One additional observation is to be made on Mr. Erskine's view of the Atonement. He considers, in common with many other writers of his general way of thinking, that in that most solemn and wonderful event, we have a Manifestation, not only of God's love, but of His justice. E. g.
"The distinction of persons in the Divine nature we cannot comprehend, but we can easily comprehend the high and engaging morality of that character of God, which is developed in the history of the New Testament. God gave His equal and well-beloved Son, to suffer in the state of an apostate world: and through this exhibition of awful justice, He publishes the fullest and, freest pardon. He thus teaches us, that it forms no part of His scheme of mercy to dissolve the eternal connexion between sin and misery. No; this connexion stands sure; and one of the chief objects of Divine Revelation, is to convince men of this Truth; and Justice does the work of mercy, when it alarms us to a sense of danger, &c." p. 74.
Again:
"The design of the Atonement was to make mercy towards this offcast race consistent with the honour and the holiness of the Divine Government. To accomplish this gracious purpose, the Eternal Word, who was God, took on himself the nature of man, and as the elder brother and representative and champion of the guilty family, he solemnly acknowledged the justice of the sentence pronounced against sin, and submitted Himself to its full weight of woe, in the stead of His adopted kindred. God's justice found rest here; His law was magnified and made honourable, &c." pp. 102, 103.
The view maintained in these and other extracts, and by others besides Mr. Erskine, is remarkable for several reasons. First, for the determination it evinces not to leave us any thing in the gospel system unknown, unaccounted for. One might have thought that here at least somewhat of awful Mystery would have been allowed to hang over it; here at least some "depth" of God's counsels would have been acknowledged and accepted on faith. For though the death of Christ manifests God's hatred of sin, as well as His love for man, (inasmuch as it was sin that made His death necessary, and the greater the sacrifice the greater must have been the evil that caused it,) yet how His death expiated our sins, and what satisfaction it was to God's justice, are surely subjects quite above us. It is in no sense a great and glorious Manifestation of His justice, as men speak now-a-days; it is an event ever mysterious on account of its necessity, while it is fearful from the hatred of sin implied in it, and most
