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Rom. iii. at the close, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." The law is now delivered to us in the hand of a Mediator; it has loft nothing of its original authority as coming from a God-creator, but this law of the Creator receives an additional authority, as being iffued to us through a God-redeemer.

4. By writing it upon the heart of all his followers, by the finger of his eternal Spirit, according to that promife, Jer. xxxi. 33. "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Whenever a foul is called effectually by the word and Spirit of Chrift, he, that moment, inlays a principle of holinefs, or conformity to the law, in its heart: hence are thefe breathings of foul after obedience to it, that we find fo frequent among the faints; "Let my heart be found in thy ftatutes; O that my ways were directed to keep thy ftatutes: Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps flip

not."

5. By enforcing obedience to the law among all his followers, by stronger motives than the law itself, abstractly confidered, could afford. Death, hell, and ruin are the principal motives that the law makes ufe of in exacting obedience from fallen man: "In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou fhalt furely die: The foul that finneth it fhall die: Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every foul of man that doth evil." But now Christ in the gospel does not drag but draws the foul fweetly into the ways of obedience, by the confideration of redeeming love; he draws them with the "cords of a man, and with the bands of love: The love of Christ conftrains me (fays Paul:) If ye love me, keep my commandments." He fets them at liberty from wrath, and the curfe, and then calls them "to ferve him without fear, in holinefs and righteoufnefs all the days of their life;" and fo he makes his yoke eafy, and his burden light.

6. By actuating them in their obedience to the law by his own Spirit, according to that promife of the covenant, Ezek. xxxvi. 27. "I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my ftatutes, and ye fhall keep my judgements, and do them." Hereby they are made to ftudy holiness" in all manner of converfation," and the light of their obedience and holiness in their walk fhines forth, fo as others feeing their good works, are made to "glorify their Fatheir which is in heaven."

Thus you fee how Chrift magnifics the law, and makes it honourable, as a covenant, fulfiling the righteoufness of it in his own perfon, as our Surety, and as a rule of obedience in the

hearts

hearts and lives of his followers; though indeed I think it is in the first fenfe that the words are principally to be understood, I mean the law as a covenant, as feems plain from the other clause of the verfe compared with this, The Lord is well pleafed for his righteoufnels fake; not for the fake of our obedience, but for the fake of his righteousness, the Lord is well pleased.

V. The fifth thing in the method was, to inquire into the reajons of this doctrine: why is it that Christ doth magnify the law, and make it honourable.

Unto this I answer in these particulars.

ift, He did it from the regard he had to his Father's honour and authority, affronted in the violation of the law. The fovereignty, holinefs, juftice, and other perfections of God, were defpifed, his government difturbed in the breach of the law. Now, that he might reftore that honour to God which he took not away, he would magnify the law, and make it honourable: hence he could fay to his Father, when he had finished his work, "Father, I have glorified thee upon earth," where he was difhonoured by the tin of man.

2dly, He did it out of love that he bore to our falvation, which could not be accomplished, without the penalty of the law had been endured, and the precept of it obeyed. The law and juftice of God was ready to fall upon us, but he feafonably interpofed, faying, "Lo! I come," &c.

3dly, Because he was ordained of God from eternity for this work and fervice, he was fet up for it by the decree and ordination of heaven, and he did always thele things that pleafed his Father.

4thly, Because he had given his engagement in the council of peace; he entered his name in the volume of God's book, and had his ear bored as his Father's fervant for this work; and having sworn or promifed to his own hurt, he would not change. It was upon the credit of this engagement of Chrift to fatisfy law and juftice, that all the Old Tellament faints were admitted into heaven; and if he had not fulfilled his undertaking, they had been turned out of heaven again, in among the damned but his Father knew that he was match for his work, and that he would not "faint nor be difcouraged, till he had fet judgement in the earth."

5thly, le magnified the law as a covenant, that "we might be freed from it," in its covenant-form, and curfe, Gal. iv. 4. He was made under the law to redeem them that were under the law." Rom. vi. 4. "Ye are dead to the law by the body of Chrift."

6thly, He magnified the law, and made it honourable, as a

Covenant,

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covenant, that we may obey it as a rule, and ferve the Lord without fear of the curfe and condemnation, "in holinefs and righteousness all the days of our lives." If Chrift had not repaired the honour of the law, we had been in bondage through fear of the law's penalty taking place upon us

every moment.

7thly, To procure and confirm his own right of government as Mediator, Rom. xiv. 9. "To this end Christ both died, and rofe, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living." He was refolved to be Lord, not only by right of creation, but by the right of redemption; not only the Lord that made us, but the Lord that bought us; and therefore he magnifies the law.

8thly, That he might ftill the enemy and the avenger, and outfhoot the devil in his own bow. Satan's vfurped kingdom and dominion in the world ftood upon the violation of the law; the law being broken, the devil got his power from God, as his jailor and executioner over poor man: but now Chrift, as a Surety-kinfman, having fulfilled the law, and fatisfied juftice, the bottom falls out of the devil's kingdom, his head is bruifed, and through death he that had the power of death is destroyed. When Satan had got man to break the law, and fo brought under the penalty, ("the foul that finneth it fhall die,") no doubt the devil would fay, 'Now the day is mine own, God cannot fave man in a confiftency with his own holiness and faithfulness engaged in the penalty of the law. He thought, no doubt, that he had God at a disadvantage, being bound to deftroy his own viceroy, that bore his own image in this lower world. But Infinite Wisdom outwits the enemy, he "takes the wife in his own craftiness," and turns the counfel of that froward fpirit headlong: "My Son (fays God) fhall take on man's nature, and in his room and flead fhall magnify the law and make it honourable, by obeying the commands and enduring the curfe; and fo, upon that ground, he fhall bring about the falvation and freedomof man, in a confiftency with my holinefs and faithfulness too:" John iii. 8. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifefted, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Thus you fee the reafons why Chrift magnified the law, and made it honourable.

