ness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe :" *"for by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Boldly. could St. Paul propose that question which we find in his Epistle to the Romans. Do we then make void the law through faith?" and triumphantly could he answer it. "God forbid: yea, we establish the law." And we find the same Apostle in his Epistle to the Philippians, utterly renouncing his own righteousness, and seeking to be found only in Christ; after enumerating his various advantages, and (among the rest a blameless moral character,) he adds, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ; the righteousness which is of God by faith."

When the true believer stands before

+ Romans, iii. 31.

* Romans, v. 19.
Philippians, iii. 7, 8, 9.

the judgment seat of Christ, to render an account of the deeds done in the body; and when the law of God brings its heavy charges against him, of sins committed, and duties neglected: he can point to the judgment seat-he can point to the Judge himself, and confidently exclaim! there is my Redeemer!-He has fulfilled the law for me in all its strictness, and broadness -he has borne my sins, in his own body on the cross-he has cleansed my guilty soul by his own precious blood-he has clothed me in his own all-sufficient righteousness-I took him for my Saviour while I lived upon earth, and *" I know in whom I have believed;" I know that his own unfailing word declares, "whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." And though heaven and earth pass away; yea, though I now behold the earth in flames, and see the heavens passing away with a great noise; yet, I know that his word shall never pass away; and according to his promise, “I look

for a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."

And our Saviour will acknowledge this appeal to his work of mercy, for he him

* Timothy, i. 12.

2 Peter, iii. 13.

+ St. John, xi. 26.

self declares, *"whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father, which is in heaven." But here we may enquire; how can the believer know that his sins are pardoned, and that he is justified before God, until the Judge has pronounced his final sentence? and this question leads us to observe another deliverance which the servants of Christ experience-a deliverance from the power of sin. "The Lord Jesus was anointed to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound."

Those who regard the salvation of the Gospel, merely as a deliverance from the punishment of sin, have but a mean opinion of it. If that was all that our Saviour had done for his people, it would be of little value. Sin is the cause of all the misery that afflicts this fallen world, and renders it truly a vale of tears.

No traveller ere reached that bless'd abode,
Who found not thorns and briars in his road.

And if the servants of God were allowed to carry their sins along with them, they would fill heaven itself with lamentation, and mourning and woe,"

66

* Matthew, x. 32.

+ Isaiah, lxi. 1.

and their salvation would only remove them from one world of sin, and sorrow, to another.

But our blessed Saviour does not allow his redeemed people to continue the slaves of Satan; "he delivers them from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God;" *"Sin

shall not have dominion over them: for they are not under the law, but under grace-being made free from sin they become the servants of righteousness-for as they once yielded their members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now they yield their members servants to righteousness unto holiness." "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made them free from the law of sin and death." "The Lord who gave himself for them, has redeemed them from all iniquity, and purified them unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; they walk not after the flesh but after the spirit." The holy spirit is their guide and instructor; he prepares them for the enjoyment of heaven, by producing in them that §"holiness without which no

* Romans, vi. 14, 18, 19. Titus, ii. 14.

man can see

+ Romans, viii. 2. § Hebrews, xii. 14.

the Lord." *"And thus he bears witness with their spirits, that they are the children of God." They believe this heavenly testimony, and thus they know that they are pardoned, and justified, even before their final sentence is pronounced. They go on their way rejoicing, for they know that they are travelling towards heaven, because they find themselves walking in the strait, and narrow way of holiness, that leads to it.

My brethren, in our natural state we are all under the condemnation of the law; we have this day confessed, that we "have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and that we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and that there is no spiritual health in us." And this confession is true, for even our common sense will tell us, that there is not an individual among us, who has kept the whole law, without offending in one point. Our sins may be of different kinds: one may have sinned more in thought, another in word, and another in deed--but we are all upon a level in this, "that we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God." It may be truly said to every one of us,

*Romans, viii. 16.

+Romans, iii. 23.