Eph. ii. 3.10. Hence it is that, by the deeds of the law, i.e. by the good works commanded in the law [of innocence] or by the ceremonies prescribed in the law of Mofes; fhall no flesh living be juftified: for as many as are of the works of the law, [as it ftands opposed to the gospel; yea, as many alfo as reft, like the impenitent Pharifees, in the letter of the Mofaic law,] are under the curfe, the fcripture having concluded all under fin, and confequently under the curfe, that every mouth may be ftopped, and all the world may become guilty before God, [and gladly accept his offers of mercy] Rom. iii, 19, 20. In this deplorable ftate of guilt and danger, we remain careless and infenfible, making what we call" the mercy of God" a pack-horse [if I may use fo coarse an expreffion] to carry us and our fins to heaven, upon the filthy rags of our own [pharifaic] righteoufnefs. Here we continue, till divine grace awakens us, by the preaching of the gofpel, or by fome other means. Eph. v. 14. Being then roused to a ferious consideration of our fallen ftate in Adam, and to a fenfibility of the curfe which we lie under, through our numerous breaches of the (fecond, as well as of] the first covenant; after many fruitless attempts to remove that curfe, by fulfilling the law [of innocence ;] after many endeavours to fave ourfelves by our own works, and righteoufnels, we defpair at laft of getting to heaven, by building a Babel ODL Babel with the untempered mortar of our own [fancied] fincerity, and the bricks of our wretched good works, [or rather of our fplendid fins.] And leaving the impaffable road of the covenant of works, we begin to feek the way, which God's free mercy has opened for loft finners in Jesus Christ. Acts ii. 37. Phil. iii. 6, &c. This new and living way, is the new covenant, the covenant of grace [in its various editions or difpenfations. For, if the Chriftian edition is called new in oppofition to the Jewish, all the editions together may well be] called new, in oppofition to the old covenant. It is alfo termed gospel, that is, glad tidings, because [+ with different degrees of evidence it 1 ocean. D 2 brings +This, and the preceding claufes are added, to guard the doctrine of the gofpel difpenfations, of which I had but very confufed views eleven years ago. See third Check, p. 10, &c. Leaning then too much towards Calvinifm, I fancied, at times at least, that the gospel was confined within the narrow channel of its laft difpenfation; which was as abfurd as if I had conceited, that the fwell of our rivers at high water, is all the But turning to my bible, and " reviewing the whole affair," I clearly fee, that the Jewish and Chriftian gofpel are not the everlasting gofpel, but only two of its brighteft difpenfations. Should the reader afk me what I mean by the everlasting gospel, when I confider it in its full latitude: I anfwer, that I mean with St. Paul, The riches of God's goodness, forbearance, and long-fuffering, leading men to repentance for Chrift's fake, who in all ages is the Saviour of the world.-Yea, and the fevere ftrokes of his gracious providence driving them to it. I dare not infinuate, that Jonah, one of the most fuccessful preachers in the world, was not a gospelpreacher, when he ftirred up all the people of Niniveh to repentance, by the fear of impending deftruction; and that St. John the divine was a stranger to true divinity; when he gave us the follow. ing account of the manner, in which a celestial Evangelift preach. ed the everlasting gofpel. I saw another angel having the EVERLASTING GOSPEL to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people [Here is free grace!] fay ing with a loud voice: Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment, as well as of his mercy, is come and worship him that made heaven and earth and the fea, and the fountains of waters. Here is, if I am not mistaken, the gofpel according to which many fhall come from the eaft and from the welt, and fhall fit down at the heavenly feaft with the Father of the faithful, when the unloving Pharifees fhall be thrust out, notwithstanding their great ado about abfolute elec brings comfortable news of free falvation in Christ, to all that fee they are undone in themselves. The fecond covenant then, or the gofpel, is a difpenfation of free grace and mercy to poor, loft, helpless finners, who, feeing and feeling themfelves condemned by the law [of innocence,] and utterly unable to obtain juftification upon the terms of the FIRST Covenant, come to Jefus Chrift [the light of men, according to the difpenfation, which they are under.] to feek in him that righteoufnefs, which they have not in themselves. For the Son of God, being both God and man in one perfon; and by the inva luable facrifice of himself upon the cross, having suffered the punishment due to all our breaches of the law, and by his moft holy life having answered all the demands of the FIRST Covenant, God can be just, and the juftifier of him that believes in Jefus, Rom. iii. 26. Therefore, if a finner, whofe mouth is stopped, and who has nothing to pay, pleads from the heart the atoning blood of Chrift [and fuppofing he never heard that precious name, if according to his light he implores divine mercy, for the free exercise of which Christ's blood has made way] not only God will not deliver him to the tormentors, but will frankly forgive him all. Luke vii. 41, &c. Herein then confifts the great difference, between the firft and the second covenant. Under the firft, an abfolute, unfinning, univerfal obedience in our own perfons is required; and fuch obedience we, [in tion. This note will probably touch the apple of my reader's eye, if he is a rigid Predeftinarian. But if he is offended, I intreat him to confider, whether his love does not bear fome refemblance to the charity of thofe ftrong Predeftinarians of old, thofe monopoli. zers of God's election, who defpifed poor finners of the Gentiles. How violent was their prejudice! They vaftly admired out Lord's fermon at Nazareth, till he touched the fore that festered in their Rrait-laced breaft. But no fooner did he infinuate, that their election was not yet made fure, and that the poor Pagan widow of Sarepta, and Naaman the Syrian were not absolute reprobates; than they were filled with wrath and rofe up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that they might caft him down headlong. [in our fallen ftate,] can never perform.