so venerate, Jesus Christ is now set forward conspicuously by God, as a door or opening into his testimonies and covenant, as a new medium of communication with man, made to supersede the old one of the law, which was the the covering or door of exclusive communication with the Jew.

But nevertheless he is not set forth as the covering or door of communication, as though he were the only one, but as a covering or door, for I do not say he is to supersede those equally universal media of communication with God, the works of his providence, and the light of nature. Those doors have ever been open, and are from everlasting to everlasting. Like the new one they are for all nations, and whoever like Abraham, and like Jesus follow even unto death if necessary the laws of wisdom and of truth, which have been ever promulgating from those doors of God's mercy, goodness, and righteousness, and which have now in a much more efficient manner been promulgated through a new door, will find that God is not unrighteous to forget their works of love, they will find that God is righteous, and that he will hereaf ter, as he did at the resurrection of Christ, by the most splendid glorification, accept all the faithful without any legal purifications as righteous; grounding such acceptance on their possession

of that spirit of faithfulness, which Jesus declared in his conversation, substantiated in his life, and sealed by his death.

This acceptance as righteous is what we call the righteousness of God, in opposition to the righteousness of the law. To this righteousness all men are called, it is attained by faithfulness, and faithfulness is produced or excited in us, either by our having personally witnessed the ever memorable spectacle on the cross, or heard thereof from others: or it is produced and excited by that voice of nature, by which God the Saviour has spoken to all mankind from the foundation of the world, and is still speaking, willing that all men should be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth, that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Where then is boasting? On what pretence.. may we, who are Jews, put ourselves before others. All boasting is excluded. By what law? Of works? No; but by the law of God, by the law of faithfulness to God. By God's making faithfulness of mind or spirit the only ground of his glory or high approbation. All boasting is thus effectually reasoned away; for our argument is that all the members of Christ whether Jew or Gentile are alike righteous by faithfulness without the works of the law. Is

he a God of the Jews only, is he not also of the .. Gentiles. Yes, indeed, of the Gentiles also. Seeing the God of the Jews, and the God of the .. Gentiles is one or the same to all nations, a God who will receive as righteous equally the circumcised and the uncircumcised; man's faithfulness of spirit being the only means, and God's mercy the only cause of acceptance; even circumcision itself, if it could now spring from faithfulness as it certainly did in Abraham, for in him it was an act of obedience to the command of God, would be accounted for righteousness.

Do we then invalidate the law, by proposing .. faithfulness as the only means of acceptance with God? God forbid. On the contrary we establish it, we replace it on its right foundation. We deprive it of its false position as a system of righteousness, and restore it to its proper basis as the seal of God's truth, and as bearing testimony to that righteousness of human fidelity, which is God's righteousness, which was in force before the institution of circumcision, which has never been repealed, and is of everlasting obligation. And as trustees, repositories, evidences to that righteousness we show that the Jews, their law, their circumcision, and their works have a claim to the eternal respect and gratitude of mankind,

If then observes the Jew, circumcision be .. nothing, and the Jews have no grounds for boasting, what do we say, what do we mean when we say, that by circumcision we are ingrafted into the family of Abraham, or have according to the flesh obtained him for our father? Surely, if we have any meaning at all, we are then speaking of a circumstance of which our nation has reason to boast. I answer you are right according to your view of circumcision, namely, that it makes the circumcised righteous. For if Abraham was.. justified by works, if he was accepted by God on account of his being circumcised, I am constrained to grant your position; then we also, who are by circumcision grafted as respects the flesh into his family, are accepted as righteous. on account of circumcision. Then your argument has weight, and boasting on the grounds of circumcision holds, or is available for so favored a people, and the Jews as a nation are indeed super-eminently privileged; for no other nation was ever favored with the privilege of being accounted righteous on such a partial consideration. But before God, no! I tell you before God, Abraham was not accepted on account of circumcision. Your prejudices on this head are so pertinacious and pernicious, that my language cannot be too strong nor my

endeavours too earnest, to disabuse you of them. Abraham was not accepted on any such grounds. For what saith the scripture? Abraham was .. faithful to God, and his faithfulness, not his works or circumcision, was accounted to him for, or accepted as, righteousness. Now to him, .. who circumcises his flesh, with the understanding that he shall therefore be accepted as righteous, who performs the work appointed by God as a work for which God has agreed to account him righteous, the reward or wages he receives is not accounted as a gift but a debt. But to .. him, who does not circumcise his flesh, who does not perform a work appointed by God as a work for which God has agreed to accept him as righteous, who is conscious of no other recommendation to God, than the secret faithfulness of his heart, the sincere and absolute devotion of his spirit, whatever reward may come to such a one, it comes as a gift; to him his faithfulness of spirit is accounted for righteousness before God, not as to a person, who performs that religious act, the circumcision of the flesh, which you consider as constituting the distinction between those who are with God, and those who are without God, but as to a person, who rests his faith upon a God who accepts as righteous, not those only who have your national mark in their flesh, but those also

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