God, because the ftrength of fin remains. But, fay you, may not this difcourage profeffors from obedience? No it only directs them to the right and acceptable obedience, and not to dream that they fhall ever yield any acceptable obedience to the precept of the law, as a rule, till they be delivered from the curfe of the law, as a covenant; and confequently, that their firft duty is to come to Chrift, as the end of the law for righteouf ness; and then, being delivered from the ftrength of fin, they fhall be in cafe to perform duties of obedience acceptably. 8. Hence fee, That the fruit of Chrift's merit, and the fruit of his power go together: for, as a being under the law, and under the ftrength of fin, go together; fo freedom from the law, through the law-biding righteoufnefs of Chrift, and freedom from the ftrength of fin, go together: fo that the fruit of Chrift's merit and righteousness, imputed for freeing a man from the law of works, and the fruit of his power exerted in freeing a man from the commanding, as well as the condemning power of fin, go hand in hand together. It is worth our notice, my friends, that there is a fruit of the me rit of Chrift's death and refurrection, and that fruit is called redemption and juftification; and there is alfo a fruit of the power of Chrift's death and refurrection, and that is called likenefs and conformity, Rom. vi. 5.: and these two go together. The fruit of the merit and righteoufnefs of Chrift in his doing and dying, is never reaped by any foul, without the fruit of the power thereof alfo, which is the heart's being moulded to a conformity to his death and refurrection, by dying to fin, and arifing again to newnefs of life. Now, there is a twofold struggle and oppofition in every heart by nature against both thefe two things: there is a struggle against the merit and righteousness of Chrift, and that is by felf-righteoufnefs, which cannot endure to be fhut out of doors and there is a ftruggle against the power of Chrift's death, and that is by lufts and corruptions, which cannot endure to lofe their ftrength, rule, and dominion. But, whenever the merit of Chrift, and : his righteousness, is effectually applied, for fhutting felfrighteoufnels out of doors, there alfo the power of Chrift is effectually exerted, for pulling fin and corruption down from its throne and dominion, and divesting it of its ruling power and ftrength. Hence, true faith clofes with Chrift both for righteoufnefs and ftrength. As true obedience is called univerfal obedience, having a refpect to all God's commandments; fo, true faith is an univerfal faith, having a refpe&t to all the offices of Christ and to all the capacities wherein he is held forth. It receives a whole Chrift, without exception either of his righteoufnefs or ftrength, merit or Spirit. Some have but a partial faith, relishing Chrift only for freedom from the wrath of God, and not alfo for freedom from the power of fin: this is an evidence of a rotten heart; for true believers prize Chrift, not only as a Surety, for paying their debt, but also as a Root, for feeding them with the fap of fpiritual life, as a root feeds the branches; and they relish Chrift, not only as one that appeafes God's wrath, but one that purifies the foul from fin. To this purpofe, read Exod. xxiv. 6. 8. " And Mofes took half of the blood, and put it in bafons, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And then took the blood and fprinkled it on the people, and faid, Behold, the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." There you fee that the blood of the covenant, part of it was fprinkled on the altar, and part of it on the people: the blood was, as it were, divided two ways, fignifying that the blood of Christ works partly upward, for pacifying the wrath and fatisfying the juftice of God, in paying the ranfom and price for loft fouls; and partly downward upon the people, for fanctifying, fprinkling, cleanfing, and purifying them, that their defiled fouls may be made clean. 9. Hence, if the law be the ftrength of fin, we may fee what it is that hinders the fuccefs of the gospel for pulling down the ftrength of fin. Why, the law ftands in the way of every natural man, his not fubmitting to Chrift offered in the gofpel. The fig-leaf covering of felf-righteoufnefs hinders men from putting on the white robe, robe, the glorious garment of Chrift's righteousness. As the fpider hath a web, and the fnail hath a fhell, and these are their ftrong holds; fo every man hath his ftrong hold that he flees unto for fhelter, and fomething that his heart fets up as a ladder, by which he hopes to be faved, and climb up to heaven: and though the law be a broken ladder, and Chrift alone the true Jacob's ladder, that reacheth from earth to heaven, and which the gospel points at; yet the man will not quit the broken ladder, the law of works; and, the more they climb that ladder, the further they go away from Chrift. Hence the greatest zealots for the law are the greatest enemies of Chrift: witnefs, Paul before his converfion; he was one of the beft men for his righteoufnefs in the law; and yet one of the wort men we read of for his oppofition to Chrift. Think it not ftrange, Sirs, to fee fome very grave, fober, moral, and devout perfons, and touching the law blamelefs and innocent outwardly, and yet thefe very perfons, heart-enemies to Chrift, and violent oppofers of the gofpel: why, even like Paul, the beft legal man may be the worst gofpel man; and hence the Gentile is brought in before the Jews, Rom. ix. 26. yea, the publicans and harlots before the felf-righteous Pharifees, Mat. xxi. 31. 