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النشر الإلكتروني

SERMON VIII.

HABAKKUK II, 4.

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him : but the just shall live by his faith.

THERE are gleams of the gospel light scattered over many parts of the Old Testament, which are too often overlooked by ordinary readers; but which, when discovered, are replete with the deepest interest and consolation. They are so for various reasons; the most important of which is, that a satisfactory and convincing proof is thereby afforded, that the old and new covenants both proceed from the hands of one Almighty Being, and are parts of the same great and comprehensive design. It has been repeatedly stated, that the Jewish law was but a preparation for the Christian dispensation; that every part of its ceremonies and its ordinances, was intended to prefigure something, far more solemn and more holy, in the gospel institution. And if we ex

amine and search into the writings of Moses and the prophets, every fresh inquiry will add to our conviction of the truth of these observations, and enable us to discover new links of beautiful and intimate union.

The one great doctrine inculcated in the gospel, is that of justification by faith alone, through the merits of Jesus Christ. We need not pause here in order to prove this point. There is scarcely a page in the New Testament which does not, either by immediate declaration or obvious inference, bear positive testimony to its truth; and there are few denominations of protestant Christians who are hardy enough to deny it, however feeble be the influence which such a belief exercises over their own hearts.

It becomes, then, necessarily a question of some interest, to ascertain what traces, if any, are given in the Old Testament of such a saving principle. We cannot, indeed, with any reason, expect to find justification through faith in the Redeemer, expressly set forth in the sacred records of the Jews; because the notices which are there given of the promised Messiah, refer rather to him as the great atonement for sin, than to the means by which his mercy will be made available to us. All we can justly look for is, a declaration that we shall be considered righteous before God through faith, and not by obedience. Now

we do not deny that this doctrine, though, as we shall presently see, manifest enough to shew that it is the everlasting purpose of God, is not very frequently, nor perhaps very plainly proclaimed in the Old Testament. But if we consider the subject attentively, we shall discover, I think, that there is design in this; that one great purpose of the Almighty in establishing the Jewish commonwealth, and in giving it its varied and remarkable code of laws, was answered, by leaving this fundamental article of our faith to be fully revealed, under a future and more perfect covenant.

Of the various reasons which have been assigned for the separation of the Jewish people from the other nations of the earth, all, perhaps, in some respects, partaking of the truth, there is one not so frequently insisted upon as it deserves to be, to which I desire, on the present occasion, to call your most serious attention. It becomes not, indeed, such frail and sinful beings as ourselves, to attempt to pry curiously into the designs of the Almighty; and probable it is, that, when the veil which shrouds our perceptions now shall be removed, when hereafter we shall see things face to face; if any earthly remembrances remain upon our minds, we shall wonder at the vanity and errors of many of those visionary speculations, in which we, with so much fondness, occasionally indulge. Still, although we may not

reach the truth, our inquiries into the reasons of God's government and dispensations, when conducted solely with a view to his glory, and the eternal welfare of our fellow-creatures; and carried on with an humble resolution to submit ourselves entirely to the guidance of his holy word, will not, we have reason to believe, be displeasing to him, nor unprofitable to ourselves. It seems not improbable, then, that one great and gracious purpose, designed by God in forming the Jewish system, was to convey to men, in all future ages, a lesson of the greatest importance, and, if it is learned, calculated to be of the utmost possible benefit.

There is a principle, my brethren, that predominates in the heart of man, and sets itself in direct opposition to the power and goodness of God. It is pride, which is ever persuading us that we are not the dependent creatures which God has declared us to be; that we can please him by our own unassisted efforts to serve him; that we can obey him as far as he requires to be obeyed; and that fallen and degraded though we be, we are still pure enough to be accepted by him. Now, it is well known, that the Jewish law was one of moral obligation alone; not so strict, indeed, as that promulgated in the gospel, but still evincing clearly the abhorrence in which sin is held by God, and the dreadful vengeance with which he

will visit all who are partakers in its enormities. It is also clear, that the rewards which were promised, were promised as a recompense, as a prize reserved for those who should be perfect in their obedience. Every means also were taken, to confirm the Jews in a belief of the divine origin of the Levitical code. God was pleased to descend in thunders and lightnings on mount Sinai, to deliver these his commands to Moses, in the sight of all the people; he vouchsafed, also, to be ever present with them, and to show, by the miraculous cloud and the pillar of fire, that he was indeed the Lord Jehovah, who had rescued them from the bondage of Egypt. We cannot speculate upon things that are impossible; we cannot pretend to say what the result would have been, had one man of that much-favoured but perverse and obstinate nation, been found, who had shewn himself, in every respect, a rigid observer of the law. We know that such never was the case; that no one of all the holiest of Israel was so holy, as not to have been a frequent offender against the precepts of his religion. The lives of many of the saints of those days have been transmitted for our instruction; and if we read them carefully, we shall find in all some taint of impurity, some foul stain of error and disobedience, which mark most clearly, how far they were from being the good and faithful servants they were required to

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