of the covenant, before the throne of grace in our behalf. cuarcer With ‘his own blood—to appear in oe presence of God __— for us’ (Heb, ix. 12, 24). So presenting himself that his former oblation might have its perpetual efficacy, until the many sons given him are brought to glory. And herein his intercession consisteth, being nothing as it were but his oblation continued. He was the ‘Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Rev, xii. 8). Now his intercession before his actual oblation in the fulness of time being nothing but a presenting of the engagement that was upon him for the work in due time to be accomplished, certainly that which follows it is nothing but a presenting of what, according to that engagement, is fulfilled ; so that it is nothing but a con- tinuation of his oblation in postulating, by remembrance and declaration of it, those things which by it were pro- cured. How, then, is it possible that the one of these should be of larger compass and extent than the other ? Can he be said to offer for them for whom he doth not intercede, when his intercession is nothing but a present- ing of his oblation in the behalf of them for whom he suffered, and for the bestowing of those good things which by that were purchased.” *
8. The relation which this question sustains to the Relation doctrine of Election is -selfevident. The Calvinistic Sytction doctrine that God of his mere good pleasure has from (040°. eternity infallibly predestinated certain persons out of election. the mass of fallen humanity to salvation and to all the means thereof, and that in so doing he has sovereignly passed over the rest of mankind and left them to the natural consequences of their sin, necessarily settles the question as to the design of God in giving his Son to die. It is purely unthinkable that the same mind that sovereignly predestinated the elect to salvation, and the
* Owen’s Death of Death in the Death of Christ, b. i., ch. vii.
CHAPTER VI.
Our doc- trine har- monizes all the facts.
382 THE DESIGN OF THE-ATONEMENT.
rest of mankind to the punishment of their sins, should at the same time make a great sacrifice for the sake of removing legal obstacles out of the way of those from whose path it is decreed other obstacles shall not be removed. Schweitzer, in his article in Herzog’s En- cyclopeedia, says that Amyraldus, towards the close of his life, came to see that there was nothing real in all the new distinctions with which he had been attempting to smooth the harshness of Calvinism, and to obviate | some of the more specious objections to it. Unquestion- ably there is no compromise between Arminianism and Calvinism. Those who attempt to stand between must content themselves with treading the air while they receive the fire of both sides. We do not object to Cal- vinistic Universalism (that is, universal particularism, or particular universalism) because of any danger with which—when considered as a final position—it threatens © orthodoxy. We distrust it rather because it is not a final position, but is the first step in the easy descent of error.
9. Our view has the capital advantage of agreeing with and harmonizing all the facts of the case, and of representing Christ as having designed to accomplish by his death precisely what in the event is accomplished, and nothing else. We believe that he designed to ac- complish by his death the following ends: (1.) Evidently as the end to which all other ends stand related as means, the only end which affords any adequate reason for what he did, he purposed to secure certainly the sal- vation of his own people, those whom the Father had given unto him. (2.) To secure that end, he designed to purchase for them, and then efficaciously to communi- cate to them, faith and repentance and all the fruits of the Spirit. (8.) In order to the great end above stated, he purposed to purchase many temporal and other
TRUTH OF THE REFORMED DOCTRINE. 3033
blessings short of ‘salvation for all mankind, and in cusrrie various degrees for individual men, just as they are ~~ actually experienced under the dispensations of Provi- dence. (4.) In order also, as a further means to the same end, to lay, in the perfect sufficiency of the Atone- ment for all and its exact adaptation to each, a real foundation for the bond fide offer of salvation to all men indiscriminately on the condition of faith. The design
has the elect for its sole, ultimate end; and it in any way respects the non-elect only as the method which God has chosen for the application of redemption to the elect necessarily involves the bringing to bear upon the non- elect, among whom they live, influences, moral and other-
wise, which in various degrees involve their characters
and destinies.