exceeding great ; and that every deviation from God's perfect law brought upon us a curse, an everlasting curse, under the wrath of Almighty God : suppose, too, that the demands of law and justice could never be satisfied without the punishment of the offender, either in his own person, or in the person of an ade- quate surety ; then, in exact proportion as you mag- nify our guilt and misery, you magnify the Saviour, who by the sacrifice of himself has restored us to the Divine favour : and in proportion as you diminish our necessities, you depreciate the value of his atone- ment. Again, conceive of the law as never satisfied without a perfect obedience to its commands, and as requiring every soul to possess, either in himself or in his surety, a righteousness commensurate with its highest demands ; then will Christ be proportionably exalted, in that he has wrought out a righteousness for all who shall believe in him, and that, through his righteousness, a way of salvation is opened for every child of man. But reduce that righteousness to any lower standard — say, to sincere, but imperfect, obedience ; your need of Christ for this end is pro- portionably reduced, and your obligation to him almost altogether cancelled.
But take a larger view of his offices : conceive of him as a Prophet, who is to instruct us ; a Priest, that is to atone for us ; a King, that is to rule over us : what comparative need is there of his instructions, if so defective a knowledge of his religion will suffice ? What need of his sacrifice, if repentance and refor- mation can restore us to God's favour ? And what need of his government, if so little is to be effected in our behalf, either in a way of deliverance from sin, or in a way of effective renovation ? The less that is required of man himself, the less must of necessity be required of his Surety : and, consequently, the whole work of Christ, whether for us or in us, must be reduced, in proportion as we reduce the demands of the law, and the necessities of man.
The same reasoning must be applied to the opera- tions of the Holy Spirit : The less is required of us,