For God to think of faving us any way, was exceffive goodness and mercy; but to think of doing it in this way, by fubftituting his dearly beloved Son to fuffer in our ftead, is a condefcenfion fo very amazing, that if God had not been pleased of his own goodness to stoop to it, it had almost been blafphemy in man to have thought of it, or defired it.

2. How can our fins be faid to have been forgiven freely, if the pardon of them was purchased at fo dear a rate, and fo mighty a price was paid for it?

In answer to this, I defire these two things may be confidered. 1st, That it is a wonderful grace and favour of God to admit of this tranflation of the punishment which was due to us, and to accept of the fuffer-, ings of another in our ftead, and for our benefit, when he might juftly have exacted it of us in our own perfons: fo that, even in this refpect, we are, as St. Paul fays, juftified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jefus Chrift: and freely too, in respect of any necef fity that lay upon God to forgive us in this or any other way. It was a free act of his goodness to fave us, .even by the fatisfaction and fufferings of his own Son. 2dly, It was in effect freely too, notwithstanding the mighty price which was paid for our redemption: because this price was not of our own procuring, but of God's providing; he found out this ransom for us. And will any man fay, that a prince who prevails with his fon to interceed for the pardon of a rebel, yea and to fuffer fome punishment, or to pay a fine for the obtaining of it, does not in effect, and in all equitable and grateful conftruction, forgive him freely?

3. It is yet further objected, That this feems to be more unreasonable than the facrificing of beasts among the Jews, nay than the facrificing of men among the Heathen, and even of their own fons and daughters; because this is the offering up of the Son of God, the most innocent and the most excellent perfon that ever

was.

To which I anfwer, That if we confider the manner and the defign of it, the thing will appear to be quite otherwise.

As to the manner of it, God did not command his

Son

Son to be facrificed; but his providence permitted the wickedness and violence of men to put him to death': and then his goodness and wisdom did over-rule this worst of actions to the best of ends. And if we confider the matter aright, how is this any more a reflexion upon the holy providence of God, than any enormities and cruelties which by his permiffion are daily committed in the world?

And then, if we confider the end and defign of this permission of Chrift's death, and the application of it to the purpose of a general expiation; we cannot but acknowledge, and even adore the gracious and merciful defign of it. For by this means God did at once put an end to that unreasonable and bloody way of worship, which had been fo long practifed in the world; and, after this one facrifice, which was fo infinitely dear to God, the benefit of expiation was not to be expected in any other way; all other facrifices being worthless and vain in comparifon of this: and it hath ever since obtained this effect, of making all other facrifices to cease, in all parts of the world where Christianity hath prevailed.

4. The last objection is, the injuftice and cruelty of an innocent perfon's fuffering inftead of the offender.

To this I anfwer, That they who make fo great a noise with this objection, do feem to me to give a full and clear answer to it themselves, by acknowledging, as they conftantly and exprefsly do, that our Saviour fuffered all this for our benefit and advantage, though not in our place and ftead. For this, to my apprehenfion, is plainly to give up the caufe, unless they can fhew a good reason why there is not as much injuftice and cruelty in an innocent perfon's fuffering for the benefit and advantage of a malefactor, as in his fuffering in his ftead. So little do men, in the heat of difpute and oppofition, who are refolved to hold fast an opinion in defpite of reafon and good fenfe, confider, that they do many times in effect, and by neceffary confequence, grant the very thing which in exprefs terms they do fo ftiffly and per tinaciously deny.

The truth of the matter is this: There is nothing of injuftice or cruelty in either cafe, neither in an inno

cent

cent perfon's fuffering for the benefit of an offender, nor in his ftead, fuppofing the fuffering to be voluntary; but they have equally the fame appearance of injuftice and cruelty. Nor can I poffibly difcern any reason why injuftice and cruelty should be objected in the one cafe more than in the other; there being every whit as little reason why an innocent perfon fhould fuffer for the benefit of a criminal, as why he fhould fuffer in his ftead. So that I hope this objection, which above all the rest hath been fo loudly and fo invidiously urged, hath received a just answer.

And I believe, if the matter were fearched to the bottom, all this perverse contention about our Saviour's fuffering for our benefit, but not in our ftead, will fignify, just nothing. For if Chrift died for our benefit, fo as fome way or other, by virtue of his death and fufferings, to fave us from the wrath of God, and to procure our efcape from eternal death; this, for ought I know, is all that any body means by his dying in our ftead: for he that dies with an intention to do that benefit to another as to fave him from death, doth certainly, to all intents and purposes, die in his place and stead.

