him, always pleased him, had he not stood as a sinner juridically in our stead, and suffered that sin which was the ruin of mankind to be cast with all the weight of it upon his innocent shoulders?' Thus, Sir, I have frankly given you not only my own reasons, but the reasons which have induced some of the most excellent Divines to believe that our blessed Lord was punished for the sins of those who shall eventually be saved; and happy shall I be, if the same reasons should produce in you a conviction of the truth of this important fact. It will perhaps be said, That, on this subject, human testimony is of no weight; that, in all matters of dispute, the scriptures are our only guide; and that to these, and these only, we must ultimately appeal. To these remarks I have nothing to object. Suffer me however to remind you, that the opinions of these emi. nently pious and learned men are not cited because I think them infallible, but with a view P to their being contrasted with the sentiments of one who may possibly not have incomparably higher claims to infallibility, than themselves; and whose views, if considered in this light, should not I think be hastily, nor presumptuously discarded. The infliction of punishment on Christ, as the surety of sinners, I denominate an important fact; because on this depends, in my view, our everlasting happiness. If the sufferings of Christ were not penal, I do not see how there can be any such thing as redemption. For what is redemption but payment of that, for want of which the delinquent must himself have suffered in his own person? But if our Lord was not punished, how could he redeem us from the execration of the law? For surely whatever could have been justly inflicted on the sinner himself, must be borne by him who shall pay the price of his release. When therefore our Lord said, He gave his life a ransom for many, the meaning evidently is this, that he died in their stead: and his life as a price intervened to obtain their re demption.' To me it appears self-evident, either that Christ must have sustained the punishment, due to the sinner, or the law have relaxed in its demands. But that there could be no relaxation of the penal sanction, the preceding remarks have, it is presumed, made sufficiently manifest. I am, Sir, Yours, &c. LETTER IV. Ah, Father, Author, God of boundless grace! BROOKE. You are aware, my dear Sir, that the satisfaction of Christ has been considered as the glory of the christian religion. In this satisfaction, are exhibited God's abhorrence of sin, his inexorable justice, and the richest grace: we behold the Just God and the Saviour; or, in other words, we are taught how he who is of purer eyes than to behold evil, can be just and the justifier of the ungodly. But, as Mr. Cooper of New England observes, The satisfaction of Christ is rendered a very loose, uncertain, and unsafe thing, if there are not a certain number for whom it was made and accepted; and the value of it is lessened exceedingly, if it did not purchase faith, repentance, and holiness, for them on whom they are bestowed.' Such an election as we are treating of, he elsewhere remarks' is necessary to secure to the Lord Jesus Christ what he purchased by his death. It would be very dishonourable to suppose that Christ undertook the great and difficult work of man's redemption, that he came into our world, suffered and died upon an uncertainty what the effect of his redemption would be; for this is plainly to make him act below a wise intelligent agent-Therefore a special number were chosen, and given to Christ, with respect to whom, the Father engaged that they should be brought to believe on him, and be a seed to serve him in this world, and through his merits obtain everlasting blessedness in the world to come.' To this consolatory truth of Christ's satisfaction, it has been objected That the scriptures testify that God forgives sin freely; and |