I cannot help obferving here, that the fimilitude above used will lead us to the difcovery of one great caufe of the objection against which I am reafoning. It arifes from that corruption of heart, and inward oppofition to the law of God in its extent and purity, which is in all men by nature, and continues in all who are not renewed in the fpirit of their minds. As they have a ftrong tendency and inclination to tranfgrefs the law where they dare, they are ready to think, that the hopes of impunity muft encourage every one to a bold violation of it. And no doubt this would be true, if there could be any real esteem or cordial acceptance of the gospel, without a previous conviction of the obligation of the law, and the guilt and demerit of every tranfgreffor.* But fuppofing, what is in truth the cafe with every believer, that there is a real and ftrong conviction of the obligation of the law of God upon every rational creature, which cannot be taken away; to imagine that the mercy of God in pardoning finners for Christ's fake will leffen or weaken the fenfe of this obligation, is a moft manifeft contradiction. On the contrary, fin muft needs have received a mortal blow, the love of it muft neceffarily have been deftroyed, before pardon in this way could be fought or obtained: fo that the apoftle might well fay, "How fhall we that are dead to fin, live "any longer therein ?"

In the fecond place, he who believes in Chrift, and expects juftification through his imputed righteoufness, muft have the deepest and strongest fenfe of the evil of fin in itfelf. This is in a good measure included in, or an immediate confequence of, what has been already mention. ed. For the obligation of the law, as hinted above, is but

But this is impoffible; for though there may be fome fort of fear of punishment, occafioned by difplays of divine power, where there is no true humiliation of mind, or genuine conviction of fin; this is but like the impatient ftruggles of a chained flave, inftead of the willing fubjection of a penitent child. There is fill in all fuch an inward murmuring against the fentence, as that of an unjuft and rigorous tyrant, and not of a righteous judge. Therefore, though fuch should pretend to rely on the merits of Chrift for pardon and deliverance, it is plainly not from their hearts, and therefore neither to the faving of their fouls, nor to the reformation of their lives.

very imperfect, if we confider it only as founded on the power of God, and the dependance of the creature, and not alfo on the holiness, juftice, and goodnefs of the law itself. In the firft fenfe, perhaps, it may be felt by the wicked in this world, at leaft, we are fure, it is felt by devils and damned fpirits in a separate ftate. They know that they must suffer, because they will not obey. But where there is a complete sense of obligation, it implies a belief of the righteousness of the law, as well as the power of the law-giver; of the equity, nay, the excellence of the command, as well as the feverity of the fanction. All fuch not only believe that God will punish for fin, but that it is most just that he should do fo, and that fin has richly deferved it.

It may therefore feem unneceflary to add any thing on this fubject more than has been already faid: but I have mentioned it by itself, because, befides that fenfe of the obligation and purity of the law of God which muft pave the way to a finner's acceptance of the righteousness of Chrift, there is a discovery of the evil of fin, and its abominable nature, in every part of this "mystery of godli"nefs, God manifefted in the flesh," and the truths founded upon it; fo that the more these are believed, and the more they are attended to and recollected, the more must the believer be determined to hate and abhor every wicked and falfe way; every new view which he takes of the gofpel of his falvation, every act of truft and confidence exerted upon it, muft increase his horror of fin, and excite him to fly from it.

Let us confider a little what views are prefented us of the evil of fin in the doctrine of Chrift, and of him crucified. Here we fee that a holy and juft God would not forgive fin without an atonement. What a demonftration is this of its malignity, if carefully attended to, and kept conftantly in our eye, as a part of our very idea of the Divine Nature! The difficulty in this cafe, is our partiality in our own caufe; we are unwilling to think fin fo very blame-worthy, because this is condemning ourselves; but let us confider what views an all-wife and impartial God hath of it, and form ours upon his. And that we

may not so much as once blafphemously imagine, that he alfo is partial on his own fide, let us remember that he is the God of love, who, by this very falvation, hath magnified his love in a manner that paffeth knowledge. He fhews his fenfe of the evil of the crime, even whilft he is contriving, nay, in the very contrivance of a proper way for the criminal's escape. He is not, fo to fpeak, fetting forth the malignity of the offence, in order to juftify the severity of his own vengeance, but he is exerting his amiable attribute of mercy, and yet here muft the evil of fin appear.