VI. I proceed now to the fixth thing I propofed, which was the application of this doctrine.

And the first ufe 1 ihall make of this doctrine, fhall be by way of unterence in the particulars following.

, Is it fo that Chrift, as our Surety, has magnified the law,

and

and made it honourable? then fee hence the excellency of the law of God, and the facred regard that God bears unto it. Why, if ever man, who had violated the law, be admitted to the prefence of God, or the enjoyment of him, either here or hereafter, it shall be in fuch a way as the honour of the law shall be falved and repaired. Oh Sirs! beware of diminutive thoughts of the holy law of the ten commandments, for God thinks honourably of it, and will have the honour of it maintained at any rate. If the righteousness of it be not fulfilled in you by imputation, the penalty of it fhall be fulfilled in your eternal condemnation. The great plot of Infinite Wisdom, in the work of redemption, was to have the law magnified and made honourable, in the falvation of the loft finner; and because this could not be done another way, the eternal Son of God must be "made of a woman," that he might be "made under the law," that fo the honour of the holy law might be maintained and preserved. Oh does not this fay, that God has a facred regard unto the honour of it? And yet, alas! how few are they among profeffed Chriftians, that difcover any regard to its honour, while they trample it every day under their feet, by their difobedience unto it, in thought, word, and deed? No man is a Christian indeed, until he come, in fome measure, to have honourable thoughts of the law as God hath, faying, with Paul, "the law is holy, just, and good." David had fuch honourable thoughts of it, that he meditated in it day and night, and esteemed all its commandments concerning all things to be right.

2dly, See hence the evil of fin, and why Chrift came to finifh tranfgreffion, and make an end of it. Why, fin is a tranfgreffion of the law, which Chrift will have magnified and made honourable. God, the righteous Judge, has fuch a quar, rel against fin, for the violation of his law, that he has de nounced "indignation, and wrath, tribulation and anguish, against every foul that doth evil" And his quarrel against it will be profecuted to the loweft hell, againft a wicked unbelieving world: He has determined, that the wicked fhall be turned into hell, and all the nations of the earth that forget God, and caft his law behind their backs. Yea, when fin was laid by imputation upon him, who had no fin of his own to answer for, even the eternal and beloved Son of God; yet the raging fword of juftice awaked against him, and bruifed him for our tranfgreffions. Why, Sirs, does not all this difcover the evil and malignity that is in fin, as it is a tranfgreffion of that law which God will at any rate have magnified and made honourable? Oh, ye that love the Lord, hate it, for it is the abominable thing that his foul hates, &c.

3dly, Did Chrift magnify the law, and make it honourable ? Then fee hence the dreadful fituation of every finner that is out of Chrift, deftitute of his righteoufnefs. Why, the law of God, which denounces death unto every tranfgreffor, ftands in its full force against them: it ftill infifts upon the debt of perfect and finlefs obedience against you; and because ye cannot give that, it denounces the curfe of God upon you; "As many as are of the works of the law are under the curfe," Gal. iv. 10. The law will have its curfe executed and fulfilled, either in the Surety or the finner.

4thly, See hence the wonderful love of God to loft finners, in fending his own Son to magnify the law, after we had violate and broken it; and at the fame time it difcovers the grace and love of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who, though he be fupreme Judge, King, and Lawgiver, yet was willing to be "made under the law," and to obey it as a fubject, that we might be delivered from law-vengeance, and have the righteousness of it fulfilled in us through him, Rom. viii. 3. 4. "What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God fending his own Son, in the likeness of finful flefh, and for fin condemned fin in the flesh: That the righteoufnefs of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

5thly, See hence the ignorance and error of those who are prejudiced against the doctrine of imputed righteousness, and juftification by faith, as if it were prejudicial to the holy law, or did any way derogate from its honour and authority. Why, it is fo far from derogating from the law, that it is the only way how it can be fulfilled and magnified. Chrift does not deftroy the law, but fulfils its righteoufnefs, in his own perfon, by an active and paffive obedience, and in all his members, by imputation: hence Chrift is faid to be "the end of the law for righteouinefs." The law gets what it feeks in Christ; and whenever a finner believes in Jefus, the law ceafes its purfuit against that man, crying, There is no condemnation for him, becaufe I have got what I craved in his Surety, who has brought in an everlafting righteoufnefs, whereby I am honoured.'

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6thly, See hence the error of those who affert, that a justified believer is ftill liable to the curfe, or penal fanction of the law. Seeing the law is fatisfied, both as to precept and penalty in Chrift the Cautioner, how can the believer be liable still to its curfe? This doctrine derogates from the excellency of that law-magnifying righteoufnefs, which is imputed to believers in their juftification. If Adam had continued yielding a perfect obedience to the law, neither he, nor any of his pofterity,

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