A Second Part of the Former Digression: Arguments to Prove the Satisfaction of Christ
Being a second part of the former ie gression. 4rguments to prove the satisfaction of Christ.
“ARGUMENT I.
OEP Ghee sO took our sins, and had ‘hikha by God Te) ‘aid and imposed on him, — as that he underwent the pun- ‘ishment due unto them in our stead: then he made satisfaction to the justice of God for them, that the sinners might go free: but Christ so took and bare our sins, and had ren so laid upon him, as that he underwent the punishment due unto them, and that in our stead: therefore, he made satisfaction to the justice of God for them. The consequent of the proposition is apparent, and was before proved. Of the assumption there be three parts, severally
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to be confirmed: first, that Christ took and bare our sins, God laying them on Kink secondly, that he so took them, as to undergo the punishment due unto them; thirdly, that. he did this in-our stead.
«lst, For the first, that he took and bare our sins; ye have it, John 1. 29. 6 dipav, &c. who taketh away the sin of the world. 1 Pet ii. 24. %s5 avvenyxev, who his own self bare our sins in his own body. Zsa. lili. 11. 920° sn, their iniquities he shall bear, and ver. 12. xwi he bare the sin of many. That God also laid or imposed our sins on him, is no less apparent; Jsa. lili. 6. the Lord jrind made to meet on him the iniquity of us all, 2 Cor. v. 21. duapziay
-énotyoev, he made him to be sin for us.
2dly, The second branch is, that in thus doing; our Saviour underwent the punishment due to the sins which he bare, which were laid upon him, which may be thus made manifest. Death, and the curse of the law, contain the whole of the punishment due to sin, Gen. ii, 17. mon nyo dying thou shalt die, is that which was threatened. Death was that which entered by sin, Rom. v. 12. which word, in those places, is comprehensive of all misery due to our transgression. Which also is held out in the curse of the law, Dewt. xxvii. 26. Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them. That all evils of punishment whatsoever, are comprised in these, is unquestionably evident: now Jesus Christ, in bearing our ‘sins, underwent both these; for by the grace of God he tasted death, Heb. ii. 9. By death delivering from death, ver. 14. He was not spared, but
‘ given up Ab death for us all, Rom. viii. 32. So also the
eutse of the law,’ Gal. iii. 13 evomevos xatapa he was made a curse for us; and émvxareparos, cursed, and this by the - way of undergoing the punishment that was in death and curse; for by these, it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and put him to grief, sa: lili. 10, Yea, sx Epes! caro he spared him not, Rom. viii. 32, but condemned sin in his flesh, Rom. viii. 3.
sdly, It remaineth nin to show, that he did this in our
steads, and the whole argument is confirmed. Now this also our Saviour himself maketh apparent, Matth. xx. 28,
He came Sivoe chy duxny Avcpov dvee morancv, to give him-
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self a ransom for many. The word dvr: always supposeth a commutation and change, of one person or thing instead of another; as shall be afterwards ee so Matth. GOL Ee Peo. ie 6. Nas bh: Petia ee died for us, the just for the unjust: and Psa. nie 4, I restored (or paid) that which |] took not away, viz. our debt, so far, as*that thereby we are discharged, as° Rom. viii. 34. where it is asserted, upon this very ground that he died in our stead... And so, He several parts of this first argument are confirmed.
ARGUMENT Ii.
if Jesus Christ paid into his Father’s hands,. a valuable price and ransom for our sins, as our surety, so discharging the debt that we lay under, that we might go free; then did he bear the punishment due to our sins, and make satisfaction to. the justice of God for them, (for to pay such a ransom, is to make such satisfaction,) but Jesus Christ paid such a price and ransom, as our surety, into his Fathers hands: ergo, Gc.
There are four things to-be proved in the assum ption, or second proposition:. First, that Christ paid such a price and ransom; Secondly, that he paid it into the hands of his Father; Thirdly, that he did it as our surety; and, Fourthly, that we might go free. All which. we shall prove in order. ~,
Ist, For the first, our iS vigue himself affirms it Matt. XX. 28, He came to give his life 2v’rpov a ransom, or price — of redemption, for many: which the apostle terms avzuvzpov, 1 Zzm. ii. 6. a ransom to be accepted in the stead of others, whence we are said to have deliverance 8:é cas Gnomtpaseos, by the ransom-paying of Christ, Rom. iil. 24. He bought us with a price, 1 Cor. vi. 20. which price was his own blood, cts xx. 28, being compared to, and exalted. above silver and gold, in this work of redemption, 1 Pet. i. 18. So that this first part is most clear and evident.
