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He offered up his life as a real and proper atonement for the fins of an elect world. In this manner, the facred writers conftantly represent the death of our Saviour; and fometimes in exprefs allufion to the emblem in the text. So John the Baptift pointed him out to the Jews: "Behold," fays he, " the "Lamb of God, that taketh away the fins of the "world." The apoftle Peter fpeaks of his blood, that is, his dying on the crofs, as the invaluable price of man's redemption: "Ye were not redeemed," fays he, "with corruptible things, as filver and gold; "but with the precious blood of Chrift, as of a Lamb "without blemish and without spot (a)." When the apostle John had that vision of our Saviour, of which we have an account in this chapter, he faw him under the fame lively and endearing fimilitude, as a Lamb flain in the midft of the throne. And in the text, compared with the 9th verfe, the church is represented, in concert with the angels, finging a -new fong in honour of the Redeemer, faying," Worthy "is the Lamb that was flain, and hath redeemed us "to God by his blood."

In order to fhew you with what propriety our Saviour is ftyled the Lamb that was flain, I need only obferve, that, in dying on the crofs, he was the great antitype of all the facrifices which we find mentioned in the Old Teftament, For we have abundant reafon to believe, that thofe facrifices were originally of divine inftitution: That they were fo under the law, is a fact not to be difputed. Now, what was the meaning and intention of fuch an appointment? Is it to be fuppofed, that the Father of mercies would take pleasure in the death of the innocent? or that fuch facrifices could really atone for moral guilt, or be acceptable to the Divine Majefty? No; the apo ftle to the Hebrews exprefsly tells us, that thofe facrifices which they offered year by year, continually,

(a) I Pet. i. 18, 19.

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could not make the comers to the law perfect (b); "for then," fays he, "would they not have ceafed to be offered;" because that, the worshippers once purged, fhould have had no more confcience of fins. In a word, they were inftituted as prophetical types and higures of that great facrifice, the Lamb of God to be afterwards flain. They all looked to Chrift, and pointed out his death as the great atonement. How natural and just, then, is the allufion in the text? What more proper character for our crucified Redeemer, than the Lamb that was flain?

II. I am to point out the fitness of this fong, as applied to Chrift our Redeemer.

It is juftice, and a deferved tribute from the child-ren of men to Him who died for our fins, and who is fet down at the right hand of the Majesty of the throne of God: It is an honour which the Father hath put upon Him, that, at the name of Jefus, every knee should bow, and every tongue confefs, that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Now, this honour is unquestionably due to our Saviour, on the following accounts.

1. On account of his own perfonal dignity and excellence. For he is not only fairer than the children of men, and, in every refpect, fuperior to the angels; but he is the eternal and only begotten Son of God. And, furely, he who is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, deferve to be adored by man.. He who made the world, and all things in it, has an unqueftionable title to the highest homage and praife of his creatures: For, unto which of the angels faid he,. "at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I be--gotten thee?" And again, "I will be to him a Fa"ther, and he fhall be to me à Son." And again, when he bringeth in the First-begotten into the world

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(b) Heb. x. 1, 3.

world, he faith, " And let all the angels of God “worship him.” And of the angels, he faith, "Who "maketh his angels fpirits, and his minifters a flame "of fire" But unto the Son he faith, "Thy throne, "O God, is for ever and ever, and a fceptre of righte❝ousness is the fceptre of thy kingdom (c)." But he has a farther and peculiar claim to our higheft gratitude and adoration, when we reflect on his affuming our nature into a personal union with his divine nature. In confequence of this, he is not only God, but God and man in one mysterious perfon. His name is Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us. By this, indeed, he has diftinguifhed his regards to men, and honoured our nature above that of angels. For as the apoftle to the Hebrews tells us, "he took not on him the nature of angels, but the feed of Abraham.” And does not this render him worthy of our warmest and most grateful praise? With what esteem and affection ought we to honour him, who has fo highly honoured us?

