the rock of danger, to give timely notice to every unwary approach. 3. The law serves to make justified souls grateful for the privileges which they enjoy. They have been redeemed from bondage under its curse. They have been set at liberty from its prison-house. They have seen all its threatenings borne, and all its obligations fulfilled in their behalf, in the most honorable and glorious way. And as they contemplate the mercies which have been thus bestowed upon them, they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. As these great privileges are announced and set before them, in the glad tidings of the Gospel, they bless God for the consolation. But they can hardly be considered at all, except in connexion with the dangers and evils to which they have been the antidote. And as these are brought to view, in the proclamations of the law, the redeemed soul looks back upon them with peculiar gratitude, that for him, they have passed by forever. He is a partaker of a great salvation: he has received a kingdom which cannot be removed; and it is a most important object in the cultivation of his character, that he should not be unmindful of the heavenly benefit, nor ungrate• ful for its gracious bestowal upon him. As the law speaks out its thunders, proclaiming the rigour of its demands, denouncing the wrath of God upon every soul of man that doeth evil, the justified man rejoices yet more in the blessed assurance, that he has been delivered from all this storm and tempest, by abounding grace, and stands upon a fast shore of peace, with an inheritance forever. "Such was I," he says with humble gratitude, "but I am washed, I am sanctified, I am justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of my God." And the preaching of the law is thus blessed by the Holy Spirit, to create and cultivate within him, a spirit of more ardent gratitude and joy. 4. The law serves to keep the justified man in a close de pendance upon Jesus. As the pelting storm drives the little chickens under the sheltering wing, do the terrors of the law drive home the pardoned sinner, to realize more completely the entire protection of that righteousness which the Lord Jesus illustrates by this very image. He sees more clearly that he has nothing of his own, and can never meet from any source within himself, the demands which are made upon him. He must have a righteousness which is not in himself; and cannot be found, except in the obedience of the Saviour for him; and the more loudly the law threatens, the more closely and earnestly does he cling to this provision; as the more fiercely the storm rages, does the bird fold herself more closely in her nest, and the dove fly the more swiftly to her window. To break up all self-righteousness, to bind sinful man merely in his own nakedness, fast to Jesus, that he may be clothed from his fulness alone, is the great purpose of the Gospel, and the great work of the Spirit, with him. The preaching of the law is made by him, to produce this blessed effect, and thus to be an instrument of grace, and religious benefit. It forces man from every covert of his own. compels him to see that there is no protection but in that cleft of the rock which God hath provided for him. It constrains him to escape for his life to him who is able to save him unto the uttermost, crying from his heart, Naked, I come to thee for dress, Helpless, come to thee for grace, Wash me Jesus, or I die. It The Saviour thus becomes to him all in all. He is justified and glories in him alone, and casting out all self-dependance, he finds in Jesus, and in the perfection of his work, righteousness and peace. These are manifest uses of the law with the justified and pardoned. It rules and guides them in holiness,—it warns and guards them against sin,-it makes them grateful for redemption,-it binds them in a closer dependance upon the Lord Jesus, and thus is made the means of spiritual benefit to them; as in Samson's riddle, "out of the eater, comes forth meat, and out of the strong comes forth sweetness,"-not so much by any action of its own, as by the overruling power of the Spirit, who makes all things work together for good to those who love God, and who are called according to his purpose. III. For these two purposes, the law is added and proclaimed under a dispensation of grace. To accomplish all these ends which have been specified under them, we are still to preach the law, though Christ hath become its perfect end for righteousness to all who believe. But there remains still another reason for its proclamation, in the fact that a final judgment must be administered to man according to its requisitions. For his own people, Jesus has brought in a perfect and everlasting righteousness, which will meet and honour all the demands of the law in that great day. But for those who are out of Christ, who have rejected his proffered mediation, and cast away the cords of his grace, the law will come in, with the full force of its unyielding requisitions. It will demand an obedience in perfect conformity with these. It will shew them their extreme guiltiness. It will strip off the coverings of deceit. It will display its condemnation of them, as justly merited, and unquestionable forever. God has established but one standard for obedience among creatures who are accountable. Angels have obeyed it, and will live. Redeemed saints have found for them a perfect obedience, in the glorious righteousness of an appointed mediator. But all impenitent and unholy beings will be condemned by its sentence, and shut up under this condemnation forever. And the law stands among men, as the living witness of the fact, and F* of the principles, of this coming judgment. To persuade men to flee from this impending ruin, it announces its own character and operation,—that sinners may in time avoid, a sentence which must be eternally irrevocable. For Zion's sake therefore should we not hold our peace, until this momentous object is secured, and perishing souls are sheltered in the glorious provisions and power of the Redeemer. "It is Christ, and Christ alone that can save us. As the worst of our sins are pardonable by Christ, so the best of our duties are damnable without him." And while he hath been made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, the law witnessing continually, of sin, and righteousness, and judgment, is to be made the instrument for emptying us of all self-dependence, and keeping us in him, who speaks in righteousness, and is mighty to save. LECTURE V. THE CONVINCING POWER OF THE LAW. Now we know, that whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God.-ROMANS, III. 19. THE purity and perfection of the divine law become open to our view, in proportion to our serious and candid examination of its character. The psalmist contemplated it, as the highest standard of perfection. "I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandment is exceeding broad." To every mind enlightened like his, by the Holy Spirit, the same conclusion is equally distinct and certain. There is a length and breadth, in the excellence of this revelation of the divine character, which transcends the power of human investigation. It is in all respects, and in the highest degree, holy, just, and good. To those who have always been obedient to its precepts, it is ordained to life; designed to confer the highest happiness, and to open a path, which is unmingled pleasantness and peace, for those who walk in it. But a holy law abides not transgression;-a just law condemns the disobedient; a true and faithful law offers no hope to sinners. It speaks in righteousness, but it has no power to save. Its whole operation upon the ungodly, is to enlighten, to convince, and to condemn them. But its operation is indispensable for their deliverance from the curse which itself imposes. Until they are thus dealt with, hardly as it appears, sinful men do not desire, and will not ask for, the salvation which God has mercifully and freely laid up for their accept |