may be faid, in fome fenfe, to make a law to him felf; that is to fay, when he obliges his fubjects to obey the law, he obliges himself to maintain the authority of the law. Even the glory of the goodnes of the lawgiver is concerned in this. A good king will always make good laws against evil actions; and the fame reafon that is for making them, is for keeping up their authority, and putting them

in execution.

We may confider here, that, in the government of the world, God is both lawgiver and judge. This is not always in other governments. The lawgiver may be abfent, or may be dead; the judge may difpenfe with the law, as to us, without the lawgiver's fault. When a judge difannuls a law, it reflects on the lawgiver, condemning what he did. Indeed, in the laws of men, because men are creatures liable to mistake, it is oftentimes an honour to them to difpenfe with the law, confidering that cafes may fall in they never forefaw, when the law was made. But here, confidering the infinite wif dom of God, that cannot take place.

The glory of the holiness of God is concerned in it likewife. But this would lead us to confider the nature of God's law. God's law is his image in a manner. God is love, and love is the fulfilling of the law. God's law commands fuch things as God neceffarily loves; for God muft love himself, and confequently love holiness, and love holinefs in every being that has it, and hate the contrary, and fhow his hatred of it.

(2.) The end of the law of God is an end of unfpeakably greater importance than the end of the laws of men. The immediate end is the holiness and glory of God, and happiness of his creatures. The laws of men, the last end of them, is, or fhould be, the glory of God. The laws of men cannot punith every thing contrary to the holinefs of God; holinefs has its feat in the heart. Men cannot make

laws

laws against what is contrary to helinefs; because they can never know nor prove fuch things, nor confequently punish them. The end of the moral law is the end of our being, the end of the being of all things; it is the end of creation and providence. The original end of it, at first, was to make creatures glorify God, and be thankful to him. I am fpeaking of the original end of the law to creatures, not to finners; which is, to bring to him who fulfilled the law, to give us the knowledge of fin; but the other end likewife continues ftill. It is the end of all thofe laws of nature that govern heaven and earth, fun, moon, and ftars. The moral law is the highest law; it is the law given to the inhabitants of the world, to reasonable creatures.

Every body is convinced, that it is agreeable to reafon, that even the laws of nature given to the fun, moon, and ftars, fhould be kept up to the end of the world. There is nothing more unreafonable, than the fcruples of unbelievers against the miracles in the Bible, for deviation from the laws of nature. Indeed to believe miracles for trifling ends, is not reasonable; but the miracles wrought by Mofes, publishing the moral law, when man through wickednefs had forgot it, and by Chrift in fulfilling the law, were of the greatest importance; and, in that cafe, to difpenfe with the laws of nature, was not properly a breaking of them, but making them fubfervient to a higher end, for which it was defigned. But even the laws given to lifelefs creatures are fo kept up, that they may make men lefs wonder, that God keeps up the authority of that law, which is of incomparably greater importance.

(3) The kingdom of God, governed by this law, fhews the importance of it. It is of incomparably greater extent than any other. If the laws of any kingdom were dispensed with, then the kingdom would run to confufion. The confufion of other king

doms

It is

doms is nothing in comparison of this. Keeping up order in this, is of incomparably great importance. This kingdom is alfo of incomparably greater duration. God's kingdom is over all, from everlasting to everlasting. God's government is fupreme; every other government is fubordinate to it. of far greater moment that the law fhould be kept up in the fupreme government, than in the fubordinate. What is done wrong in the fubordinate one, may be rectified: therefore it is of unfpeakably greater importance that all the ftricteft regard be had to juftice in the fupreme government.