Confider, in a particular manner, upon this fubject, the dignity and glory of the person who made this atonement. The value of the purchase may be feen in the greatness of the price; the evil of fin in the worth of the propitiation. "For we are not redeemed with corruptible things, "fuch us filver and gold, but with the precious blood of

Chrif, as of a Lamb without blemish and without fpot." It was no less a person than the eternal and only begotton Son of God, who was before all worlds, the brightnefs of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person, who fuffered in our ftead. Whoever confiders the frequent mention in the facred oracles of the glory and dignity of the person of Chrift, must be fatisfied that it is not without defign; and none can truly relish or im. prove these truths, but fuch as thence learn the evil of fin, the immenseness of that debt which required one of fo great, nay, of infinite and inexhauftible riches, to be able to pay it. A creature indeed behoved to fuffer; and therefore he became the fon of man, but intimately united to the Creator, God blefled for ever. It was one of the firft and earlieft confeffions of faith, That Jefus Chrift was the Son of God; and this belief muft have the strongeft influence in fhewing us the evil of fin, which none else was able to expiate.

In many paffages of Scripture, God's fending his own Son into the world to fave finners, is reprefented as the strongest proof poffible of his compaffion and love. The

* 1 Pet. i. 18.

nearness of the relation teaches us, as it were, to fuppofe fome reluctance in beftowing him; in allufion to which there is a beautiful expreffion of the apofile Paul," He "that fpared not his own Son, but delivered him up for "us all, how fhall he not with him alfo freely give us all things "* The very fame thing fhews, with equal clearness, his abhorrence of fin However ftrongly dif pofed to fave finners, he would have fin to be expiated, though his own Son fhould be the victim: if any thing could have made him dispense with it, this fhould furely have had the effect: and therefore the condemning of fin feems to have been as much in view as the falvation of the finner.

Every light in which we can view this fubject, contributes to fet before us the evil of fin. Ifhall only mention further, the greatnefs and feverity of the fufferings of our Redeemer, as they are represented both prophetically, to fhew how much was exacted, and hiftorically, to fhew what was paid. As the whole of his life was to be a state of humiliation and forrow, it is faid, "As many were af"tonished at thee, his vifage was fo marred more than any man, and his form than the fons of men."

66

Again,

He is defpifed and rejected of men, a man of forrows "and acquainted with grief; and we hid, as it were, our "faces from him; he was defpifed, and we efteemed him "not." Once more, "He was wounded for our tranfgreffions, he was bruifed for our iniquities: the chaf"tifement of our peace was upon him, and with his ftripes "we are healed." In the hiftory of his life in the NewTeftament, we fee all this verified, in the meannefs of his birth, and the continued infults and reproaches thrown upon him during the course of his life. There is one remarkable paffage, John viii. 57. "Thou art not yet fifty "years old, and haft thou feen Abraham?" The meaning of this is hardly obvious, unlefs we fuppofe that his natural beauty and bloom was fo wafted and decayed by forrow, that he feemed to firangers near twenty years older than he really was.

* Rem. viii. 32. + Ifa. lii. 14. liii. 3, 5.

In the clofe of the gofpel, we have an account of the laft fcene of his fufferings in the garden and on the crofs. "He was fore amazed, and very heavy.-His foul was "exceeding forrowful, even unto death.-His fweat was

as it were great drops of blood, falling down to the "ground." He was at laft ftretched on an accurfed tree, where the pain of a tortured body was but fmall to the anguish of an overwhelmed fpirit, which conftrained him to utter this heavy complaint," My God, my God, why "haft thou forfaken me?" Let the Chriftian ftand at the foot of the crofs, and there fee the evil of fin, which required fo coftly an expiation. Let him there fee the holinefs and juftice of God in its punishment. Let him hear the most High, faying, "Awake, O fword, against "the man who is my fellow." And let him thence learn, how much fin is the object of divine deteftation.

-Hath a believer then a firm perfuafion of all these truths? Are they the frequent theme of his meditations? And must they not neceffarily fill him with an abhorrence of fin, inflame him with a hatred of it, and excite in him. a felf-lothing on its account? Thus it is faid in the prophetic writings, "They fhall look on me whom they have "pierced, and they fhall mourn for him, as one mourneth "for his only fon, and fhall be in bitterness for him, as 66 one that is in bitterness for his firft-born."* And mult not a repetition of the fame views fill ftrengthen the impreflion, so that, as the apostle Paul tells us of himself, The world will be crucified unto him, and he unto the "world."+

I am fenfible that these things will have no fuch effect upon the enemies of the gofpel, who difbelieve them, or upon thofe Chriftians, if they deferve the name, who difguife, explain away, or give up the fatisfaction of Chrift; or even those who have a firong tincture of a legal fpirit, and are for contributing fomewhat toward their acceptance with God, by their own merit and defective obedience. Such cannot relifh thefe fentiments; and therefore it may feem improper, in reafoning against enemies, to bring ↑ Gal. vi. 14.

* Zech. xii. 10.