God is love. But the supreme object of that love is himself. And because he loves himself supremely he cannot suffer what belongs to the integrity of his character and glory to be compromised or curtailed. That is the reason for the propitiation.Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 28
Sacrifice views the atonement from the perspective of guilt, propitiation from that of wrath, reconciliation from that of alienation. Redemption has in view the bondage to which sin has consigned us, and it views the work of Christ not simply as deliverance from bondage but in terms of ransom.
The essential ingredients of the fear of God are correct concepts of the character of God, a pervasive sense of the presence of God and a constant awareness of our obligation to God.
The true fear of God can cause a spiritual earthquake in a man's heart, able to overthrow all the Devil's strongest holds or bosom sins.God’s Striking to Correct or Revenge
propitiation does not detract from the love and mercy of God; it rather enhances the marvel of his love. For it shows the cost that redemptive love entails.Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 28
propitiation is not a turning of the wrath of God into love. The propitiation of the divine wrath, effected in the expiatory work of Christ, is the provision of God's eternal and unchangeable love, so that through the propitiation of his own wrath that love may realize its purpose in a way that is consonant with and to the glory of the dictates of his holiness.Redemption Accomplished & Applied, 27
As we read the Old Testament we do not find any warrant for discrimination between the fourth and the other nine. Nor indeed do we find any intimation in the Old Testament that in the Messianic age the Sabbath law would cease. If any commandment is emphasized it is the fourth.The Fourth Commandment according to the Westminster Standards
If we say that the fourth commandment is abrogated and the other nine are not, we must understand what we are saying. It would indeed be an amazing phenomenon that in the heart of the decalogue there should be one commandment -and one given such prominence and meticulous elaboration -that is totally different from the others in this regard that they are permanent and it is not. Surely no one will dispute that in the Old Testament the ten commandments constitute a well-rounded and compact unit. And surely no one will dispute that the Old Testament is itself throughout conscious of that fact.The Fourth Commandment according to the Westminster Standards
If the ten commandments were a loose and disjointed collection of precepts, there would be nothing very extraordinary about the supposition we are now discussing. But that is precisely what the decalogue is notThe Fourth Commandment according to the Westminster Standards
O how deplorable a thing is it, that even this fear usually lasts not long when plague, sword, famine, or the like judgements come first amongst us!A Glimpse of God\'s Glory
Indeed we talk much of fearing God, but where is the man that lifts up God on high in his heart, by making him his dread? That acknowledges so his eminency with reverence, as to stand in awe of him above all creatures?A Glimpse of God\'s Glory
Propitiation presupposes the wrath of God and displeasure of God, and the purpose of propitiation is the removal of this displeasure. Very simply stated the doctrine of propitiation means that Christ propitiated the wrath of God and rendered God propitious to his people
The curse of the law is its penal sanction. This is essentially the wrath or curse of God, the displeasure which rests upon every infraction of the law's demand.Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 41
To suppose that we are delivered from the law in the sense of such obligation would bring contradiction into the design of Christ's work. It would contradict the very nature of God to think that any person can ever be relieved of the necessity to love God with the whole heart and to obey his commandments. When Scripture relates redemption to the law of God it uses terms that are more specific.Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 41
Propitiation presupposed the wrath and displeasure of God, and the purpose of propitiation is the removal of this displeasure.Redemption Accomplished & Applied, 26
But what does propitiation mean? In the Hebrew of the Old Testament it is expressed by a word which means to "cover." In connection with this covering there are in particular three things to be noted: (1) It is in reference to sin that the covering takes place; (2) the effect of this covering is in cleansing and forgiveness; (3) it is before the Lord that both the covering and its effect take placeRedemption Accomplished & Applied, 26
It is in virtue of his priestly office and in pursuance of his priest function that he makes atonement for sin. He indeed was the lamb slain, but he was also the priest that offered himself as the lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.