righteousness in Chrift, it would not be proper or confiftent with the law and the perfection of God, that they fhould be pardoned and saved; and that the righteous by which they are justified, is that of a divine person, the righteoufnefs of God. They therefore, afcribe every good they receive, every thing better than endless de Atruction, to the free, fovereign grace of God, and give him all the glory of it. This is "to be juftified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jefus Chrift: And it is of faith, that it might be by grace."* "By grace are ye faved, through faith."

And the

Apoftle adds, "And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." This leads to observe, that the faith by which men are united to Chrift, is the free, fovereign gift of God, in renewing their hearts, and forming them to fuch an exercise; in which he acts as an absolute fovreign, and has mercy on whom he will have mercy.

Every thing is fo ordered in the work of redemption, as to give the greatest occafion, and advantage, and the best opportunity for the exercise of the infinite goodness and grace of God; and in such a manner as to make it most visible to creatures: And the redeemed are put under the best advantage to fee it in the extent and glory of it, and be properly affected with it. The emptinefs and nothingnefs of the creature, his infinite dependence on God, the fountain of being and all good; the infinite fufficiency for the creature, even for infinitely guilty and wretched creatures, and his free, fovereign, unbounded love and grace, are here set in the most advantageous and Atriking light, efpecially to the redeemed; fo that in the final iffue of things, when redemption is perfected, God will appear in the cleareft light poffible, to be ALL IN ALL. And they will receive unspeakably greater good, than they could have wanted, or were capable of, had they not finned, and had there been no divine Mediator

* Rom. iii, 24. iv. 16. † Eph. ii. 8.

‡ 1 Cor. xv. 28,

diator and righteoufnefs. And all "To the praise of the glory of his grace."'*

Now the wisdom of God has contrived and laid the plan for all this. Therefore it is manifefted, and glorified in this exercise and display of divine grace, in which God hath abounded in all wisdom and prudence. Here the wisdom of God is fet in the moft confpicuous, pleafing light, which draws the attention, raises the admiration, influences the love, and exalts the praise of Angels. And all who understand the gospel will cordially join with them, and with St. Paul, in his rapture and doxology. "O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, THE ONLY WISE GOD, be honour and glory forever and ever, Amen."+

II. IN the view of this fubject, we fee how, and in what refpects, the law is established in the juftification of finners by faith in Chrift.

The Apostle Paul fays, the law is established in this way. "Do we then make void the law through faith? Yea, we establish the law." And when we consider what faving faith is, and how the finner is justified by faith, we may fee on what ground this is afferted.

The whole work of the Redeemer in his incarnation, obedience and fufferings, had reference to the law, in order to establish that, and magnify it, and make it honourable, consistent with the pardon and falvation of the finner who believeth in Jefus. He was made under the law with this view, in order to fuffer the curse of it, and obey it in the room of finners, as their fubftitute and furety, and in this way obtain the righteousness of the law, for them, that he might be "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

That

⚫ Eph. i. 6.

+ Rom. xi. 33. Tim. i. 17.

↑ Rom. iii. 35

That the law might be maintained and established by vicarious obedience or fuffering, or by a fubftitute, was made known when man was firft created, as has been fhewn. The firft fubftitute or public head, failed of obedience, and introduced fin and condemnation, which by divine conftitution extended to all his pofterity. All mankind are by the difobedience of the first man, conftituted finners, and by finning are under the curse of the law; from which they cannot be delivered, without abolishing the law, unless it be fuffered by them, or a sub-, ftitute. They could not fuffer this curfe and furvive it; for the evil implied in it, and which they deferved, is infinite. And for the fame reason, no mere creature, in heaven or earth, could be a fubftitute, to fuffer it in their. room. But the laft Adam, the fecond man, who is the Lord from heaven, is able to take the curfe on himself and suffer it, and yet furvive; and having by this made full atonement for fin, and fatisfied the threatning of the law; and by his obedience done all that is required. of man, in order to his juftification, he has introduced a complete and everlafting righteoufnefs; fo that he to whom it may be properly imputed, and he have the advantage of it, as much as if it were his own perfonal righteousness, and he flood perfectly right in the fight of the law, may be juftified, perfectly confiftent with the law; and the law be more eftablished, refpected and honoured, by the divine righteousness of the Mediator, than it would have been by the eternal fufferings of every trangreffor, and the obedience of all creatures.

But no man can be juftified by the righteousness of Chrift, unless he unite himself to him by faith in him; in which he is brought to fee and heartily acknowledge the law which curfes every tranfgreffor of it, to be holy, just and good, and that he may be juflly deftroyed forever for his fin, and if he be pardoned and saved, it must be wholly by free, undeferved fovereign grace to him,

while

while he receives this favour purely on the account of the righteousness of Chrift. And he highly approves of it, and is greatly pleased that the Mediator has done and fuffered fo much to eftablish and honour the law, fo as to become the end of the law for righteousness, to him who believeth, and trusts in him, in the character of "The Lord our righteousness."* Thus the believer is a friend to the law of God, and does not wish to be faved in any way inconfiftent with it. And by faith he is conformed to it, in the requirement of it, in a measure, and it is written on his heart. And he feels himself under indifpenfible obligation to perfect obedience to the law, as an unerring, excellent and perfect rule, and acknowledges that every thing in him, contrary to this law, and that does not come up to all that it requires, is inexcufa ble wickednefs. And he looks to Chrift and trufts in him, to bring him to a perfect conformity to the law of God, as without that he cannot be completely happy, and in which, in a great measure, his falvation confifts. At the fame time he is watching and fighting against fin and fatan, and preffing forward after perfect holinefs, working out his own falvation with fear and trembling. Thus the law, both in the precepts and threatnings of every way regarded, maintained and established, in the juftification of finners by faith in Chrift, and is much more honoured than it could have been, had there been no Redeemer, and all tranfgreffors of the law had perifhed, or had it never been trangreffed.

it, is

Jer. xxiii. 6.

SECTION

THE Covenant of Grace, when understood in the most extensive sense, comprehends all the designs and tranfactions respecting the redemption of man by Jefus Christ, in oppofition to the covenant of works, or law of works, under which, man was first made; and is the same with the gospel, confidered in its original, and the form in which it is administered, and the effects of it.In this view, it comprehends the eternal purpose of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghoft, to redeem man, fixing the manner of it, and every thing that relates to it, and entering into a mutual agreement or covenant; in which the part which each Perfon fhould perform, as diftinguished from the other, was fixed, and voluntarily undertaken. The Father is reprefented in fcripture, as first in this great affair, as giving and fending the Son, to redeem man; and determining the number and the individuals of the human race to be redeemed, and giving them to the Son, to redeem them, and promifing that he fhould be upheld in this work, and carried through it, and be fatisfied in his reward, and the falvation of those who were given to him. The Son

agreed to all this, and undertook the part he was to act, saying, "Lo I come: I delight to do thy will, O my God." The Holy Spirit undertakes to do the great part affigned to him in this work, particularly as the agent by whom the application of redemption is made to the elect, by fanctifying them, and effecting a union between the Redeemer and them; and by dwelling in them, forever,

as