5. The light of nature, or any religion invented by men, could never acquaint us _with the foundation of divine forgiveness_, nor shew _us any merit sufficient to procure it_; and in this sense we are left at a loss in all other religions, _upon what ground we could expect pardon from God_: For they knew nothing of an atonement equal to our guilt, nothing of a satisfaction great as our offences, and that could answer the high demands of infinite and offended justice. Mankind found out by reason, and by the stings and disquietudes of a guilty conscience, that there was an offended God in heaven; and in several countries they followed the dictates of a wild and uneasy imagination, inventing an endless variety of methods to appease the angry Deity. What multitudes of rams, and goats, and thousands of larger cattle, were cut to pieces, and burnt, to atone for the sins of men? What deluges of blood have overflowed their altars? What fanciful sprinklings, and vast effusions of wine and oil? The first-born son for the transgression of the father, and the fruit of the body for the sin of the soul? What cruel practices on their own flesh? What cuttings and burnings to procure pardon? And yet, after all, no true peace, nor reasonable hope. The Jewish religion indeed was invented by God himself, and it contained in it the way of obtaining pardon, but it was veiled and darkened by many types and shadows; though it was not defective as to real pardon, yet it was very defective as to solid peace; therefore the apostle tells us, Heb. x. 1, 2, &c. _The law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never, with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect, &c._ The sense of which, compared with the following verses, is plainly this, _Those sacrifices, that were so often repeated, could never perfectly take away the conscience of guilt_: there still remained some trembling fears, some uneasy doubts, some painful concern of mind, whether their iniquities should be entirely cancelled or no: because they were convinced that the blood of bulls and goats could not do it, and they could not fully and plainly see the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour. Dark hints, and obscure notices of such a Messiah, and such a sacrifice, they had; but such a one as could not generally free their consciences from all sense of defilement and guilt, and fears, though it cleansed their souls in the sight of God.