-Under the second covenant, this obedience [to the law of innocence, paid by, and] in our furety Chrift Jefus, when we are united to him by a faith of the operation of God, is accepted inftead of our own. For as our fins were transferred upon the Redeemer's guiltless head, fo his merits are brought home to our guilty fouls by the powerful operation of divine grace thro' faith, and being thus compleat in Chrift + [with regard to the fulfilling of the FIRST Covenant,] we can rejoice in God, who has made him unto us wisdom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and redemption. [I fay, with regard to the fulfilling of the FIRST covenant, to guard against the error of thousands, who vainly imagine that Christ has fulfilled the terms of the fecond covenant for us, and talk of finifhed falvation, just as if our Lord had actually repented of our fins, believed in his own. blood, and fulfilled his own evangelical law in our ftead; a fatal error this, which makes Chriftians lawless, reprefents Chrift as the minifter of fin, and arms the Antinomian fiend with a dreadful ax, to fella the trees of righteoufnefs, and cut down the very pillars of the house of God.] From what has been observed it follows, that before any one can believe, in the gospel-fense of the word, he must be convinced of fin by the Spirit of God, John xvi. 8. He muft feel himself a guilty, loft, If I fay that penitent believers are compleat in Chrift with s refpect to the first covenant; I do not intimate that fallen believers who crucify the Son of God afresh, may even commit deliberate murder, and remain complete in him, or rather (as the original means) filled with him. Far be the horrid infinuation from the heart of a Chriftian. I readily grant, that true believers are not lefs dead to the Adamic law of innocence, than to the ceremonial law of Mofes; and that with refpect to it,they heartily fay as David, Enter not into judgment with thy fervants, O Lord, for in thy fight fhall no man living be juftified. But mistake me not, I would not infinuate, that they are lawless, or only under a rule of life, which they may break with out endangering their falvation. No; they are under the law of Christ, the law of liberty, the law of the fpirit of life, the royal law of gofpel-holinefs; and according to this law, they fhall all be rewarded or punished in the day of judgment, and helpless finner, unable to recover the favour and image of God by his own ftrength and righteousness: Acts ii. 37, 38. This conviction and sense of guilt make the finner come weary and heavy laden to Chrift, earnestly claiming the reft which he offers to weary fouls, Matt. xi. 28. This reft the mourner feeks with the contrite Publican, in the conftant use of all the means of grace; endeavouring to bring forth fruit meet for repentance, till the fame spirit that had convinced him of fin, and alarmed his drowfy confcience, convinces him alfo of righteoufnefs, John xvi. 8. that is, fhews him the all-fufficiency of the Saviour's righteousness, to fwallow up his unrighteoufnefs; and the infinite value of Chrift's meritorious death, to atone for his unholy life; enabling him to believe with the HEART, and confequently to feel [under the Chriftian difpenfation] that he has an intereft in the Redeemer's blood and righteousness; [or, that he is favingly interested in the merit of all that the Son of God fuffered, did, and continues to do for us. This lively faith, this faith working by love, is that which is imputed for righteoufnefs, Rom. iv. 3. and that whereby a foul is born of God [according to the + Chriftian difpenfation of the gofpel.] 1 John v. 1. By The judicious reader will eafily perceive, that the additions made to this, and fome other paragraphs of my old fer mon, are intended to guard the inferior difpenfations of the gofpel. Are there not degrees of faving faith, inferior to the faith of the Chriftian gofpel? And are not thofe degrees of faith confiftent with the most profound ignorance of the hiftory of our Lord's fufferings, and confequently with any explicit knowledge of the atonement? Although mankind in general had fome confcicufnefs of guilt, and a confufed idea of propitiatory facrifices; and although all the Jewish facrifices and prophecies pointed to the great atonement; yet how few, even among the pious Jews had a clear belief that the Meffiah would put away fin by the Jacrifice of himself! How unreasonable is it then to confine the gofpel to the explicit knowledge of Chrift's atoning fufferings, to which both the prophets and apoftles were once fuch strangers Does not St. Peter intimate that the prophets fearched, to litthe purpofe, what the Spirit fignified, when it teftified beforehand the fufferings of Chrift; fince it was revealed to them, that not unto them |