3dly, He paid this price into the hand of his Father. A. price must be paid tosomebody, in the case of deliverance from captivity by it, it must be paid to the judge or jailor, that is, to God or the devil. To say the latter, were the highest blasphemy; Satan was to be conquered, not satisfied, for the former, the Scripture is clear, as it was his hath that was on us, John iii. 36. It was he that had shut us all up under sin, Gal. ili. 22. He is the great king to whom the debt is owing, Matth. xviii. 23, 34. He is the only lawgiver, who i is able to save and to destroy, James iv. 12. Nay, the ways whereby: this ransom-paying is in the Scripture expressed, abundantly enforce the payment of it into the hands of his Father, for his death and blood-shedding is said to be xpoopop2 and - Qvota, an oblation and sacrifice, Eph. v..2. and his soul to be crows, a sacrifice or offering for sin, Zsa. lili. 10. Now certainly, offerings and sacrifices are to be nected to God alone.
3dly, That he did this as our surety, we are assured, fleb, vii. 22. He was made @yfvos, a surety of a better testament: and in performance of the duty which lay upon him as. such, he paid that which he never took, Psalm lxix. 4,
4thly, All which could not possibly have any other end, but that we might go free.
ARGUMENT III.
To make an atonement for sin, and to reconcile God unto the sinners, is in-effect to make satisfaction unto the justice of God for sin, and all that we understand thereby; but Jesus Christ, by his death and oblation, did
make an atonement for sin, and reconcile God unto sinners: ergo, §&c.: ees
The first proposition is in itself evident. ~The assumption is confirmed, Rom. iil. 24,25. We are justified freely through the ransom- paying that i is in Christ; whom God hath sei forth to be ‘wasy/prov, a propitiation, an atonement, a merey-seat, a covering of iniquity, and that eds évdecEu rays Sixavoovyns dvtg, for the “manifestation of his justice, declared in the going forth and accomplishment thereof. So likewise, Heb. it. 17. He is said. to be a merciful highpr iest, g Us TO “‘AUOxECIAL THs AMAT was ts ras, tO make reconeiliation for the sins of the people; to reconcile God unte - the people, the meaning of the words, “vAacxesdae cév Ocdy népo Thy amaprioy 78 Rae, ‘to reconcile God who was offended — with the sins of his people, which reconciliation we are said to receive, Rom. vy. 11. (the word xorarrayy there, in our common translation rendered atonement, is in other places in the same rendered reconciliation; being indeed. the only word used for it in the New Testament.) And all this is said to be accomplished 8° énés Sixardporos, Rom. v. 18. by one righteousness or satisfaction, that is of ‘Christ: (the words will not bear that sense, wherein they are usually rendered by the righteousness of one; for then must it have been, da Sdcxaswuaros re ivos.) And. hereby were we delivered from that, from which it was impossible we should be otherwise delivered, Rom. vii 3.
ARGUMENT IV.
That wherein the exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ whilst he was on earth, doth consist, cannot be re- jected or denied without damnable error: hut the exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ whilst he was upon the earth, consisted in this, to bear the punishment due to our sins; to make atonement with God, by undergoing his wrath, and reconciling him to sinners upon the satisfaction made to his justice: therefore cannot these things be denied, without damnable error. That in the things before recounted, the exercise of Christ’s priestly office did consist, is most apparent; Ist, From all the types and sacrifices whereby it was prefigured; their chief end being, propitiation and atonement. 2dly, From the very nature of the sacerdotal office, appointed for sacrificing; Christ hav- -ing nothing to offer but his own blood, through the eternal Spirit. 3dly, From»divers, yea innumerable texts of Scripture affirming the same..
