us; together with the other things with which he has connected it, in his scheme of redemption, as followeth ; Firft. By the death or facrifice of Christ, the Dr. understands the perfect obedience and goodness of his whole life, here on earth; as we have feen already. Secondly. He makes the death of Christ, or his perfect obedience and goodness, to be the reafon of the remiffion of fins, or a reason with God, for granting the remiffion of them; of which we have had feveral hints already; and we shall see more to the fame purpose, in the next chapter, Thirdly. The remiffion of fins, for the grant of which the Dr. makes the death of Chrift, or his perfect obedience and goodnefs, a reafon with God, is an abfolute and full remiffion of them, confifting in a full discharge from death and every penal evil. For he calls it, a full and eternal redemption; falvation in the most perfect kind, and highest degree; a general pardon ‘; an exemption from punishment, and a new and glorious ftate of being in eternal life ; remiffion of fin, in a full discharge from death, and every penal evil, and the gift of eternal See Scripture-doctrine of Atonement examined, Chap. XI. §. 190. Ibidem, Chap. VIII. §. 142. Ibidem, Chap. VII. §. 123, Ibidem, Chap. X. §. 160. * nal life.. Hence it clearly appears, that the remiffion of fins, for the grant of which the Dr. makes the death, or the perfect obedience and goodness of Jefus Chrift, a reafon with God, includes an absolute and full discharge from all punishment, in connection with the gift of eternal life, or a glorious and happy state in eternal life. ' Fourthly. The Dr. confiders this abfolute and full remiffion of fins as being obtainable, upon repentance, at any time, even in articulo mortis. This is evident from his ઃઃ faying, "That a penitent finner (without any limitation of time,) is in the fitteft ftate to receive pardon; and that God is readily difpofed to forgive thofe who truly " repent, and turn from their evil ways : and from his affirming, "that, in the gospel, repentance is (univerfally, and without any "limitation of time) made available not only & to exempt from punishment, but to gain a new and glorious ftate of being in eter-, "nal life ;" and from his making the facrifice of Christ, or his perfect obedience and righteoufnefs, "the foundation of a gene"ral pardon, at all times, upon repentance i." Where See Scripture-doctrine of Atonement examined, Chap. VII. §. 124. 8 Ibidem, Chap. X. §. 165. Ibidem, Chap. X. §. 166. Wherefore, putting all these particulars. together, it appears, that the Dr. confiders the facrifice of Chrift, or his perfect obedience and goodness, as being a reason with God, for granting to all finners an abfolute, full, and entire pardon of all their fins,, at what time foever they repent of them, whether it be fooner or later; and, confequently, as furnishing every finner with a previous hope and affurance of fuch a pardon of his fins, at what time foever he repents of them. This I take to be the true and only, view in which the facrifice of Chrift (or his perfect obedience, and goodness), is placed by the Dr. in his fcheme of redemption. And, I prefume, that I have not mifreprefented his fentiments. §. 6. Now the query, to be confidered and difcuffed here, is, whether the death of Chrift, or his perfect obedience and righteoufnefs, as thus furnishing men, in their prefent ftate of depravation, or moral corruption, with a previous hope and affurance of an abfolute and full pardon of all their fins, at what time foever they repent of them, whether it be fooner or later, has a natural and strong tendency to their fanc tification, or to render them penitent and obedient; or, whether it has not rather a natural and strong tendency to encourage and harden them in the practice of vice and difobedience, and to corrupt them more and and more? And here, I hesitate not one moment to pronounce, that the death or facrifice of Chrift (even fuppofing it was his perfect obedience and goodness) would, in the circumftances mentioned, have the latter, and not the former tendency. §. 7. We dont't find, that any previous hope or affurance of pardon, much lefs of a full and entire pardon, was afforded to our first parents in their ftate of innocency. And why was this with-held from them? for no reason, that we can form any conception of, but only this, because the grant of it would have been an encouragement to fin and difobedience, and the mean of feducing them from their innocency. When the piety and virtue, even of an innocent creature, are brought upon trial, by appetites and paffions ftrongly and unduly raised by any objects, a previous hope or affurance of a full pardon upon repentance, at any time performed, muft greatly leffen, and even quite remove, his apprehenfion of danger, and fear of punishment; and make him think, without thinking much amifs, that he may indulge and gratify his headftrong appetites and paffions for the present, and yet fecure himself against all future punishment by a fubfequent repentance. And this removal of the fear of punishment, by the hope of impunity, muft, in the very nature of the thing, weaken his piety and virtue, virtue, and conftitute fuch a strong motive and encouragement to acts of difobedience, as can scarce fail to feduce him from his innocency. This is the effect which a previous hope and affurance of full and abfolute pardon, upon repentance, would naturally have upon the moral temper and behaviour even of an innocent creature. Instead of having any tendency to fecure his piety and obedience; it would have a direct and natural tendency to corrupt his mind, and to render him wicked and difobedient: for, as an elegant writer, very well acquainted with human nature, observes, "Give a man power of doing what he pleases with impunity, you extinguish his fear; and, confequently, over-turn in him one of the great pillars of morality *. §. 8. A previous hope and affurance of full and abfolute pardon, upon repentance at any time performed, must have a still worfe influence upon the moral temper and behaviour of men who are, before hand, corrupted with a love of fin and vice. This is what may naturally be expected from the prevailing bent and biafs of a corrupt mind, the undue ftrength of its appetites and paffions, and the vicious difpofitions and habits which it has acquired, and by which it is rendered extremely fufceptible of, and prepared *Spectator N°. 287. |