belonging to the Royal family. You might very properly say "Blessed is be, that has the certificate, that he may have right to enter through the gates." But how would the certificate give a right of admission? Simply by proving his right. The actual right rested upon other grounds; namely, his being a member of the Royal family. So good works are the certificate or proof of our belonging to Christ's family, of our having an interest in his death and righteousness, which is the sinner's only true title to eternal life. And blessed indeed is he, that can prove his title by a hearty obedience to God's commandments, that he may have right to the tree of life.

Ez. xviii. 5-9. "If a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, *** he is just, he shall surely live." That is, if a man act justly, it proves that he is just in the sight of God, and therefore shall surely live." But only "the just by faith shall live,"

Ez. xviii. "Because he considereth, and turneth from all bis transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die." If you mean to contend from this, that repentance is the sole means of procuring pardon, you at once place yourself in direct opposition to a host of other texts, which have been already referred to. If you only mean, that repentance necessarily accompanies true faith, we perfectly agree with you. But can those be said to "turn from all their transgressions," who remain guilty of the greatest of all transgressions-unbelief?

Matt. vi. 9. "After this manner therefore pray ye, &c., &c." The objection drawn from this prayer lies mainly against our making Christ's merits and death a ground of trust or confidence before God; as Christ's name is not mentioned in it. But this apparent want is fully supplied in the very title by which we are here taught to address God-" Our Father." If we were holy creatures, it would be enough for us to look up to him as our Creator; and in so doing we should enjoy all the privileges, and feelings, of his children. But sin has robbed us of that; it has driven us out of our Father's family, and alienated our hearts from him. We are not therefore now naturally his children; for we are "by nature the children of wrath, even as others." How then are we to become his children? How are we to regain the privileges and feelings, which our first parents lost; so that we may be able to look up to God with the spirit of adoption, and say Our Father? Scripture tells us -by faith in his Son Jesus Christ. "To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." John i. 12. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Gal. iii. 26. "When the fulness of time was come, God sent

forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that ye might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Gal. iv. 4-6. Therefore, although Christ's name is not mentioned in this prayer, yet we are taught, by calling God "Our Father," to approach him as his "children by faith in Jesus Christ." And unless we do thus approach him, our prayer can never reach his ears; for Jesus himself said, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me"; and again, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John xvi. 23. "In whom we may have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him." Eph. iii. 12. "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heaven, Jesus, the Son of God; let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. iv. 14-16. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." Heb. x. 19-22.

1 John iii. 21, 22. 'Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." This is just such a passage as some that have already been noticed; but as considerable stress is laid on it, I thought it better not to omit mentioning it. The question is, How does our obedience give us confidence before God? It cannot be on the ground of its own merit; because, in this very Epistle, St. John says "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us"; and no imperfect obedience can be a ground of confidence before a just and holy God, "who is of purer eyes, than to behold iniquity." It can only give us confidence, in the same way that it can give us “right to the tree of life," namely, by proving our interest in, and union with, Christ. And that this is St. John's meaning, is evident from what he says just before: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.

And hereby we know, that we are of the truth, and shall assure

our hearts before him." The words, which immediately follow the text in question, are also to be noted: "And this is his commandment, that we believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment." Now no one can believe in Jesus scripturally, who has any confidence in his own merits; nor can any one do "that which is wellpleasing in God's sight," who goes about to establish his own righteousness, and refuses to submit to the righteousness of God.

But

Gen. iv 7. "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin (that is a sin offering) lieth at the door." God had ordained an animal to be slain in sacrifice, as typical of the real sin-offering which was to be made for the sins of the world. But Cain in unbelief despised this ordinance of God, and chose rather to offer fruit to the Lord. If Cain had been a sinless being, it would have been a much fitter offering to the Lord, than a slain animal. he was not; and God began thus early to teach the ruined children of Adam the all-important doctrine, that "without shedding of blood is no remission" :-his offering was rejected. On Cain's shewing signs of displeasure God expostulates with him; "If thou doest well,shalt thou not be accepted?" If you were perfectly upright and without sin, any thing you offered would be accepted for your own sake: but if your conscience tells you, that you cannot boast of such a perfect obedience, as alone could entitle your service to acceptance with one who "is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity," why should you reject the salvation offered you as a sinner, through the shedding of blood? Or why should you despise the appointed mode of expressing your faith in that atonement-sacrifice? "If thou doest not well, a sin offering lieth at the door." There could be no difficulty in procuring a proper animal for sacrifice. This is just what we would say to the Unitarian. If you do well,

most certainly you will be accepted. But if you do not well, (and remember "there is no difference; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," "there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not," "In many things we offend all," and "if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves")-if you do not well, perfectly and unceasingly, without the smallest failure in thought, word, or deed, then beware of approaching your Maker, except through that only name given amongst men" whereby sinners can be saved. And remember further, that "heresy" is not doing well, but is amongst the works of the flesh, which they who do "shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven."

