J. Church

“ This evil required a sacrifice to expiate it, or atone for it; and the reason why mankind are careless of the atonement, think light of it, or attempt to atone for their own crimes, by duties, tears, prayers, or works, is because they never saw sin in the light God sees it, and has consequently testified his hatred of it in many awful judgments, in a broken Law, in the flames of hell—but, above all, in the tremendous sufferings and death of Christ. ”

“ God made man upright, but through the instigation of the Devil he fell into sin, which has involved us in all kind of misery; for the greatest misery is sin itself—it is contrary to the holy nature of God, and contrary to that pure nature in which God first formed man; of course, in that sense, all sin is unnatural, because contrary to God’s Holiness, God’s Law, and Perfections. Hence every man is considered in his fallen state, alike sinful. God declares that every man is become brutish ”

“ The beasts to whom they belonged, cannot, so soon after the creation, be supposed to have died of age; they behoved therefore to be slain. How natural to suppose that they were slain in sacrifice, rather than for any other use? ”

“ For though it became the typical nation of the Jews to have an high-priest involved in the same guilt of actual transgression with his brethren, who was therefore to offer first for his own sin, before he presumed to offer for the errors of the people; yet such an high-priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, Heb. vii. 26.—It is also worthy of notice, that of all those beasts the first-born was most acceptable, and according to the law, all such were holy unto the Lord. ”

“ It is a pleasing work for a mind under the influence of the love of the Saviour, to trace those precious truths, though in swaddling bands—and this is a precious gift, the mind sanctified by the Spirit, in search of Jesus, in every passage, either directly or indirectly referring to him. ”

“ When the rites were finished, atonement was made. The guilt of the offerer was abolished, when his victim was destroyed: the anger of God was in some manner appeased, and he gave signs of reconciliation. But, as we shewed before, it was not in these ceremonial actions to atone for any moral p. 16guilt, except in a typical way. But he whom God hath set forth for a propitiation, hath, in the most proper sense, fully expiated the sins of all his people who hath lived, or shall live. In his atonement the believers of ancient and latter times have rejoiced, as the sole foundation of their hope. ”

“ Nothing asserted in God’s word is contrary to the true light of nature, though it infinitely transcends it. It is no way absurd to represent spiritual things, and even God himself, by proper emblems, as the sense is easily understood to be figurative ”

“ Those who fancy they are good kind of people and like the proud Pharisee in the Gospel, boastingly cry out, God I thank thee I am not as other men—and though they will acknowledge that man is fallen in some degree, yet not so bad as the scriptures represent ”

“ Did not these represent the characters who would embrue their hands in the blood of Jesus?—and was it not charged home to their consciences on the day of Pentecost?—Ye have killed the Prince of Life! This naturally leads to reflect on the instruments made use of—Twenty-nine knives.
We shall First notice the grand Sacrifice—Secondly the Instruments of his Death.—First: Every idea of Sacrifice must at once include in it, that there is an infinite evil in sin, which no finite mind can fully comprehend—none but the mind of the dear Saviour could possibly take in all the evil there is in sin. ”

“ These are some of the names by which human nature is called; and do not these twenty-nine include all the rest of the metaphors by which poor man, fallen, depraved, contaminated, and guilty, is represented. ”

“ I shall only mention Twenty-nine names by which men are called in scripture; which will demonstrate the affecting truth that all are gone out of the way, and that exemption none can boast. In our fallen state we are compared, 1, to Devils—Ye are of your Father the Devil. 2, To Devil’s Soldiers—And the Dragon fought and his Angels. 3, Children of disobedience and wrath.—Ephes. 2. 4, To Murderers—My soul is wearied because of Murderers. 5, Liars—They go astray from the womb, speaking Lies. ”