2. On account of his aftonishing love, in dying on the cross for our redemption: "Worthy," fays the church," is the Lamb that was flain, and has re"deemed us to God by his blood."

The nature and the extent of this love of Christ, are chiefly to be confidered under this particular. It was of the most generous nature, and expreffed by the moft unequivocal proofs. It was not extorted from him by any kind of neceffity; for he would have been perfectly happy, although w had been miferable for ever. He was not prevailed on by any importunity on our part, far lefs induced by any thing worthy of his regard. There was no attraction in human nature to engage him to love it; nay, on the contrary, there was every thing about man to render him odious, and to provoke his just displeasure; and yet he loved us, notwithstanding the guilt and deformity.

() Heb. i. 5, 6, 7, 8.

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mity of fin. "When we were yet without ftrength," fays the apoftle, "in due time Chrift died for the un-" godly. God commendeth his love toward us, in that "while we were yet finners Chrift died for us." O, the abfolute freedom, the matchlefs generofity of his love! a love, indeed, peculiar to himself, infinite, like himself, and triumphing over all oppofition! What reason, then, have we to fay, with admiration and thankfulness, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,' "but to thy free and unmerited love be all the praife."

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But, farther, he gave the most unequivocal proofs of his love to mankind. It led him not only to fubmit to all the miseries of a humble life, but to the torments of a cruel and excruciating death: and this was the greatest proof of affection that can enter into the thought of man to conceive. "Greater love than "this hath no man," fays our Saviour himself, "that a man lay down his life for his friends :" but he expreffed a love far fuperior to this; he died for his enemies, for his perfecutors, for them who were difcovering the greatest malice against him in putting him to death. This was an expreffion of love without an example, and infinitely beyond all comparison. Chrift, fays the apoftle, gave himself for us, the juft for the unjuft; and what could he give more? He laid down his life for our redemption; and what can poffibly exceed, or even equal, this? How unmeasureable then is his love, and how deferving of our conftant gratitude! Worthy is the Lamb that was flain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and bleffing.

3. On account of the atonement and fatisfaction he made to the juftice of God for the fins of his people. All mankind, by nature, are under the condemning fentence, and curfe, of the divine law: for it is faid, "Curfed is every one who continueth not " in all things which are written in the book of the law "to do them." Nor is this the condition of the most profligate

profligate and abandoned merely, but of all, without exception, that ever lived on the face of the earth: A ftate, in which we are incapable of helping ourselves, or affording relief to one another. None of us could deliver himself, or his brother, by giving to God a fufficient ranfom. In a word, the redemption of the foul is precious, and, without this atonement, the foul must have perished for ever. But, in this feason of our danger, when, as the prophet expreffes it, there was no eye to pity, and no hand to help, Christ appeared as the Mediator between God and man; he was made flesh, that he might be capable of fuffering; and cheerfully underwent, as our Surety, that curfe and punishment which the law pronounced against the finner, and which we, as tranfgreffors, deferved to have borne. "He was made," fays the apoftle," to be fin for us, who, himfelf, knew no fin. "He bore our fins in his own body upon the tree. He "fuffered, the juft for the unjuft, that he might bring "" us to God:" and in this manner he has given complete fatisfaction to offended juftice, and fecured the peace and happiness of all who believe on him. How infinitely worthy, then, is he of receiving praise, and honour, and glory! when we view him, as fuffering on the crofs in our ftead, enduring the wrath of God, and never quitting his ftation till juftice was fully fatisfied, and till he was able to cry out with the voice of triumph, "It is finished."

4. On account of the invaluable bleffings he has purchased for us. Your time would fail me, if I were to illuftrate, and enter particularly on the enumeration of thefe. The crofs of Jefus is, indeed, the tree of life, which bears innumerable kinds of fruit, and the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations. How much does the apoftle exprefs in thefe few words? "He is made of God, unto us wif"dom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and redemption." By his death and fuffering, the justice of God is

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