The reasons that are for dispensing with the law in other kingdoms and governments, cannot take place here. The multitude of rebels and criminals is a reafon in human governments for difpenfing with the penalty of the law, when many fubjects are guilty. Many times there are fome crimes forbidden by law fo numerous, that if the law were put in execution upon all, it would, in fome refpect, empty the dominions. And other kings cannot make up the lofs of fubjects; fuch fovereigns stand in need of their fubjects, depend upon them, are maintained by them. The fovereign of the world has no need of his fubjects. All nations of the earth, as Ifaiah the prophet tells us, (chap. 41.), are before him as less than nothing. He has no occafion for them; they are the greatest criminals that can be against God; he stands in no need of them, because he can create innumerable better to serve him in a moment.

2. We proceed briefly, after confidering the importance of the execution of the penalty of the law, to fhow the properties of Chrift's fuffering the penalty of the law.

(1) It was a real execution of the law. It would have altered the nature of our redemption very much, if Chrift had only come to explain the law, without fulfilling it; only to teach us our duty,

without

without atoning for our fin. Chrift could have taught us our duty without affuming our nature. He teaches us our duty by others; but purges our fins by himself. The law was given by Mofes, but fulfilled only by Chrift. It magnified the law indeed, when the Son of God did fpend fo much time upon earth, in publishing and explaining the law. But execution is a quite different thing. The putting laws in execution is one of the fittest things to infpire fubjects with veneration and refpect to the law. Actual execution gives more impreffion than pronouncing of threatenings. Men can make a shift to doubt of any thing that is to come; it is not so easy to argue against what is paft. God's threatenings fhould be believed whenever pronounced; yet we fee Adamı doubted of them till he came to feel them. We follow him in his unbelief that way; and it is the readieft thing in the world we imitate him in, in misbelieving threatenings. But the actual execution of them is an excellent remedy against that unbelief.

(2) It is a total execution of the law. It is not needful to infift to fhow, that this is fingular. No other punishment of creatures can be called fuch. The law is put in execution properly when all that is threatened is accomplished. Those who are in hell will never have to fay that which he faid on the cross, "It is finished." It is of him only that can be faid, Dan. ix. that he made an end of fin, of the punishment of it. He " died unto fin," as the apostle expreffes it, Rom. vi. once. Every wicked man dies for fin. Though we diftinguish between a violent and natural death, yet the natural death of every wicked man that dies in unbelief is an execution of divine wrath, he dies for fin; but to die to fin is to put away that burden of fin which brought death upon us *. So Chrift will come the fecond time, without fin, unto falvation. He not only died for fin, but unto it; he bore all the weight of

See Heb. ix, 26,

it. This ferves to magnify the law, by fhewing the certainty of the threatening, everlasting punishment. The end of eternity cannot be feen; but yet when a punishment equivalent to everlasting punishment was actually borne by Chrift, it was a kind of ocular demonftration to the eye of the eternity of the punishment of fin.

(3) Another property of it briefly we name is pa rallel to what we faid of Chrift's obedience. It was not only a total execution of the law, but an execution of it upon the most honourable perfon that could fuffer. It was faid of David, that he was worth more than ten thoufand. The law is executed upon different perfons. The execution of it upon a great perfon infpires with more awful thoughts of it than the execution merely upon an obfcure perfon of the vulgar, whofe life or death would be little obferved. All the other perfons that ever fuffered for fin on earth or hell, principa lities and powers of darkness, were but mean, low, vulgar, in comparison of this King of kings, and Lord of lords.

(4) It was alfo an execution of it upon the near eft relation of the judge. The relation between God and Chrift is expreffed in the analogy between that of a father and a fon. It is a remarkable paffage in hiftory, of the Roman general, who refolved ftrictly to put in execution that law, that no foldier fhould go out of his rank, under the pain of death, without the General's leave; his own fon having done it, as I remember, as the firft, to fhew his refpect to that law, he caufed put his own fon to death. A judge fhews his refpect to the law by executing it upon perfons even of the nearest relation to himfelf; and one of the nearest relations in the world is that between a father and a fon. But the relation between a father and a fon is nothing to that be tween God and Chrift. This ferves to fhow the righteousness of the law. If the judge execute the

law