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Matt. vii. 24-27. "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, &c." This is thought to prove, that our own doings are the rock on which we are to build our hopes of heaven. But Paul says "other foundation

ye

can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. ix. 11. And then he speaks of good works being built upon that foundation. And this is what our Lord meant. The man who obeyed his words, shewed that he had a living saving faith in him, and therefore that his house was built upon the rock; while the man, who obeyed them not, showed that his was a dead faith, which cannot unite a sinner to Christ, and therefore his hopes of Salvation would be disappointed. Mark xi, 25, 26, "And when stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any; that your Father also, which is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father, which is in heaven, forgive your trespasses." God has solemnly declared, that he will not forgive those, who do not forgive one another. We are therefore consistently told to forgive, that we may be forgiven; inasmuch as otherwise we could not be forgiven. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his." An unforgiving spirit therefore would prove us to be none of Christ's, and thus exclude us from pardon: while a forgiving spirit proves, that we "are in Christ Jesus," (" for without me ye can do nothing,") and that "there is therefore now no condemnation for us.'

Other passages of a similar kind might be mentioned; but as the same principle applies to them all, we need not occupy any further time with them. Let me just draw your attention, before concluding, to three figurative allusions to the doctrine of imputed righteousness; which are not brought forward, observe, to prove anything, but to illustrate what has been already proved. They are the following:

Gen. iii. 21. "Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skin, and clothed them." We have before shewn that these were the skins of animals, which had been sacrificed, to typify the "one sacrifice for sins" offered by Jesus on the cross. Adam and Eve having sinned "knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons." These however would be but a very imperfect covering for them; and so the Lord God made them coats of the skins of the sacrifices, and covered them. "Which things are an allegory." They represent the sinner convinced of sin, but as yet "ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish his own righteousness," patching up an apron of fig-leaves to hide the nakedness he is ashamed of: until the Holy Spirit shews him a real covering, which the Lord God has made for him, even the perfect righteousness of Christ, and enables him by faith to clothe himself with it. Reader! which is your covering? The apron of fig-leaves made by yourself; or the coat of skins which "the Lord God did make"?

Matt. xiii. 45, 46. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant-man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Jewels are well known scriptural emblems of righteousness or good works. This merchant-man then is one, who is seeking to enrich himself spiritually by his own good works. And this trade, we are told, he continues, until he unexpectedly meets with something that puts a stop to it. He finds one pearl of such immense value, that in order to obtain it he is obliged to sell all his present sock, to part with every single pearl he possesses! But it is worth his while; for if he can get it, the whole object of his life will be attained-his fortune made at once and for ever. What then

is this one pearl of great price, which is worth so much more than all the rest he had been able to put together? It is clear, by being called a pearl, that it must be something of the same kind as the good pearls he had been seeking all along, only more valuable in quality. Well, we saw that they meant righteousness or good works. The one pearl of great price therefore must be some righteousness, far more valuable than any thing of his own, which he cannot obtain without giving up all his own; but which, when obtained, fulfils his most earnest desires, gives him, what he has so long been seeking for in vain, peace of conscience and acceptance before God. And what can this be, but the perfect righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to the sinner on his believing; the wedding garment put on by faith, which covers him from head to foot, and arrayed in which he stands before God as pure and spotless as if he had never sinned? It is true this wedding robe cannot be bought; but still the resemblance even in this point is striking! For the sinner must give up all his fancied righteousness, he must renounce all idea of any merit in himself, before he can put on Christ. If it be asked, why the righteousness of Christ is compared to a pearl, rather than other more valuable jewels, a diamond for instance, we reply, because a diamond owes its form and beauty to the art of man: it has to be cut and ground before it can shine so beautifully. Not so the pearl. It leaves the shell perfect; nothing, that man can do, can make it more beautiful or valuable. It is set in the Queen's diadem, just as it comes out of its shell.*

This parable shews us, the connection between the Law and the Gospel. It is the Law which makes the man a merchant, which sets him to seek goodly pearls. Its language is "Do this and live"; "The man that doeth these things shall live by them"; "If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments." He therefore begins seeking; but he can find nothing

Many other interesting points of resemblance are shewn in a little tract called "The pearl of great price," published at Hull by W. L. Anderson.