again through this righteoufnefs; this, and nothing but this, can yield comfort. And Oh! when he fees God fmiling on him through this righteousness, this puts gladnefs in his heart more than when corn, wine, and oil, did abound. Try yourselves by this.

In a word, if the righteoufnefs of the law be fulfilled in you through the righteoufnefs of the Meffiah, the life you live in the world will be by faith in the Son of God, and ye will not reckon fo much that ye live, but that Chrift liveth in you. Many a flight will thy foul be taking to him upon the wings of faith and love, as the Lord thy righteousness. Whenever you look towards the majefty of God, and view his unfpotted holiness and unbiaffed juftice; whenever thou looks upon the fiery law, or hears a thunder-clap from Mount Sinai ; whenever thou looks into another world, or an awful tribunal; whenever thou looks to the depravation of thy nature, and the innumerable evils that compafs thee about; whenever thou looks to the melancholy afpect of providence, thy foul will ay be taking the other flight by faith unto Chrift, as thy Surety and Redeemer; and the viewing the law magnified, and justice fatisfied, and God reconciled in the perfon and undertaking of Christ; and whenever thou looks to him, thou wilt find thy Spirit lightened and eased, and be ready to fay with David, "Return unto thy reft, O my foul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." So much fhall ferve for an use of Trial. I proceed now to,

III. The third ufe of this doctrine, which may be of terror to all the ungodly world, that are living in the open or fecret violation of the holy law of God.

Hath God magnified the law, and made it honourable, at the expence of the humiliation, incarnation, obedience, death, and fufferings of his eternal Son? Oh how dreadful and difmal is the condition of thefe, who, inftead of yielding the obedience of faith unto this law, are daily in their practice trampling the authority of the law under their feet, breaking God's bands, and caiting the cords of his law from them, and yet will needs pretend to and profefs the name of Chrift, as if Chrift had magnified the law and made it honourable, that they might have a liberty to break it, and to follow the fwing of their own carnal and corrupt hearts. The apoftle Jude, ver. 3d of his epittle, when peaking of fuch licentious Chriftians, he calls them ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift into lafcivioufnefs, of old ordained to this condemnation. O Sirs! do not miftake it, Chrift has magnified the law, and made it honourable, not to locfe but to

eftablish

eftablish the obligation of it as a "rule of obedience, he gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works," Tit. ii. 14. He hath delivered us from the hand of all our enemies, that we " might ferve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life," Luke i. 74. and that we may by his grace be taught to deny all "ungodlinefs and worldly lufts, and to walk foberly, righteously, and godly, in this prefent world," Tit. ii. 12. So that ye who draw encouragement from the doctrine of Chrift's magnifying the law, and making it honourable, to violate and difhonour the law of God, ye are just counteracting the defign of the obedience of Chrift unto the death, and, like the filthy wafp, fucking poifon out of the gospel of falvation. And do you expect to be juftified by the righteousness of Christ, and eternally faved by his blood in fuch a way as this? no, no; ye have "neither part nor lot in this matter." As fure as God lives, ye are under the law as a covenant, and therefore under the dominion of fin, and the curfe of the broken law is upon you; ye are (6 condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on you." And unto you, God faith, "What haft thou to do to make mention of my righteoufnefs, or that thou shouldft take my covenant in thy mouth, feeing thou hateft inftruction, and cafteft my words behind thee." And therefore confider your danger in time, before you come in before the awful bar of God, left, when you arrive there, he tear you in pieces, when there is none to deliver you out of his hand. But I turn me again from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion, and go on to,

IV. Fourth use of this doctrine, by way of encouragement to convinced and awakened finners, and to doubting and trembling believers.

We have a commiffion "to bind up the broken hearted, to comfort them that mourn in Zion, to ftrengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees, to fay to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; we bring to you good tidings of great joy," tidings that may make your hearts triumph, and leap for joy within you, as the babe leapt in Elifabeth's womb, at the falutation of Mary. Here, I fay, are the best news that ever were heard to law-condemned finners, that Chrift, as our bleffed Surety, has brought in everlasting righteoufnefs, by which he has magnified the law, and made it bonourable.

There are these following topics, or grounds of Encouragement and Confolation, fpringing out of this doctrine.

1f, Is the law magnified by the Surety, which was broken

by

by the finner? Hence it follows, that the great Lawgiver is fa tisfied and well pleased, as it follows in the text, The Lord is well pleafed for his righteousness fake; that which displeased and provoked the majesty of God, was the breach of his law, but fince the law is again magnified, furely he cannot but be a well pleafed Deity.

Upon this ground it is, that fuch declarations are iffued out, "Fury is not in me," I was angry, but mine "anger is turned away: As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die?" Oh Sirs! that which scares you from coming back to God is the apprehenfion, that, because of the breach of the law, God is implacable, and will never be reconciled. But we tell you, for your encouragement, that a God in Chrift is well pleafed for his righteousness fake, because he hath magnified the law, and made it honourable. God was in Chrift, not purfuing the world as an avenging enemy, but reconciling the world to himfelf. And therefore let not an evil heart of unbelief turn you away from the living God, as though he were not well pleafed for Chrift's righteousness fake. It was not for nought that that proclamation was made three times with an audible voice from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleafed." O it is glorious encouragement to a loft finner, hanging over the mouth of hell, that God is well pleafed in his Chrift.