It would be too long a work, to prosecute those things severally and. at large; and therefore I will content my- self with one or two places, wherein all those testimonies are comprised; as Hed. ix. 13,14. If the blood off bulls -and goats, &c. how much more shall the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without ‘spot to God, &c.? Here the death of Christ is compared to, exalted above, and in the antitype answered the sacrifices of expiation, which were-made by the blood of bulls and goats: and so must, at least spiritually, effect what they did carnally acndeialish and typically prefigure, viz. deliverance from the guilt of sin, by expiation and atonement. For as in them, the life and blood of the sacrifice was accepted in the stead of the offerer, who was to die for the breach of the law according to the rigour of it: so in this of Christ, was his blood accepted as an atonement and propitiation for us; himself being priest, altar, and sacrifice, So Heb. x. 10, 12. he is. said expressly, in the room of all old insufficient carnal sacrifices which could not make the comers thereunto perfect, to offer up his own body a sacrifice for sins; for the remission and pardon of sins, through that offering of himself, as it is ver. 18. And in the performance also, “do we affirm, that our Saviour underwent the wrath of God, which was due unto us. This, because it is by some questioned, I shall briefly confirm, and that with these following reasons:
1. The punishment due to sin, is the wrath of God, Rom. i. 18. The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness. Chap. il. 5. the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. - Ephes. il. 3. children of wrath. John iii. 36. The wrath of God abideth on him. Now Jesus Christ underwent the punishment due to sin, 2 Cor. v. 21. made sin for us. Zsa. lili. 6. Iniquity was laid upon him. 1 Ped. ii. 24. He bare our sins in his ‘own body onthetree. Therefore he underwent the wrath of God.
2, The curse of the Idtv, is the wrath of God tah on passively, Deut. xxix. 20, 21, But Jesus Christ underwent the curse of the law, Gal. ili, 13. made a curse for us: the curse that they lie under which are out of Christ, who are of the works of the law, ver. 10.. Theret re he underwent the wrath of God. )
3. The death. that sinners.are to undergo, is the Be of God: but Jesus Christ did taste of that death, which: sinners for themselves were to undergo; for he died. as. our surety, Hed. vii. 22. and in our stead, Matth. xx. 28, Hence his fear, Hed. y.7 agony, Luke Xxii. 44, aston
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ment and amazement, Mark xiv. 33. dereliction, Matth. xxvi. 46. sorrow, heaviness, and unexpressible pressures.
ARGUMENT v..
‘That doctrine cannot be true nor agreeable to the gospel, which strikes at the root of gospel faith, and plucks away the foundation of all that strong consolation, which God is so abundantly willing we should receive: but such - Is that of denying the satisfaction made by Christ, his answering the justice, and undergoing the wrath of his Father; it makes the poor soul to be like Noah’s dove in its
distress, not knowing where to rest the sole of her feet. When a soul is turned out of its self-righteousness, and be- - gins to look abroad, and view heaven and earth for a resting place: and perceives an ocean, a flood, an inundation of wrath to cover all the world; the wrath of God revealing itself from heaven against all ungodliness, so that it ean obtain no rest nor abiding; heaven it cannot reach by its own flight, and to hell it is unwilling to fall’: if now the Lord Jesus Christ do not appear as an ark in the midst of the waters, (upon whom the floods-have fallen, and yet is got above them all,) for a refuge, alas! what shall it do? When the flood fell, there were many mountains, glorious in the eye, far higher than the ark; but yet those mountains were all drowned, whilst the ark still kept on the top of the waters. Many appearing hills and mountains of self-righteousness, and general mercy, at the first view seem “to the soul much higher‘than Jesus Christ, but when the flood of wrath once comes and spreads itself, all those mountains are quickly covered; only the ark, the Lord Jesus Christ, though the flood fall on him also, yet he ‘gets above it quite, and gives safety to them that rest upon him. ae a:
Let me now ask any of those poor souls, who ever have been wandering and tossed with the fear of the wrath to come, whether ever they found a resting place, until they came to this; God spared not his only Son, but gave him up to death for us all; that he made him to he sin for us; - that he put all the sins of all the elect into that cup which - he was to drink of; that the wrath and flood which they
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Cae ee oe ee ee feared, did fall upon Jesus Christ, (though now as the ark he be above it) so that if they could get into him, they should be safe, the storm hath been his, and the safety shall be theirs: as alk the waters which would have fallen on them that were in the ark, fell upon. the ark, they being dry and safe: so all the wrath that should have fallen upon them, fell on Christ, which alone causeth their souls to dwell in safety? Hath not, I say, this been your bottom? your foundation? your resting place? if not, (for the substance of it) I fear you have but rotten bottoms. N OW, what would you say, if a man should come and pull this ark from under you, and give you an old rotten post to swim upon, in the flood of wrath? It is too late to tell you, no wrath is due unto you: the word. of truth, and your own consciénces, have given you other information;: you know the wages of sin is death, in whomsoever it be: he must die, on whomsoever it is found. So that truly the soul may well say, bereave me of the satisfaction of Christ, and Iam bereaved: if ‘he satisfied not justice, I - must; ‘if he underwent not wrath, I must to eternity; O rob me not of my only pearl. “Thus, a denying the satisfaction of Christ, destroys is: foundation of faith and comfort.::
ARGUMENT WI.
