justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." Rom. iii. 26. Therefore, if a sinner," whose mouth is stopped," and who "has nothing to pay," pleads from the heart the atoning. blood of Christ, [and, supposing 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, consists the great difference between the first and the second covenant. Under the first, an absolute, unsinning, universal obedience in our own persons is required; and such obedience we [in our fallen state] can never perform. Under the second covenant, this obedience [to the law of innocence, paid by and] in our surety Christ Jesus, when we are united to him by a faith of the operation of God, is accepted instead of our For as our sins were transferred upon the Redeemer's guiltless head, so his merits are brought home to our guilty souls by the powerful operation of divine grace through faith; and, being thus complete in Christ,*

own.

:

divine favour a doctrine this which is the ground of the Minutes, the quintessence of the Checks, and the downfal of antinomianism. It was only with respect to the covenant of works, and to the law of innocence, that I said in the next paragraph, transposed by Mr. Hill," This obedience, when we are united to Christ by a faith of the operation of God, is accepted instead of our own." How greatly, then, does he mistake me, when he supposes I asserted that the personal, Adamic, and, in one sense, anti-evangelical obedience of Christ, which sprang neither from gospel faith nor from gospel repentance, is accepted instead of the personal, penitential, evangelical obedience of believers! It is just here that the Calvinists turn aside from the truth, to make void the law of Christ, and follow antinomian dotages. Because Christ has fulalled the Adamic law of innocence for us, they fancy that he has also fult.l.ed his own evangelical law of gospel obedience, according to which we must stand or fall, when by our words we shall be justified, and by our words we shall be condemned.

10. If I say that penitent believers are complete in Christ with respect 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 also,) "filled with him." Far be the horrid insinuation from the pen and heart of a Christian. I readily grant, that true believers are not less dead to the Adamic law of innocence, than to the ceremonial law of Moses; and that, with respect to it, they heartily say, as David, "Enter not into judgment with thy servants, () Lord; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." But mistake me not: I would not insinuate

[with regard to the fulfilling of the first covenant,] we can "rejoice in God," who has "made him unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." [I say, 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 second covenant for us, and talk of finished salvation, just as if our Lord had actually repented of our sins, believed in his own blood, and fulfilled his own evangelical law in our stead: a fatal error this, which makes Christians lawless, represents Christ as the minister of sin, and arms the antinomian fiend with a dreadful axe, to fell the trees of righteousness, and cut down the very pillars of the house of God.]

From what has been observed, it follows, that before any one can believe [to salvation], in the gospel sense of the word, he must be convinced of sin by the Spirit of God. John xvi. 8. He must feel himself a guilty, lost, and helpless sinner, unable to recover the favour and image of God by his own strength and righteousness. Acts ii. 37, 38.

This conviction and sense of guilt make the sinner come weary and heavy laden to Christ, earnestly

that they are lawless, or only under a rule of life, which they may break without endangering their salvation. No; they are under the law of Christ, the law of liberty, the law of the spirit of life, the royal law of gospel holiness; and according to this law they shall all be rewarded or punished in the day of judgment. Although this law admits of repentance after a fall, at least during the day of salvation; and although it does not condemn us for not obeying above our present measure of power, yet it does not make the least allowance for wilful sin, any more than the Adamic law; for St. James informs a believer, that "if he offend in one point, he is guilty of all." And, indeed, our Lord's parable confirms this awful declaration. The favoured servant, who had the immense debt of ten thousand talents forgiven him, sinned against Christ's law only" in one point," namely, in refusing to have mercy on his fellow-servant, as his Lord had had compassion upon him; and for that one offence he was delivered to the tormentors, as notoriously guilty of breaking the whole law of liberty and love. "If he who despised the law of Moses perished under two or three witnesses, of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy, who" despises the law of Christ! This is the ground of the epistle to the Hebrews; but who considers it? Who believes that the Son of God will command even the unprofitable servant to be cut asunder? Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith upon the earth?" my unbelief.

"When the

Lord! help

claiming the rest which he offers to weary souls. Matt. xi. 28. This rest the mourner seeks with the contrite publican, in the constant use of all the means of grace; endeavouring to "bring forth fruit meet for repentance," till the same Spirit that had convinced him of sin, and alarmed his drowsy conscience, "convinces him" also "of righteousness," John xvi. 8, that is, shows him the all-sufficiency of the Saviour's [merits or] righteousness, to swallow up his [former* sins, and] unrighteousness; and the infinite value of Christ's meritorious death, to atone for his [past *] unholy life; enabling him to "believe with the heart," and, consequently, to feel [under the Christian dispensation] that he has an interest in the Redeemer's blood and righteousness; [or, that he is savingly interested in the merit of all that the Son of God suffered, did, and continues to do, for us.]

This lively faith, this "faith working by love," + is that which "is imputed for righteousness," Rom. iv. 3, and that whereby a soul is born of God, [according to the Christian dispensation of the gospel,‡] 1 John v. 1. By this

11. Without the words "former" and "past," the sentence leaned towards antinomianism. It gave fallen believers room to conclude that their future or present unholy lives were unconditionally atoned for; contrary to St. Paul's guarded gospel, "God has set forth Christ to be a propitiation, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past." Here is no pleasing innuendo, that the present or future sins of Laodicean backsliders "are for ever and for ever cancelled."

