"fin not. And if any man fin, we have an ad

vocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righ"teous." He then teaches the Chriftian to live by faith in the Saviour's blood: And he is the propitiation for our fins. And that he might further illuftrate the extent and efficacy of the great atonement, he adds, and not for ours only, but alfo for the fins of the whole world. In further difcourfing on this fubject, I propofe, through the affiftance of divine grace,

1. To confider Chrift as the propitiation for fin, or what is implied in his being fo called.

2. To confider the extent of this propitiation, or its being for the fins of the whole world. And,

3. To make fome practical improvement of the fubject.

I. FIRST, then, Let us confider Christ as the propitiation for fin, or what is implied in his being fo called. We find our Saviour defigned as a propitiation in feveral other paffages of fcripture; as in this epiftle, chap. iv. 1o. "Herein " is love, not that we loved God, but that he "loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitia. "tion for our fins ;" and Rom. iii. 25. "Whom God hath fet forth to be a propitiation

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through faith in his blood." It is the opinion of many learned men, that Chrift is called a propitiation, or the propitiation, in allufion to the mercy-feat above the ark, which was fet up at firft in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple in the moft holy place. To confirm this,

it

it is obferved, that the original word here used is the fame which the Greek tranflators of the Old Teftament always ufe to denote the mercyfeat, and which the apoftle to the Hebrews ufes when speaking of the fame subject, Heb. ix. 5. "And over it the cherubims of glory fhadow. ing the mercy-feat: of which we cannot now

fpeak particularly." But I apprehend there is fome inverfion of the order of things in this remark: for Chrift is not called a propitiation in allufion to the mercy-feat, which, independent of him, could ill bear that denomination; but the mercy-feat hath this title given to it because it was an eminent type of Christ. It beautifully indeed reprefented the benefit which we derive from him as our propitiation. For as God, by the Shechinah, or fymbol of his prefence, dwelt of old upon the mercy-feat, between the cherubims, and was from that place propitious to his people; fo now God dwells in Chrift, and by him reconciles finners to himself: 2 Cor. v. 19. "To wit, that God was in Chrift, "reconciling the world unto himself, not im"puting their trefpaffes unto them; and hath "committed unto us the word of reconcilia. “tion.” In that ancient difpenfation, every worshipper was to look toward the mercy-feat; and it was from thence that God accepted them, and gave intimations of their acceptance: fo it is through Chrift, or in his name, that we have now access to God; and it is in him that he fheweth us favour, and maketh us accepted: Eph. i. 6. "To the praise of the glory of his VOL. I. I 66 grace,

grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in "the beloved." It was from the mercy-feat that God fpake to his people by the intervention of the high-priest, and by Urim and Thummim; fo it is by his Son that God now fpeaks to us, and fhews us the way of falvation: Matth. xvii. 5. "This is my beloved Son, in "whom I am well pleafed; hear ye him."

But the true and proper meaning of Chrift's being a propitiation, is to be taken from the facrifices in general, and particularly points at his undertaking the office of mediator or peacemaker between God and man, and in that capacity fuffering the wrath of God in the room of finners. By this he appeafeth him, rendereth him propitious or gracious to us, and purchafeth our pardon: Rom. iii. 25. "Whom "God hath fet forth to be a propitiation, thro' "faith in his blood." Remember how intimately it is connected with redemption, another expreffion which runs through the whole of the New Teftament, and is confidered as equivalent to the forgiveness of fins: Eph. i. 7. "In whom we have redemption through his

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blood, the forgiveness of fins, according to "the riches of his grace." Now, redemption certainly fignifics purchafing or buying with a price.

The facrifices under the Mofaic œconomy did all of them imply a substitution in room of fomething that had been forfeited, or was due. It is obferved by one eminent for his knowledge of Jewish antiquities, that befides what was done

when

when any particular perfon prefented a fin-offering, at the continual burnt-offering there were certain men appointed to reprefent the whole congregation of Ifrael. Their office was, to lay their hands upon the head of the lamb, and thus as it were transfer the guilt from the people to the victim. On this account they were called stationary men, because they attended continually for this end. And as the very purpofe of the facrifices under the law was, to typify the facrifice of Chrift, they are a ftanding evidence of the early and original reference to him, as the ground of divine mercy.

Nothing is more undeniably true, than that the offering of facrifices was both early and univerfal in every nation under heaven; and it is no less certain, that those who used them did confider them as expiatory, or propitiatory, to render the offended Deity płacable, and obtain his mercy. This was at once a confeffion of guilt, and a declaration, that they apprehended the neceffity and propriety of an atonement. Neither is it poffible to account for the univerfal prevalence of facrifices in any tolerable manner, but by fuppofing, that they were the remains of what had been taught in the ages immediately after the fall, by divine appointment.

I apprehend it is alfo undeniably evident, that this is the light in which the facrifice of Chrift is reprefented in the holy fcriptures. How many paffages might be adduced to this purpose In ancient prophecy, this part of his work is fet forth in the following manners

If. liii. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. "Surely he hath born our

griefs, and carried our forrows: yet we did "efteem him ftricken, fmitten of God, and "afflicted. But he was wounded for our tranf

greffions, he was bruifed for our iniquities: "the chaftifement of our peace was upon him, "and with his ftripes we are healed. All we

like fheep have gone aftray: we have turn"ed every one to his own way, and the Lord "hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppreffed, and he was afflicted, yet he

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opened not his mouth: he is brought as a "lamb to the flaughter, and as a fheep before "her fhearers is dumb, fo he openeth not his "mouth. He was taken from prifon and from judgement and who fhall declare his gene"ration for he was cut off out of the land of "the living for the tranfgreffion of my people 66 was he ftricken." Dan. ix. 24. "6 Seventy "weeks are determined upon thy people, and "upon thy holy city, to finish the tranfgreffion, and to make an end of fins, and to make re"conciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlafting righteoufnefs, and to feal up the vi"fion and prophecy, and to anoint the most "Holy."

In the New Teftament, he tells us, he was to lay down his life for his people: John x. 11. “I "am the good fhepherd: the good fhepherd

giveth his life for the fheep." The fame thing he plainly fays in the inftitution of the facrament of the Lord's fupper, Matth. xxvi. 26. 27. 28. "And as they were eating, Jefus took

"bread,