HOPKINS,

The divine law requires perfect obedience, under penalty of punishment, proportioned to the demerit of transgression. "Man by transgression has incurred the penalty of this law and fallen under the curse of it." "This curse cannot be taken off, and man released, until it has its effect, and all the evil implied in it be suffered."

Syst. Vol. 1. p. 465. "The law of God does admit of a substitute, both in obeying the precepts, and suffering the penalty of it."

Syst. Vol. 1. p. 492. "Christ suffered for sin, was made a curse, that is, suffered the curse of the law, the curse of God; and in his sufferings he, in a sense, suffered and felt the displeasure and wrath of God; and the anger of God against sin and the sinner was in a high and eminent degree manifested and expressed in the sufferings and death of Christ." Ibid. p. 491. "The law could not be fulfilled by Jesus Christ without bis suffering the penalty of it,

OTHERS.

"That the moral character of God should be truly delineated in his government, is what is of primary and principal importance; because with this is certainly connected the order, the harmony, and the greatest good of the universe. The character of God being infinitely excellent, and in itself most perfectly harmonious; when it is truly delineated in his government, must of necessity be productive of the greatest good and harmony among his creatures. To manifest the real excellencies of the divine character, therefore, it was that the law was originally given; and for the same end was it established by such awful sanctions. The honour of the law of course is evidently maintained, and the ends of government answered, when that character, with which the supreme ruler invests himself in the various parts of his law, is exhibited and supported in administration. So that whenever God's just and real displeasure against sin, is exhibited in some other way, to

righteous. And in another place, (Gal, iv. 4.) he extendeth the cause of the pardon that delivereth us from the curse of the law, to the whole life of Christ, saying; when the fulness of time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, subject to the law, to redeem them that were under the law:

and so affirmed that in his very baptism, (Matt. iii. 25.) was fulfilled one part of righteousness, that he obediently did the commandment of his Father. Finally, from the time that he took upon him the form of a servant, he began to pay the ransom to redeem us. But the scripture, to set out the manner of our salvation more certainly, doth ascribe this as peculiar and properly belonging to the death of Christ." "And yet, is not the rest of his obedience excluded, which he performed in his life: as Paul comprehendeth it wholly, (Phil. i. 7.) from the beginning to the end, in saying, that he abased himself, taking upon him the form of a servant, and was obedient to his Father to death, even the death of the cross. And truly, even in the same death his willing submission hath the first degree, because the sacrifice, unless it had been willingly offered, had

OTHERS.

perfectly fulfil it; endured most grievous torments immediately in his soul, and most painful sufferings in his body; was crucified, and died; was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day he arose from the dead," "ascended into heaven," "maketh intercession; and shall return, to judge men and angels."

"The Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, which he through the eternal Spirit once offered up unto God, hath fully satisfied the justice of his Father; and purchased not only reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for all those whom the Father hath given unto him." "To all those for whom Christ hath purchased redemption, he doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same."

Say. Plat. Con. C. Scot. Con. P. C. U. S. ch. 8. sec. 3, 4, 5, 8. and Larger Cat. Q. 59.

"As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath he, by the eternal and most free purpose of his will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are

and obeying it perfectly. For to give up the penalty, and not execute the threatening of the law, when it is transgressed, is to dissolve and destroy the law; for a penalty is essential to a law."

"Therefore had the Redeemer undertaken to save man, with out regard to the penalty of the law, and suffering it himself, he would have come to make void the law and destroy it, to all intents and purposes. He could not make 'reconciliation for sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness,' which it was predicted he should, without suffering the penalty of the law, the everlasting rule of right

eousness."

Syst. Vol. 1. p. 468. "Sinful men were under the curse of the law; and in order to redeem them, the Redeemer must take their place under the law, and suffer the penalty, bear the curse for them, and in their

room.

Syst. Vol. 1. p. 469. By "inflicting the threatened penalty on him, "God has agreeable to the strictest truth, executed the threatening of his law, according to the true intent and meaning of it; and by this has opened a way for reconciliation and peace with man, while his truth and righteous

OTHERS.

equal advantage as it would be in the destruction of the sinner; atonement is then made for his sins, and a door opened for the exercise of pardoning mercy."