† 12. This is the very doctrine of the Minutes and of the Checks. Is it not astonishing, that Mr. Hill should desire me to publish my sermon, as "the best confutation" of both ?

13. The judicious reader will easily perceive, that the additions made to this and some other paragraphs of my old sermon, are intended to guard the inferior dispensations of the gospel. Are there not degrees of saving faith, inferior to the faith of the Christian gospel? And are not those degrees of faith consistent with the most profound ignorance of the history of our Lord's sufferings, and, consequently, with any explicit knowledge of the atonement? Although mankind in general had some consciousness of guilt, and a confused idea of propitiatory sacrifices; and although all the Jewish sacrifices and prophecies pointed to the great atonement, yet how few, even among the pious Jews, seem to have had a clear belief that the Messiah would "put away sin by the sacrifice of himself!" How unreasonable is it then to confine the gospel to the explicit knowledge of Christ's atoning sufferings, to which both the prophets and apostles were once such strangers! Does not St. Peter intimate that "the prophets searched," to little purpose, "what the Spirit signified, when it testified beforehand the sufferings

faith the [Christian] believer being [strongly] united to Christ, as a member to the body, becomes entitled to [a much larger share in] the benefit of all that our Lord did and suffered; and in consequence of this [strong] vital union with him who is the source of all goodness, he derives a [degree of] power till then unknown to do good works truly so called; as a graft, which is [strongly]

of Christ," since "it was revealed to them, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things which are now reported" in the Christian gospel? 1 Peter i. 11, 12. And how absurd is it to suppose that nothing is gospel, but a doctrine which the first preachers of the Christian gospel knew little or nothing of, even while they preached the gospel under our Lord's immediate direction! Did not John the Baptist exceed in evangelical knowledge "all that were born of women?" Were the apostles much inferior to him, when they had been three years in Christ's school? Did not our Lord say to them, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear; for verily many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things that ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that ye hear, and have not heard them?" Again: did he not testify that in general they had justifying faith, that is, faith working by love? Did he not say, "Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you;" "the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me, and believed that I came forth from God?" Nay, did he not send them two and two, to preach the gospel of the day: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel?" And would he have sent them to preach a gospel to which they were utter strangers? But were they not perfectly strangers to what passes now for the only gospel? Had they the least idea that their Master's blood was to be shed for them, even after he had said, "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins?" When he spoke to them of his sufferings, were not they so far from believing in the atonement which he was about to make, that they were offended at the very idea? Is not this evident from the words of Peter, their chief speaker, who "began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not happen unto thee: " that is, We do not yet see the need of thy blood? Nay, when Christ had actually shed it, and the atoning work was finished; far from having the least notion about what is called "finished salvation," and "gospel," in our day; did they not suppose that all their hopes were blasted, saying, "We trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel?" Luke xx v. 21. Thus the very payment of their ransom made them despair of their redemption: so great was their unacquaintedness with the doctrine of the atonement, notwithstanding their gospel knowledge, which far exceeded that of most patriarchs and prophets! From these observations may I not conclude, 1. That an explicit knowledge of Christ's passion and atonement is the prerogative of the Christian gospel advancing towards perfection: and, 2. That those who make it essential to the everlasting gospel, most dreadfully curtail it, and indirectly doom to hell, not only all the righteous Jews, Turks, and heathens, who may now be alive; but also almost all the believers, who died before our Lord's crucifixion, and some of the disciples themselves after his resurrection?

united to the stock that bears it, draws from it new sap, and power to bring forth fruit in [greater] abundance.

[O thou that professest the Christian faith, especially,] "show me thy faith by thy works," says an apostle; that is, show me that thou art grafted in Christ [according to the Christian dispensation] by serving God with all thy strength; by doing all the good thou canst to the souls and bodies of men with cheerfulness; by suffering wrong and contempt with meekness; by slighting earthly joys, mortifying fleshly lusts, having thy conversation in heaven, and panting every hour after a closer union with Christ, the life of all believers. If thou dost not bring forth these fruits, thou art not a Christian; thou art not "in Christ a new creature." 2 Cor. v. 17. Thou mayest talk of faith, and suppose that thou believest; but give me leave to tell thee, that [unless thou art in the case of the eunuch, who searched the scriptures even upon a journey; or of Cornelius, who sought the Lord in alms-givings, and prayer] if thou believest at all, [I fear] it is with the drunkard's faith, the whoremonger's faith, the devil's faith. James ii. 19. From such a faith, may God deliver us, and give us, instead of this counterfeit, "the faith once delivered unto the saints, the mystery of faith kept in a pure conscience!" Get it, O. sinner, who bearest a Christian name, and Christ and heaven are thine: [but if thou] die without it, [whether it be by continuing in thy present sin and unbelief, or by "making shipwreck of the faith,”] thou diest the second death; thou sinkest into the bottomless pit for evermore. Mark xvi. 16.

Having thus given you an account of both covenants, and laid before you the conditions [or term] of each; namely, for the first, a sinless, uninterrupted obedience to all the commands of the holy, spiritual, [and Adamic] law of God, performed by ourselves [without the least mediatorial assistance]; and for the second, a lively faith in Christ; ["the light of the world," according to the gospel dispensation we are under ;] by which faith the virtue of Christ's active and passive obedience to the law [of innocence] being imputed to us, and applied to our hearts, we