And if they will grant this to be their meaning, the controverfy is at an end; and both fides are agreed in the thing, and do only differ in the phrase and manner of expreffion; which is to feek a quarrel and an occafon of difference where there is no real ground for it: a thing which ought to be very far from reasonable and peaceable minds.

For the Socinians fay, that our Saviour's voluntary obedience and fufferings did procure his exaltation at the right hand of God, and power and authority to forgive fins, and to give eternal life to as many as he pleafed. So that they grant that his obedience and fufferings, in the meritorious confequence of them, do redound to our benefit and advantage as much as we pretend and fay they do; only they are loth in exprefs terms to acknowLedge that Chrift died in our stead: and this for no other reafon, that I can imagine, but because they have denied it fo often and fo long.

But I appeal to the ingenuity of our adverfaries, whether this do not in the laft iffue come all to one; and be

not,

not, on their part, a mere controverfy about words? For fuppofe a malefactor condemned to fome grievous punishment; and the King's fon, to fave him from it, is contented to fubmit to great disgrace and sufferings in reward of which fufferings, the King takes his fon into his throne, and fets him at his own right hand, and gives him power to pardon this malefactor, and, upon a fitting fubmiffion and repentance, to advance him to honour. Will not any man in this cafe allow, that the King's fon fuffered instead of this malefactor; and fmile at any man that shall be fo nice, as to grant that indeed he fuffered for him, but yet to deny that he was punished for him; to allow that he bore the inconvenience of his faults, but yet obftinately to stand it out that the faults of this malefactor were not laid upon him, or in any ways fo imputed to him, that he can be faid to have fuffered in his ftead? This is just the case; and the difference in reality, and in the last result of things, is nothing but words.

Thus far have I tried your patience in a contentious argument, in which I take no pleasure; but yet shall be glad, if I may be fo happy as, by any thing that hath been faid, to contribute towards the putting an end to fo unhappy a controverfy, which hath troubled the world fo long, and raised fuch a duft, that very few have been able to fee clearly through it.

However, I cannot difmifs this argument without making fome ufeful, but very fhort reflexion upon this great doctrine of our religion, namely, That the Son of God being made a facrifice for us, and exposed to such bitter fufferings, and fo cruel a death, for the expiation of our fins, fhould create in us the greatest dread and detestation of fin, and for ever deter us from all wilful tranfgreffion and disobedience. For if the guilt of our fins was done away upon fuch hard terms, and coft the dearly beloved Son of God fo much fweat and blood, then furely we ought to take great heed, how by our renewed provocations we renew his paffion, and do what in us lies to crucify to ourselves the Son of God afresh, and to put him to an open fhame.

If God did fo terribly afflict the dearly beloved of his foul for our fakes; if the Son of God was fo grievously

wounded

wounded for our tranfgreffions, and fo forely bruised for our iniquities; if so fearful a storm of vengeance fell upon the most innocent perfon that ever was for our fins, then we have reason to take that kind and merciful admonition of the Son of God to finners, to fin no more, left a worse thing, if it be poffibie, come upon ourselves.

In this difpenfation of God's grace and mercy to mankind, by the death of his Son, God feems to have gone to the very extremity of things, and almost further than goodness and justice will well admit, to afflict innocency tfelf, to fave the guilty. And if herein God hath expreffed his hatred of fin in, fuch a wonderful way of love and kindness to the fons of men, as looks almost like hatred of innocency, and his own Son; this ought, in all ingenuity and gratitude to our gracious Redeemer, who was made a curfe for us, and loved us to that degree, as to wash us from our fins in his own blood; I fay, this ought to beget in us a greater difpleafurc against fin, and a more perfect deteftation of it, than if we had fuffered the punishment due to it in our own perfons: for in this cafe we could only have been difpleafed at ourselves, and our fins, as the just cause of our fufferings; but in the other we ought to hate fin as the unhappy occafion of the faddeft misfortune and foreft calamities to the best man that ever was, and to our best friend, for our fins, and for our fakes.

Since then the Son of God hath fo graciously condefcended to be made in all things like unto us, fin only excepted; let us afpire as much as is poffible to become like to him. Above all, let us hate and avoid fin, as the only thing in which the Son of God would have no part with us, though he was contented to fuffer fuch bitter things to fave us from the defilement and dominion of it, from the punishment and all the difmal confequences of it.

He had no fin: but God was pleafed to lay upon him the iniquities of us all, and to make his foul an offering for fin, and to permit all that to be done to him which was due to us. He was contented to be facrificed once for all mankind, that men might for ever ceafe from that inhumane and ineffectual way of facrificing one another; whereby, inftead of expiating their guilt, they did in

flame