture account of this affair. But how the Dr. or any other perfon, fhould be able to infer from it, that the blood, which Chrift fhed upon the cross to make atonement for fin, was the perfect obedience and goodness of his whole life, "in all acts of usefulness and beneficence to "mankind;" or, that his perfect obedience and goodness was "the facrifice which he "offered to God for the fin of the world," is a thing above my comprehenfion. These,

in my humble opinion, are very wide and wrong confequences. The Dr. furely, could not think, that though it was not the end of Christ's coming into the world to offer facrifices of flain beafts, yet it was not to offer himself, his own foul or life, a facrifice to God; or that his making his foul, or life, an offering for fin, which was one act of obedience only, was the perfect obedience and goodness of his whole life; or, that the doing of God's will in one particular, is not a doing of his will, because it is not a doing of it in all things: and yet he must call in one or other of thefe abfurd fentiments to his affiftance, before he can make what he advances here, fubfervient to his purpose.-The only refemblances between Chrift and Melchizedec, of which the fcripture gives us any account, regard either the double office of king and priest, which they both executed; or their moral qualifications for thefe offices; or the unchangeableness of their priesthood, in which neither of them had any predeceffor or fucceffor; and not the facrifices which they offered, as the Dr. would have it. And, indeed, as it is highly probable, that the facrifices, which Melchizedec offered, were of the animal kind, there could be no fimilitude between thefe facrifices, and that which Chrift offered. We no where read, that Melchizedeç offered himself to God a

facrifice

facrifice for fin; or that he offered his obedience and righteousness as a facrifice. And, therefore, if what the Dr. fays of Jefus Chrift, as being, by his perfect righteousness and goodness, "made a priest af

ter the order of Melchizedec," was really true, (as there is reason to think, it is not,) yet this would make nothing for his purpofe.

The Dr. adds, "Chrift abode in his Fa"ther's love, or continued to be the object "of his complacency and delight, because "be kept his commandments."-This is what the fcripture affirms, and is very true. But I cannot fee, how it can fubferve the Dr's purpose in any imaginable refpect. Surely, from Chrift's abiding in his Father's love, because he kept his commandments, it will not follow, that his fhedding his blood upon the cross, which was one act of obedience only, was all the acts of his obedience, or the perfect obedience and goodness of his whole life; or even, that the acceptableness of his blood and death to God did depend on the acceptableness of all the other acts of his obedience: for all the acts of his obedience were equally, and on the very fame account, acceptable to God, viz. because they were acts of obedience to his will. His act of obedience, in dying upon a crofs, was as acceptable to God, as any other fingle act of obedience whatsoever,

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