Another argument we may take from two padtiealar places of Scripture, which instead of sae I shall ‘produce.: ‘Ast. 2 Cor. v. 21. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. He made him to be sin for US 5 how could that be? are not the next words, he knew no sin? was he not a lamb. without spot, and without ‘blemish? Doubtless he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. What then is this, God made. him to be sin? it cannot be, that God made him sinful, or a sinner by any inherent sin; that will not stand with the justice of God, nor with the holiness of the person of our Redeemer. What is it then? he made him to be sin who knew no sin? why clearly, by dispensation and consent he laid that to his charge, whereof he was not guilty. He
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charged upon him and imputed unto him, all tie sins of
all the elect; and proceeded against him accordingly. He —
stood as our surety, really charged with the whole debt;
and was to pay the uttermost farthing, asa surety is to do
if it be required of him: though he borrow not the money, nor have one penny of that which is in the obligation;
yet if he be sued to an execution, he must pay all. The
Lord Christ (if I may say so) was sued by his Father’s justice unto an execution;; in answer whereunto he underwent all that was due to sin, which we ee before to be death, wrath, and curse.
If it be excepted, (as it is) that God was always well
pleased with his Son, he testified it again and again from —
heaven; how then could he lay his wrath upon ‘him? I answer, it is true he was always well pleased with him; yet it pleased him to bruise him, and put him to erief. He was always well pleased with the holiness of bis person, the excellency and perfectness of his righteousness, and the sweetness of his obedience; but he was displeased
. with the sins that were charged on him, and therefore it pleased him to ‘bruise and put him to grief, with whom — he was always well pleased.
Nor is that other exception of any more value, That Christ underwent no more than the elect lay under; but they lay not under wrath and the punishment due to sin =
because the proposition 1s most false; neither is there any —
more truth in the assumption. For Christ underwent not only that wrath, (taking it passively) which the elect were under; but that also which they should have undergone, had not he borne it for them: he delivered them
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from the wrath to come. .Moreover the elect do in their q
several generations ‘lie under all the wrath of God, in respect of merit and procurement, though not in respect of
actual endurance; in respect of guilt, not present punishment. So that, notwithstanding these exceptions, it stands firm, That he was made sin for us, who knew no sin, ‘edly, Isa. liii. 5. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are. healed. Of this place something was said before; I shalk
add some small enlargements, that. conduce to discover:
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the meaning of the words. The chastisement of our peace was upon him; that is, he was chastised or punished, that we might have peace, that we might go free: our sins being the cause of his wounding, and our iniquities of his being bruised; all our sins meeting upon him, as-ver. 6, that is, he bare our sins, in Pefer’s interpretation. He bare our sins, (not as some think, by declaring that we were never truly sinful: but) by being wounded for them, bruised for them, undergoing the chastisement due unto them, consisting in-death, wrath, and curse; so making his soul an offering for sin. He bare.cur sins 3 that is, say some, he-declared that we have an eternal righteousness in God; because of his eternal purpose to do us good: but is this, to interpret Scripture, or to corrupt the “word of God? Ask the word, what it means by Christ’s bearing of sin? It will tell you, his being stricken for our transgressions, fsa. liii. 8. his being cut off for our sins, Dan. ix. 26. Neither hath the expression of bearing sins, any other signification in the word, Lev. v. 1. he that heareth swearing and doth not reveal it, shall bear his iniquity. What is that? he shall declare himself or others to be free from sin? No, doubtless; but he shall undergo the punishment due to sin: as our Saviour did, in bearing our iniquities.. He must be a cunning gamester indeed, that shall cheat a believer of this foundation.
More arguments or texts on this subject, I shall not urge or produce; though the cause itself will enforce the most unskilful to abound. ‘Ihave proceeded as far as the nature of a digression will well bear: neither shall I undertake,.at this time, the answering of objections to the contrary. A full discussion of the whole business of the satisfaction of Christ, which should cause me to search for, draw forth, and confute all objections to the contrary, being not by me intended. And for those which were made, at that debate which gave occasion to this discourse, I dare not produce them, lest haply I should not be able to restrain the conjectures of men, that I purposely framed such weak objections, that I might obtain an easy conquest over a man of straw of mine own erection: so weak were they, and of so little force, to the shaking of so fundamental a truth as that is which we do maintain. So ef this argument hitherte
290 Arguments against Book Hl.