matter of fact; he hath not often, but once only, offered himself. 3. He confirms his opposition unto the reiterated supposition, by an especial denotation of the time when he once offered himself. He did it in the end of the world,' xi σUYTikilα TWY H60, in opposition unto ao xaraboàng xorμs. Not then,' but now; not often, but once; not from the foundation of the world,' but in the end of it.'

There is no question as unto the thing itself, or the time intended in this exposition. It was the time when our Lord Jesus Christ appeared in the flesh, and offered himself unto God. But why he should express that time, by the end of the world,' in the words that our Saviour designeth the end of the world absolutely by, Matt. xxviii. 20. is not so plain. For there was after this a long continuance and duration of the world to succeed, so far as any knows, not less than what was passed before it. Various are the conjectures of learned men, about this expression; I shall not detain the reader with their repetition. My thoughts are determined by what I have discoursed on chap. i. 1. the exposition of which place the reader may consult on this occasion, I hope to his satisfaction. In brief, to give a short account of what more largely I have explained and fully confirmed in the place referred to; way and airs do answer to the Hebrew by and why. And the world, not absolutely with respect to its essence or substance, but its duration, and the succession of ages therein, is signified by them. And the succession of the times of the world with respect to God's distinction and limitation of things in his dealing with the church, is called ovoμix тwy xαigav, Eph. i. 10. Now, God's distinction of time, with respect to the dispensation of himself in his grace to the church, may be referred to three general heads. First, The time before the law. Secondly, That which was spent under the law. Thirdly, That of the exhibition of Christ in the flesh, with all that doth succeed it to the end of the world. This last season, absolutely considered, is called #newμa Twy nalgov, the fulness of time,' when all that God had designed in the dispensation of his grace, was come to that head and consistency, wherein no alteration should be made to the end of the world. This is that season which, with respect to those that went before, is called συντέλεια των αιώνων, the end of the world,' or the last age of the world, the consummation of the dispensation of time, no change being afterwards to be introduced, like things which were made before in the dispensation of God. This season, with respect to the com

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,אחרית הימים ing of Christ to the Judaical church, is called

the latter days,' or the end of the days,' namely, of that church-state, of the dispensation of God in that season. With respect to the whole dispensation of God in the by, all the allotted ages of the church, it was the last or end of them

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all; it was that wherein the whole divine disposition of things had its consummation. Wherefore, both the entrance and the end of this season, are called by the same name, the beginning of it here, and the end of it, Mat. xxviii. 20. For the whole is but one entire season. And the preposition, in this construction with a dative case, signifies the entrance of any thing, •as • Javutw is at the approach of death.' Wherefore, whatever hath been, or may be in the duration of the world afterwards, the appearance of Christ to offer himself, was UTλεια των αιώνων, in the end of the world,' that is, at the entrance of the last season of God's dispensation of grace to the church. Thus it was, saith the apostle, in matter of fact; then did Christ offer himself, and then only.

With respect to this season so stated, three things are affirmed of Christ in the following words. 1. What he did, he appeared.' 2. To what end, to take away sin.' 8. By what means, by the sacrifice of himself.'

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But there is some difficulty in the distinction of these words, and so variety in their interpretation, which must be removed. For those words, dia Tas Jurias aure, by the sacrifice of himself,' may be referred either to us ad auagrias, the putting away of sin,' that goes before, or to Qargτα, was manifest,' that follows after. In the first way, the sense is, he was manifest to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself;' in the latter, he appeared by the sacrifice of himself to put away sin,' which confines his appearance to his sacrifice; which sense is expressed by the Vulgar translation, per hostiam suam apparuit. He appeared by his own host,' say the Rhemists. But the former reading of the words is evidently to the mind of the apostle. For his appearance was what he did in general with respect to the end mentioned, and the way whereby he did it.

