perfect truth. There is a forgiveness of sin, exactly what is necessary for man; and yet determinately indulging no one humancorruption whatsoever. There is an atonement for sin, such as no invention of man The scriptures conclude every man to be under sin, Gal. iii. 22. affirming that there is no man that sinneth not, 1 Kings vii. 46. And not only the scriptures testify that we every one know this of ourselves, that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, 1 John i. 8. but the very heathens allow it, "Quisque innocentem se dicit, respiciens tes❤ tem non conscientiam," says Seneca, de Ira, lib. 1. The question then will occur, how can man be justified with God? Job xxv. 4. A forgiveness of sin must be necessary, without which no soul can be saved. The point I would here offer to the reader's consideration is, whether, if the pardon of sin offered in the gospel had been the contrivance of men, it would not, like what human contrivance is for inventing, have offered indulgences for particular failings; and whether, therefore, on the contrary, considered truly as it is, a doctrine which favours no one foible of human nature, admits no thought of our continuing in any one sin, that grace may abound, Rom. vi. 1. as there can be no deceit where there is no error proposed to us; a pardon of sin, thus circumstanced, does not approve itself to be not only grace, but truth, John i. 17. would have proposed; and yet so foretold, and prefigured from the beginning, throughout all ages, that we must think it hath a The sentiments which the inquisitive heathens had upon this subject, were as follow. They agreed that philosophy was useful to correct what might be wrong in us. "Est profecto animi disciplina philosophia :" Cic. Tusc. Disput. lib. 3. c. 3. They did not see how they could purge or cleanse the conscience from sins which had been committed. All the known rites of ablution they knew to be unphilosophical: "Animi labes nec diuturnitate evanescere nec amnibus ullis elui potest:" Cic de Leg. lib. 2. c. 10. They did not think that repentance could make them whole. "Quem pœnitet peccasse pene est innocens," is, I think, said by the same writer, who does not wholly acquit upon repentance. They had notions that there might be purgations of sin in another world. Thus Virgil speaks of souls departed, 66 exercentur pœnis, veterumque malorum Æneid, lib. 6. The construction in the last verse is, I think, clear and easy; though both our commentators and dictionaries seem to make it difficult. Manes signifies our spirits been appointed by God. In the Old Testament, there is the very same morality, though not so fully explained, and enforced departed out of this life. It is the accusative case, signifying the part of us affected; like doleo caput, I have pain in my head; patimur manes is, we suffer in our souls departed. But others philosophized, that when this life was over, they, who had lived well, should go into some star, such as they had made themselves meet to live in. "Qui bene et honeste curriculum vivendi a natura datum confecerit, ad illud astrum, cui aptus fuerit, revertetur:" Cic. Lib. de Universo. Which state was not supposed to be absolutely final; for spirits in a future life, they believed, might have a progress to perfection, and go from a higher state to higher, until they arrived at their supreme good. Vide Platon. in Phædon. in Lib. de Legib. &c. and some allowed the body a participation herein with the soul. Μεταβολην, τοῖς τε σώμοισιν ὁμοίως ποιέσι ταις ψυχαῖς - ἐκ μὲν ἀνθρώπων εἰς ἥρωας, ἐκ δὲ ἡρώων εἰς δαίμονας, αἱ βελτίονες ψυ καὶ την μεταβολὴν λαμβάνεσιν· ἐκ δὲ δαιμόνων ὀλίγαι μεν ἔτι χρόνῳ πόλλῷ δὲ ἀρετῆς καθαρθεῖσαι παντάπασι θεότητα μετέχον. Plut. Orac. Defect. How different from all these schemes is what the gospel proposes concerning Christ Jesus! that this man offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, and through the offering of his body once for all, will perfect for ever those who come unto God through him: Heb. x. 11, 12, 14. Whence now could the first preachers of the gospel have these things? no wisdom to perfection; in which He who came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfil them, taught with authority, how what they read in the law was to be understood, to direct both the thoughts of their heart and the actions of their life. There is in it a series of legal institutions, such as we have then in 'the world, would have suggested any such doctrine to them. That the prophecies indeed, obscurely, like a light shining in a dark place, foretold them, is true; that their Master, beginning from Moses and all the prophets, had expounded unto them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself, is acknowledged; but as this exposition was entirely different from all that the rabbies of the Jews had delivered, and all their doctors, learned in their law and scriptures, contended for; that these things, thus hidden from the wise and prudent, should at once be brought to light by babes, be preached uniformly and consistently by a set of men, who had no human learning; and the truth of them be attested, by the author of them visibly raising himself from the dead, and going up into heaven, and by the preachers of his doctrine being approved of God, in the many miracles wrought by them at the time of their preaching this gospel; these things must put it out of all doubt, that this doctrine was not of man, but of God. good reason to think no legislator, from human wisdom, would have thought of or contrived; yet in many points so plain a schoolmaster to bring those to whom they were given unto Christ; so clearly referring to things that were to come, and be revealed, as plainly to indicate, that there was more than human foresight and design in them. In a word, in both Testaments there are such prophecies of things which were to be, and of some which are yet to come; such a fulfilling of all that is completed, and thence so reasonable an assurance that there shall be a performance of what remains to be fulfilled in its season; as must give every considerate reader, whether learned or unlearned, a steady belief, better grounded, than to be shaken by disputes concerning See Connect. vol. iii. b. xii. not to remark both of sacrifices of the living creatures, see vol. i. b. i. and also of circumcision; that it is impossible to give any probable or reasonable grounds of their first institution, other than that they were appointed by God. |