West on Atonement, p. 29.

"The true reason why God required an atonement for sin, was, that the real disposition of his own infinite mind, toward such an object, might appear; even though he pardoned and saved the sinner. Could the character of God, the disposition of the divine mind both toward holiness and sin, otherwise appear to equal advantage; there is not the least reason to imagine that he would ever have required an atonement."

West on Aton. p. 15.

Should God pardon without an atonement, he would appear to his rational creatures, not to hate sin, to be defective in his regard for the public good, and to violate the spirit of his own law. Hence his government could not be respected.

West on Aton. ch. 2. head 1, 2, 3, 4.

It was necessary that God should express his regard to the penal and preceptive parts of the law, by making an exhibition in actions of his hatred of

cousness."

"We should learn that which Isaiah teacheth, (Isa. liii. 9.) that the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and that by his stripes we are healed. For to take away our damnation, every kind of death sufficed not for him to suffer, but to finish our redemption, one special kind of death was to be chosen, wherein both drawing away our damnation to himself, and taking our guiltiness upon himself, he might deliver us from them both." It was necessary that he should be "accounted among the wicked. (Isa. liii. 21.) Why so? Even to take upon him the stead of a sinner, not of a man righteous, or innocent, (Matt. xv. 18.) because he suffered death, not for the cause of innocency, but for sin."

"This is our acquital, that the guiltiness which made us subject to punishment, is removed upon the head of the Son of God. For this setting of one against the other, we ought principally to hold fast, lest we tremble and be careful all our life long, as though the just vengeance of God did hang

due season; are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by his power through faith unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ—but the elect only.”

Con. P. C. U. S. Say. Plat. and Con. C. Scot. ch. 3. Sec. 6.

"Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering himself a sacrifice without spot. to God, to be a reconciliation for the sins of his people; and in making continual intercession for them."

Larger Cat. Q. 44. Shorter, Q. 25.

"The only Redeemer of God's elect, is the Lord Jesus Christ." Shorter Cat. Q. 21. "Neither is there salvation

in any other, but in Christ alone, who is the Saviour only of his body, the church."

Larger Cat. Q. 60. "Furthermore, by his passion or death, and by all those things which he did and suffered for our sakes, from the time of his coming in the flesh, our Lord reconciled his Father to all the faithfull, purged their sinne, spoiled death, broke in sunder condemnation and hell, and by his resurrection from the dead he brought againe and

ously manifested."

Syst. Vol. 1. p. 494.

The work of Christ, as Redeemer, consists in atonement and meritorious obedience. Although his death was an act of obedience, yet these are two distinct things. Atonement consists in fulfilling the penal part of the law by suffering, to provide the way for pardon only; while meritorious obedience is such conformity to the preceptive part of the law as procures positive righteousness.

"The atonement made by Christ, in his suffering the penalty of the law, has respect only to the threatening of the law, that by suffering what was threatened, and what sin deserves, sinners who believe in him might be delivered from the curse. Thus Christ died for sin; was sacrificed or offered to bear the sins of many; and he shed his blood for the remission of sins, as the scripture asserts. This atonement therefore only delivers from the curse of the law, and procures the remission of their sins who believe in him; but does not procure for them any positive good: it leaves them under the power of sin, and without any title to eternal

West on Aton. p. 23, 24, 26, and 27.

"The penalties of the law, we are to remember, express the displeasure of the law-giver in the pain and sufferings of the transgressor."

West on Aton. p. 27. "The honour of the divine law, agreeably to the true spirit and import of it, is fully preserved in the government of God,. when his displeasure against sin is made to appear, to equal advantage, as it doth in the execution of the penalties of the law; in whatever way it be done."

West on Aton. p. 28. The atonement particularly regarded the penal part of the law, and was designed to display God's anger against transgression. No atonement was needed to display God's love of obedience.

West on A. p. 30, 31, and 32. "As far as God's love of righteousness, and hatred of iniquity can be separately viewed and distinguished from each other; the great end of the death of Christ was to exhibit the latter, not the former." Hence the life of Christ was taken away, by natural evil, to display the divine hatred of moral