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1. There is what he did. He appeared;'g, was manifested.' Some say that this appearance of Christ is the same with his appearance in the presense of God for us, mentioned in the foregoing verse. But as it is another word that is used, so another thing is intended. That appearance was after his sacrifice; this is in order to it. That is in heaven; this was on earth. That is still continued; this is that which was already accomplished, at the time limited by the apostle. Wherefore, this appearance, this spargis, or manifestation of Christ in the end of the world, is the same with his being manifested in the flesh, 1 Tim. iii. 16.; or his coming into the world, or taking on him the seed of Abraham to this end, that he might suffer and offer himself to God. For what is affirmed is opposed to what is spoken immediately before, namely, of his suffering often since the foundation of the world. This he did not do, but appeared, was manifest, that is, in the flesh, in the ends of the world, to suffer and to expiate sin. Nor is the

word ever used to express the appearance of Christ befor God in heaven. His pagos, is his coming into the world by his incarnation to the discharge of his office. His appearance before God in heaven, is his upavicus. And his illustrious appearance at the last day, is his Qavia, though that word be used also to express his glorious manifestation by the gospel, 2 Tim. i. 10.; see 1 Tim. iii. 16. 1 John iii. 8. Tit. ii. 14. This therefore is the meaning of the word: Christ did not come into the world, he was not manifested in the flesh often since the foundation of the world, that he might often suffer and offer, but he did so, he so appeared, was so manifest, in the end of the world.

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2. The end of this appearance of Christ, was saferno aμagT105, 'to put away sin.' And we must inquire both what is meant by sin, and what by the putting of it away. Wherefore by sin,' the apostle intends the whole of its nature and effects, in its root and fruits, in its guilt, power and punishment; sin absolutely and universally; sin, as it was an apostasy from God, as it was the cause of all distance between God and us, as it was the work of the devil; sin, in all that it was, and all that it could effect, or all the consequences of it; sin, in its whole empire and dominion; as it entered by the fall of Adam, invaded our nature in its power, oppressed our persons with its guilt, filled the whole world with its fruits, gave existence and right to death and hell, with power to Satan to rule in and over mankind; sin, as it rendered us obnoxious to the curse of God and eternal punishment. In the whole extent of sin, he appeared to put it away, that is, with respect to the church which is sanctified by his blood, and dedicated to God.

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Adres, which we render putting away,' is abrogatio, dissolutio, destructio, an abrogation, disannulling, destroying, disarming. It is the name of taking away the force, power and obligation of a law. The power of sin, as to all its effects and consequents, whether sinful or penal, is called its law, the law of sin,' Rom. viii. 2. And of this law, as of others, there are two parts or powers. 1. Its obligation to punishment, after the nature of all penal laws; hence it is called the law of death,' that whereon sinners are bound over to eternal death. This force it borrows from its relation to the law of God and the curse thereof. 2. Its impelling, ruling power, subjectively in the minds of men, leading them captive into all enmity and disobedience to God, Rom. vii. 23. Christ appeared to abrogate this law of sin, to deprive it of its whole power; 1st, That it should not condemn us any more, nor bind us over to punishment. This he did by making atonement for it, by the expiation of it, undergoing in his own suffering the penalty due to it, which of necessity he was to suffer, as often as he offered himself. Herein consisted the aders, or abrogation of its

law,' principally. 2dly, By the destruction of its subjective power, purging our consciences from dead works, in the way that hath been declared. This was the principal end of the appearance of Christ in the world, 1 John iii. 8.

3. The way whereby he did this, was by the sacrifice of himself, δια της θυσίας αυτα for ἱαυτ8. That sacrifice wherein he both suffered and offered himself to God. For that both are included, the opposition made to his often suffering doth evince.

This therefore is the design and meaning of these words, to evidence that Christ did not offer himself to God often, more than once, as the high priest offered every year before his entrance into the holy place; the apostle declares the end and effect of his offering or sacrifice, which render the repetition of it needless. It was one, once offered in the end of the world, nor need be offered any more, because of the total abolition and destruction of sin at once made thereby. What else concerns the things themselves spoken of, will be comprised under the ensuing observations.

