UPON THE LAW OF FAITH. DISCOURSE IV. ROM. iii. 27. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. HAVING already considered the nature of the moral and of the ceremonial law, I am now to treat of the law of faith mentioned in my text. The moral law is the holy, just, and good will of God, to which he required, and does require, perfect obedience: for his will is like himself, always one, and the same without variableness, or shadow of turning: but there is no salvation now to be expected from this law, because all have sinned against it, and are liable to the threatened penalties. Upon the first breach of it God was graciously pleased to reveal the ceremonial law, the design and scope of which was to point out the promised Messiah, and to be the means of grace to the people of God: for by its services, which were shadows and types of Christ, and of the good things to come through him, the eye of faith was kept looking earnestly upon him, and waiting for the happy time, when the day should break, and the shadows flee away, and he should come in the flesh, to deliver his people from the curses of the moral law. At the end of 4000 years he came, and having fulfilled the ceremonial law, and accomplished every thing signified by its typical services, it was then repealed, and the law of faith alone was established, by which believers have been saved from the beginning, and are to be saved to the end of the world. If we take a short view of the apostle's reasoning in this chapter, we shall easily discover what this law of faith is. He is treating of the corruption of mankind, of the Jews as well as of the Gentiles, and he proves that they are all under sin for they have all broken the moral law, and are guilty in the sight of God, and are thereby become absolutely incapable of ever attaining inherent legal righteousness. After the moral law has been once broken, it can never afterwards justify the sinner: because it requires perfect uninterrupted obedience, and allows of no failing, no not in thought. Its style and language is-" Do this, and thou shalt "live."-" If thou transgress, dying thou shalt surely "die." And when any one transgresses, it knows nothing of mercy, nor has made any provision for pardon, but calls aloud for justice to inflict the deserved punishment. And since all men have transgressed, therefore the apostle concludes that by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God. Thus every mouth is stopped, and all the world is become guilty before God. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested in the covenant of grace, in which the honour and dignity of the moral law is secured, and a wonderful way is revealed, whereby the sinner may be pardoned, and infinite justice may be glorified in shewing him mercy. The Lord Christ being God equal with the Father freely covenanted to take man's nature, and in it to act and suffer as his representative, to pay the law perfect and infinitely meritorious obedience, and to endure satisfactory and infinitely meritorious sufferings, yea, to bear the wrath, and to die the death, which man deserved, and thus he wrought out an all-perfect righteousness, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe. And this method of justifying sinners by his being made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, is thus opened and explained by the apostle in the words going before the text. All have sinned, says he, and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace, and if by grace then it is not by works, but is all a free gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, his blood made the propitiation, and faith applies, and receives it, and thereby declares the righteousness of God for the remission of sins that are past. And in this way of justifying sinners, through the righteousness of the Lord Christ, God the Father proves himself to be just, and the justifier of him who is of the faith of Jesus. He vindicates his justice, and the honour of his law, and these being secured, he can then justify him that is ungodly, if he believe in Jesus: for then his faith will be imputed unto him for righteous ness. When the carnal man hears this doctrine, he is apt to take offence at it. He has such a high opinion of himself, and of his own boasted abilities, that he cannot conceive how God should justify sinners by his free grace, without any of their works and merit, and he is ready to ask, What? must I do nothing towards my justification? No. You can do nothing: because, while your sins are unpardoned, you are under sentence of death. You are dead in law, and you can no more any act that is good and valid in the court of heaven, than a condemned criminal can do any act that is good and valid in one of our courts of justice. What! am I not to work out, says he, and to merit some part of my justification? No, none at all. The scripture do |