2dly, Is the law nagnified and made honourable? then it follows, that the great bar that lay in the way of our falvation is removed. Upon the firft Adam's violation of the holy law, mountains of wrath were rolled in the way of falvation; the way was fo filled with briars and thorns, woes and curfes, that it became altogether impaflable for any of Adam's race. Hence came that horror and defpair that was feated in the hearts of our first parents immediately after they had finned. The fight of the cherubim, and the flaming fword turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life, had a dismal fignification: Well, but Chriit, the fecond Adam, he has magnified the law, and made it honourable, and therefore it mult needs follow, that all thefe impediments and bars in the way of our falvation are now removed, and the way is clear to every foul that has a mind to enter in by faith, John x. 9. "I am the door by me if any man enter in, he fhall be faved, and fhall go in and out and find pafture." All legal impediments arifrom law and justice, in the way of falvation are, now takit of the way, and there is a free call to every man to enter in and be faved; in which cafe nothing can hinder but

unbelief,

unbelief, which is a refusing to enter in by Christ, and they that do fo, how fhall they efcape?

3dly, Is the law magnified and made honourable? Then here is encouragement, that in is finithed, and tranfgreffion ended." The very effence of fin lies in a tranfgreffion of the law. Well, but if the law be again magnified, then where is fin? It is furely buried in the obedience of Christ to the death, by the righteousness of the Surety. The guilt of it is taken away, and the power and dominion of it is broken in every believer, and the very being of it fhall be deftroyed, ere it be long. So that I may fay, to believers under the covert of Chrift's righteoufnefs, as Mofes faid to Ifrael, with refpect to the Egyptians, that were pursuing them for their lives, Exod. xiv. 13. "Fear ye not, ftand ftill, and fee the falvation of the Lord, which he will fhew you to-day, for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye thall fee them no more again for ever." Poor believer, thou art afraid of these innumerable fins, which compass thee about, left they purfue thee, and take away thy life, but ftand ftill, and fee the falvation which God hath wrought; all thy fins are buried for ever out of God's fight, and shall be buried out of thy fight alfo, in the Red fea of a Redeemer's blood, and under the covert of his law-magnifying righteoufnefs, whereby he hath made an end of fin.

4thly, Is the law magnified and made honourable? Then the hand-writing of the curfe that was against us, and contrary to us, is cancelled and difcharged. Upon the footing of the righteoufness of Chrift, which magnifies the law, it is, that that gracious declaration is iffued out, John iii. 17. “God fent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be faved." Chrift has retired the bond that lay in the hand of justice, and had it difcharged in his refurrection from the dead; and upon this ground it is declared, that "there is now no condemnation to them that are in Chrift Jefus." And if you ask the reafon of this interlocutory? Here it is, Christ hath magnified the law, and made it honourable: therefore the penalty of the law cannot take place against any foul under the covert of his righte oufnefs. No, no; "Christ hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for us."

5thly, Is the law magnified and made honourable? Then it follows, that grace and mercy reign through righteoufnefs, and that the law and juftice can be no impediment in the way of pardoning mercy. The poor fenfible finner, whofe eyes are fixed upon his own fin, and the holiness of the law, is many times ready to say and think with himself, 'Oh! God can never extend mercy to the like of me, in a confiftency with VOL. III.

Ee

his

his law and justice. He is obliged to take vengeance on me, by virtue of his juftice.' But, Sirs, confider that the Surety Jefus Chrift has magnified the law, and made it honourable, that mercy and grace might have an unrestrained current, even towards the guiltieft finners that believe in Jefus. Hence is that of the apoftle, Rom. iii. 24.-26. "Being juflified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jefus Chrift, whom God hath fet forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his rightconfnefs for the remiffion of fins. To declare, I fay, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the juftifier of him who believeth in Jefus," And therefore let this encourage you to purfue after the pardon and remiffion of fin on this account, that the law is already magnified and made honourable in the Surety's righte oufnefs. God exalts and glorifies his name gracious, and merciful, when he blots out iniquity, upon this footing; yea, glorifies the law and juftice alfo, more than if he would purfue the quarrel against thee to the loweft hell through eternity.

6thly. Is the law magnified and made honourable? Then hence it follows, that the condition of the covenant of grace, properly fo called, is already fulfilled. Since the fall of Adam, God never entered into covenant with man himself directly and immediately: no, the covenant of grace is made with us in Chrift, as our Surety, Head, and Representative. As the covenant of works was made with the firft Adam, as our natural and federal head, and with us in him; fo the covenant of grace is made with us in the fecond Adam, as our spiritual Head, and the condition of the covenant was fulfilled by him. And if you aik me, 'What is the proper condition of the covenant of grace I answer, It is just this, that Chrift fhould be made under the law, and by his obedience unto the death magnify it, and make it honourable. Upon this condition eternal life, and all the purtenances of it, were promifed to him and his feed. Now, when any of the loft race of Adam believes in Chrift, they do not, by that act of faith, fulfil the condition of the covenant of grace, but only take hold of the condition of it, fulfilled by Chrift, and, in fo doing, they become "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Chrift Jefus." And fo they may travel through the large field of the covenant, and pluck this, and that, and the other blefling of the covenant, faying, This is mine, and that is mine, and the whole of the cove. nant is mine, because I have the condition of the covenant in my new fpiritual Head, Jefus Chrift, he has magnified the lary and made it honourable. Oh! with what courage might the believer go to work, in laying claim to the covenant, and the

bleflings