This,
or  example,  is  the  case,  in  all  three  respects,  with  the  doc-


Introductory


trine  that  the  sufferings  endured  by  our  Lord  are  necessarily
equivalent,  in  nature  and  degree,  to  those  which  would
otherwise  have  been  endured  by  the  redeemed — whether
this  view  be  stated  in  the  language  of  the  law  court  or  in
that  of  the  market. But  in  the  case  of  many  accounts,
which  in  themselves  are  less  extreme,  similar  difficulties
are  felt,  and  especially  on  the  ground  of  the  artificial
nature  of  the  so  called  divine  transaction. This  artifi-
ciality pertains  in  part  to  the  relations  between  the  Father
and  the  Son,  as  represented  in  such  schemes ;  but  yet  more
to  the  way  in  which  the  Atonement  has  apparently  been
taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  living  God  and  committed  to
certain  of  His  attributes,  especially  justice  and  mercy,  which,
at  least  in  popular  usage,  have  been  almost  personified,
and  set  bargaining  one  with  the  other  as  to  what  should
be  demanded  and  offered  as  a  satisfaction  for  sin. Mean-
while what  is  necessary,  not  to  the  majesty  of  God  or  to
the  interests  of  justice,  but  in  the  spiritual  interests  of
those  who  are  to  be  redeemed,  has  been  overlooked  in  the
explanations,  with  the  inevitable  result  that  men,  not
seeing  the  atoning  sacrifice  to  be  intrinsically  related  to
the  spiritual  well-being  of  sinners,  have  asked  whether  it
could  not  have  been  dispensed  with,  whether  regard  for
His  own  majesty,  or  even  for  abstract  claims  of  justice,
could  be  paramount  in  the  heart  of  God. Men  have
felt  themselves  baffled  at  being  repelled  by  attributes
when  they  would  deal  with  God,  or  by  being  told  in  the
last  resort  that  the  principles  of  justice,  or  the  require-
ments of  majesty,  as  recognised  by  and  prevailing  among
men,  make  that  necessary  for  God  which  they  them-
selves, as  they  think,  would  in  His  place  (if  the  supposi-


4        The  Spiritual  Principle  of  the  Atonement


tion  may  be  pardoned)  be  willing  to  forego. It  is  this
that  explains  the  great  hold  which  Dr. Dale's  treat-
ment has  gained  over  evangelical  thought. 