The Atonement: In Its Relations to the Covenant, the Priesthood, the Intercession of Our Lord

The Atonement is the most significant contribution to the Christian church by Hugh Martin, an author of extraordinary penetration and great power. At a time when the preaching of the cross has been displaced from many pulpits by talk about man, and where experience-orientated theology has come to reign, Martin’s exposition of the atonement is a book that demands attention.

The great distinctive feature of The Atonement is the emphasis it places on the importance of a covenant perspective, and its focus on the work of Christ as priest. Martin was adamant that these are essential to the right interpretation and proclamation of the doctrine of the atonement. In these pages the author also exposes the mis-steps in theology that empty the cross of its meaning and power. In doing so he notably expounds the concept of the double imputation of sin and righteousness, devastatingly exposes the weaknesses of the theology of F. W. Robertson, and treats the relationship between the atonement and the moral law.

Hugh Martin was a man who thought through the truth from first principles, always sensitive to the text of Scripture. His writings are characterised by a powerful, original, compelling, sometimes blazing light and gospel logic that demands and requires the closest attention and reflection. The way in which he penetrates to the heart of the work of Christ and then expounds the gospel out of its true centre calls for our best thinking and humblest spirits. For anyone who wants to learn what it is to think about Christ’s atonement these pages will open up new vistas and indeed whole panoramas that will, when gazed on with a loving and humble mind, fill the heart with love and praise.

Includes a Foreword by John C. A. Ferguson and Sinclair B. Ferguson

About the Author

Hugh Martin (1822-85) combined a brilliant analytical and mathematical mind with a child-like heart which rested in Christ and his atoning work, as revealed in the Scriptures. Born and brought up in Aberdeen, he gained the top prizes in mathematics at the University there, before going on to study for the ministry. He cast in his lot with those who left the Established Church at the Disruption and served at Panbride (Carnoustie) and Free Greyfriars, Edinburgh, until illness forced his retirement from the ministry at the age of 42.

Thereafter, he devoted himself, despite recurring ill health, to writing, preaching and continued involvement in church issues. In 1870 his The Atonement: in its Relations to the Covenant, the Priesthood, the Intercession of Our Lord was published (reprinted by Banner of Truth, 2013), in which he defended ‘the Catholic Doctrine of the Cross’, viewing the substitutionary nature of the atonement as being grounded in the covenant of grace. In recognition of his achievements, Edinburgh University conferred a Doctorate of Divinity on him in 1872.

Hugh Martin died in Dundee Royal Lunatic Asylum in June 1885, the cause of death being given as ‘organic disease of brain for two years’, which seems to indicate that he had been in the asylum for the last two years of his life.

Sherman Isbell has described Martin’s ‘eloquent theological interpretations of Bible characters and of Christ’s Gethsemane experience’ (Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology, Edinburgh, 1993), and he is remembered today for his commentary on Jonah, for his sermons The Shadow of Calvary and Christ for Us, and for his study on Simon Peter, all published by the Trust.