Obs. VI. It is the prerogative of God, and the effect of his wisdom, to determine the times and seasons of the dispensation of himself and his grace to the church.-Hereon it depends alone, that Christ appeared in the end of the world, not sooner nor later, as to the parts of that season. Many things do evidence a condecency to divine wisdom, in the determination of that season. As, 1. He testified his displeasure against sin, in suffering the generality of mankind to lie so long under the fatal effects of their apostasy, without relief or remedy, Acts xiv. 16. xvii. 30. Rom. i. 21. 24. 26. 2. He did it to exercise the faith of the church, called by virtue of the promise, in the expectation of its accomplishment. And by the various ways whereby God cherisheth their faith and hope was he glorified in all ages, Lukei. 70. Mat. xiii. 16. Luke x. 24. 1 Pet. i. 10, 11. Hag. ii. 7. 3. To prepare the church for the reception of him, partly by the glorious representation made of him in the tabernacle and temple, with their worship; partly by the burden of legal institutions, laid on them till his coming, Gal. iii. 24. 4. To give the world a full and sufficient trial of what might be attained towards happiness and blessedness, by the excellency of all things here below. Men had time to try what was in wisdom, learning, moral virtue, power, rule, dominion, riches, arts, and whatever else is valuable to rational nátures, They were all exalted to their height, in their possession and exercise, before the appearance of Christ, and all manifested their own insufficiency to give the least real relief to mankind from under the fruits of their apostasy from God. See 1 Cor. i. 5. To give time to Satan to fix and establish his kingdom in the world, that the destruction of him and it might be the more conspicuous and glorious. These, and sundry other things

of a like nature, do evince that there was a condecency to divine wisdom in the determination of the season of the appearance of Christ in the flesh. Howbeit it is ultimately to be resolved into the sovereign will and pleasure of God.

Obs. VII. God had a design of infinite wisdom and grace in his sending of Christ, and his appearance in the world thereon, which could not be frustrated-He appeared to put away sin." The footsteps of divine wisdom and grace herein I have inquir ed into in a peculiar treatise, and shall not here insist on the same argument.

Obs. VIII. Sin had erected a dominion, a tyranny over all men as by a law.-Unless this law be abrogated and abolished, we can have neither deliverance nor liberty. Men generally think that they serve themselves of sin in the accomplishment of their lusts, and gratification of the flesh; but they are indeed servants of it, and slaves to it. It hath gotten a power to command their obedience to it, and a power to bind them over to eternal death for the disobedience to God therein. As to what belongs to this law and power, see my Discourse of Indwelling Sin.

Obs. IX. No power of man, of any mere creature, was able to evacuate, disannul or abolish this law of sin.-For,

Obs. X. The destruction and dissolution of this law and power of sin, was the great end of the coming of Christ for the discharge of his priestly office in the sacrifice of himself.— No other way could it be effected. And,

Obs. XI. It is the glory of Christ, it is the safety of the church, that by his one offering, by the sacrifice of himself once for all, he hath abolished sin as to the law and condemning power of it.

VER. 27, 23.—Και καθ' όσον απόκειται τοις ανθρωποις άπαξ αποθανειν, μετα δε τετο κρίσις· Οὕτως ὁ Χριστος άπαξ προσενεχθείς εις το πολλων ανενεγκείν άμαρτίας, εκ δευτερα χωρίς ἁμαρτίας έφθήσεται τοις αυτον απεκδεχομένοις εις σωτηρίαν.

tutum est.

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Kai xat door, et cicut, et quemadmodum. ATONEITAI, statutum, constiTois avlewnois, Syr. Nw, to the sons of men," of Adam, all his posterity.' 'Aаž, Syг. 121 8777, that at one time,' ' a certain appointed time.' Μετα δε τετο. Vul. Post hoc autem, postea verò, and afterward.' Syr. pani

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at one

Rhem.

Alαig

' and after their death,' the death of them. So also Christ, ana. Syr. 12 T, one time,' time.' Els To aveve[xty, Vul. ad exhaurienda peccata. to exhaust the sins of many,' without any sense. may signify to lift, or bear up,' not at all to draw out of any deep place,' though there may be something in that allusion. Syr. on 7 ipa), and in himself he slew or sacrificed the sins of many. In himself, that is, by the sacrifice of