of sin, and gives that sense unto , with respect unto the guilt of sin as its cause. And hence ariseth the ambiguity נשא ifגדול עוני מנשוא .13 .of those words of Cain, Gen. iv denotes an act of God, if the words be spoken with reference in the first place to any acting of his towards Cain, retains the sense of iniquity, and the words are rightly rendered, 'My sin is greater than to be forgiven.' If it respect Cain himself firstly, assumes the signification of punishment, and the words are to be rendered; My punishment is greater than I can bear,' or is to be borne by me." This, I say, is the constant sense of this expression, nor can any instance to the contrary be produced. Some may be mentioned in the confirmation of it. Numb. xiv. 33. 'Your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years,' N and shall bear your whoredoms;' ver. 34. Inwn Ye shall bear your iniquities forty • עונתיכם ארבעים שנה years; that is, the punishment due to your whoredoms and iniquities, according to God's providential dealings with them at that time. Lev. xix. 8. He that eateth it, Ny shall that soul shall * נכרתה הנפש ההוא ?bear his iniquities. How be cut off. To be cut off for sin, by the punishment of it, and for its guilt, is to bear iniquity. So chap. xx. 16-18. for a man to bear his iniquity, and to be killed, slain, or put to death for it, are the same. הנפש החטאת היא תמות בן לא ישא בעון .20 .Ezek. xviii NT; the soul that sinneth it shall die; the Son shall not bear the sin of the father.' To bear sin, and to die for sin, are the same. More instances might be added, all uniformity speaking the same sense of the words. And as this sense is sufficiently indeed invincibly established by the invariable use of that expression in the Scripture, so the manner whereby it is affirmed that the Lord Christ bare our iniquities, sets it absolutely free from all danger by opposition. For he bare our iniquities when y the Lord made to meet on him, or laid on him, the iniquity of us all;' Isa. liii. 6. which words the LXX. render, καὶ κύριος παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν· “The Lord gave him up, or delivered him unto our sins.' That is, to be punished for them; for other sense the words can have none. 'He made him sin for us;' 2 Cor. v. 21. so he bore our sins;' Isa. liii. 11. How? 'In his own body on the tree;' 1 Pet. ii. 24. that when he was, and in his being stricken, smitten, afflicted, wounded, bruised, slain, so was the chastisement of our peace upon him. Wherefore, to deny that the Lord Christ in his death and suffering for us, underwent the punishment due to our sins, what we had deserved, that we might be delivered, as it everts the great foundation of the gospel; so by an open perverting of the plain words of the Scripture, because not suited in their sense and importance to the vain imaginations of men, it gives no small countenance to infidelity and atheism. END OF VOL. X. Printed by J. F. Dove, St. John's Square. |