31. But But you would confider, that it is not merely thefe that are by profeflion and outward practice zealous for the law, that are the only oppofers of the gofpel; but there is an underhand dealing with the law, that marrs alfo the fuccefs of the gofpel, and that by two forts of perfons, which are not fufpected to be in fuch friendship with the law of works, namely, 1. Profeft breakers of the law. 2. Profeft believers of the gofpel. (1.) There are profeft breakers of the law; I mean, profane, wicked, and ungodly perfons, who declare their fin as Sodom, and are in a manner profeffors of profanity, drunkenness, whoredom, fwearing, Sabbathbreaking, and debauchery; being gracelefs, prayerless, godlefs perfons, with a witnefs, that have no regard to the law as a rule of life, yet we will find they have an underhand dealing with the law, and a natural regard to it, as a condition of life, or covenant of works, and there thereupon reject the gofpel. Now, their regard to the law, as a covenant, appears, partly, when they are inwardly challenged by confcience; and partly, when they are outwardly challenged by men for their fin: when inwardly challenged by confcience, if at any time it be awakened, why then, they flee to the law for relief, faying with themselves, Oh! I hope, I will be a better man before I die; I will take up myfelf, and turn a new leaf: and fo they build upon the law of works, hoping they will do fomething that they may obtain life by, and faying in effect, "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all;" and thus they reject Chrift, the Surety of the better teflament. Or, if fuch meet with no inward checks, and have no challenges inwardly for their fin; yet their zeal for the law will fometimes appear, when outwardly challenged by men; why, the profane fwearer either takes the reproof with a jeft, and laughs it over; or, if he find the reprover in fad earneft with him, then he will fall a juftifying himself upon a law-bottom; Why, fays he, what take you me to be? do you think that I am an atheist or an infidel? Nay, whatever be my faults, I was never fuch an ill man as you take me to be; and, therefore, I hope in God that he will have mercy on me. What is this but the profane breaker of the law, underhand, building his hope of mercy upon the law, as a covenant, to the greatest difhonour of the law, and contempt of Chrift, the end of the law for righteoufnefs, and hereupon living in the open neglect of the great falvation offered in the gospel? (2.) There are profeft believers of the gofpel, that yet have underhand dealing with the law for righteousness, to the neglect of the gofpel, which yet they profess to believe, infomuch, that Chrift is but a ftumbling-block to them: fuch were the Jews, Rom. ix. 31, 32. "But Ifrael, which followed after the law of righteoufnefs, hath not attained to the law of righteoufnefs: Wherefore? becaufe they fought it not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law; for they stumbled at that ftumbling-ftone." These words, as it were, are of great fignificancy, fhewing, that they did not profefs to feek righteousness by the law, or by their own works, but by Chrift, the pro mifed Meffias, to whom they were directed by their facrifices that typified him, and by the Old-tellament prophecies and promifes that pointed him out: but while they profeft Chrifl the Meffias, and faith in him for righteoufnefs; yet they clofely and underhand, purfaed their own righteoufnefs, fecking life and falvation, not profeffedly and directly, but as it were, by the works of the law, and fecretly refted in the law and the works thereof, and fo mifcarried; and this was their ftumbling ftone, under a bright profeffion that they made to the contrary. Thus many profefs the doctrine of juftifica tion by faith, and not by the works of the law; yet fecretly and underhand clofely purfue and go about to eftablish their own righteoufnefs, if not directly, yet, as it were, by the works of the law; laying more stress, for example, upon what they call their fincere heart, fincere obedience, fincere endeavours, than ever they did upon the perfect obedience of Chrift for juftification. But whether a bottle be ftopt with gold or dung, yet being full, whatever water you pour upon it, it will all run afide even fo, the water of life, freely difpenfed in the gofpel, runs afide like water fpilt upon the ground, becaufe men's hearts are ftopt with the law, their own legal righteoufnefs, which they esteem as gold; but Paul compares it to dung: Chrift can get no admittance, because the foul is full already. But then, 10. If the ftrength of fin be the law, hence we may fee, That the law can never pacify the duly awakened confcience; and that fo far is any man from being able to stand before God, in the beft of his own righteoufnefs, that he cannot fo much as ftand before his own confcience in the best righteousness of his own. Some go to the law for fatisfaction to their confcience; they rock. and lull their confciences afleep in the cradle of fome outward duty; they go to church, and attend fome ordinances; they fay fome formal prayers; and others go greater lengths, merely to gratify confcience: but if confcience were duly awakened and convinced, it would, not be pacified with any thing lefs than that which pacifies infinite juftice; nor would it be fatisfied with any thing less than that which fully fatisfies the law: fo long VOL. V. † H as |