The covenant of nature made with Adam described and cleared from sundry great mistakes. And thereby proving, I. That the kind of death that was threatned in that covenant, in Gen. 2.17. ought not to be understood of any other kind of death but of a double spiritual death, 1. By depriving Adam of Gods concreated image: and 2. By corruption of nature that followed thereupon. II. Proving that the said covenant was totally extinguished and made utterly null, as soon as Adam had but tasted of the forbidden fruit, and received the said threatned punishment. III. Expounding Gal. 3.10. and proving that the curse therein threatned must not be understood of the curse of the said covenant of nature, but of that curse that is threatned in the covenant of grace to the fallen posterity of Adam, for their not doing of Moses law by faith in Christ, which was given to them for the covenant of grace and reconciliation only. ... VIII. Expounding Rom. 8.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8. in ch. 25. By William Pynchon.

SECT. 8.

And to make Reconciliation for Unrighteousnesse.

1. THE Hebrew word Caphar which we translate Reconciliation or Atone∣ment: doth in propriety of speech signifie no more [But to cover a thing] as I have opened it in my former printed Reply in Chap. 14. and in this Book also in Chap. 15. But when it is applyed to sin and to Gods anger for sin, (as it is in this place) then it is translated Reconciliation or Atonement, or Ex∣piation: or as M••nster, Paguin, Vatablus, Calvin, Melancton, and U••banus Re∣gius do translate it in this verse, to purge iniquity, namely, by Gods Reconcilia∣on or Atonement.

2. To make, or to procure Reconciliation is the act of Christ: but the for∣mal * 1.1 act of Reconciliation it self is the act of God the Father: Now Christ doth make or procure his Fathers Reconciliation to sinnes, by doing the Office of a Priest in all things according to the Will of God, Heb. 10 9, 10. So in Esay 53. 10. It pleased, or it delighted the Lord to bruise him and to put him to grief when he should make his (vital) Soul a Trespasse, i.e. a Trespasse-Of∣fering: not that God (saith P. Martyr) delighted in Tormenting his Son; but he delighted to make manifest the perfection of his Obedience thereby.

3. In the typical Law of Works, the Priests made Reconciliation for all Is∣rael by the sin and trespasse-offerings, Lev. 6. 67. Numb. 5. 8. and by burnt-of∣ferings, as in 2 Cor. 29. 24. Levit. 1. 4. Levit. 4. 20, &c. The Priests killed them, and they made Expiation with their blood upon the Altar to make an A∣tonement for all Israel; For the King commanded that the burnt-Offering and the sin-Offering should be read for all Israel: and so in Eze. 45. 15, 17. It shall be the Princes part to give burnt-Offerings, and meat-Offerings, and drink-Offerings, in the Feasts, and in th•• new Moon••, &c. and he shall prepare the sin-Offering, and the meat-Offering, and th•• ••urnt-Offering, and the peace-Offering, to m••ke Reconcilla∣tion for the house of Israel: And in Lev. 17. 11. it is the bloud that maketh A∣tonement.

4. When God first appointed the Altar of Incense to be made: He said in Exod. 30. 10. Aaron shall make atonement upon the hor••s of it once in the year

with the bloud of the sin-Offering of Atonement: once in the year shall be make A∣tonement upon it, Lev. 16. 29, 30.

5. Aaron by Incense made Atonement, for as soon as the plague wa•• be∣gun against Corah and his Company: Moses bid Aaron to take fire from the Altar and put Incense thereon, and to run quickly into th•• Congregation to make Atonem••nt for them, and Aaron did so and ma••e Atonement for them, Numb. 16. 46. And Moses declared that it was the Priests Office to put Incense into Gods N••strils, Deut. 33. 16. that is to appease his anger and to procure his Reconciliation. And so in Exod. 30. 15, 16. They gave money for an Heave-Offering to make atonement for their souls.

6. From this typical way of making Reconciliation, we may see how Christ makes Reconciliation for the unrighteousnesse of believing sinners: namely by his fulfilling the truth of all the typical Sacrifices and Oblations, by his Obla∣tion and Intercession: Paul saith in 2 Cor. 5. 18. God hath reconciled us to him∣self by Jesus Christ; and in v. 19. God was in Christ Reconciling the world to him∣self by not imputing their trespasses unto them: Hence observe, that the meritorious Cause or the procuring means by the which God hath reconciled us to himself is Jesus Christ in his death, as is explained in ver. 21. For God was in Christ, that is to say, in covenant with Christ, that in case he did make himself the true sin-Offering, he would thereby reconcile believing sinners in all the world to himself by not imputing their sins to them: that so they might be made the Righteousness of God by Faith in Christ, who having made (i.e. Reconci∣liation] through the blood of his Crosse: it pleased the Father by him to reconcile all things to himself, Col. 1. 20. By him alone, no creature helping, either of things in earth or things in Heaven: and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your minds in wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of Christs fl••sh through death to present you holy and without blemish, and spotless in his sight, Col. 1. 21, 22. From hence observe this remarkable truth, That Gods Reconciliation procured by the meritorious obedience of Christ in his Death and Sacrifice doth present us unto God perfectly holy and without ble∣mish and spotlesse in his sight, that is to say, perfectly righteous from the guilt of all unrighteousness: and so in Heb. 2. 17. It behoved Christ to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high Priest in things pertaining to God, to make Reconciliation for the sins of the people: Christ is called the Reconciliation for our sins, that is to say, God sent him into the world to make Reconciliation for unrighteousness, 1 Joh. 2. 2. and in 1 Joh. 4. 10. God so loved us that he sent his Son to make Reconciliation for our sins: for if when we were enemies we were reconc••led unto God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life: neither that only, but also we glo∣ry in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, By whom we have now received the Atonement, Rom. 5. 10, 11. And in Ephes. 2 14. Christ is called Our Peace, that is, our Peace-maker, or our Atonement-maker: as it is also expressed in Rom. 5. 1. Being just••fied by faith we have p••ace with God (namely, Reconciliation with God) through our ••ord Jesus Christ, because according to the time appoint∣ed in Dan. 9. 24. Christ dyed for the ungodly. v. 6, 8.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Christ made Re∣conciliation for unright cousnesse by his Priestly death and sacri∣fice, or by his Oblation and Interc••ssion.