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deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in the fight of God. To this way of juftification, by the deeds of the law, he oppofeth the righteoufness of God by the faith of Jefus Chrift, to all, and upon all them that believe, which is the gofpel way of juftification, ver. 21, 22. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifefted, being witneffed by the law and the Prophets, even the righteoufness of God, which is by the faith of Jefus Chrift, unto all, and upon all them that believe. The righteousness of God without the law is manifefted; that is, the way which God hath taken to justify finners, and declare them righteous without the deeds of the law, that is, without obferving the law of Mofes, is manifefted, that is, is clearly revealed in the gospel, (which is the fame with what the Apostle had faid before, that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel) being witnessed by the law and the Prophets, that is, the righteoufnefs of God, or the juftification of finners by Jefus Chrift, is clearly revealed in the gofpel, being alfo in a more obfcure manner attefted or foretold in the Old Teftament, which he calls the law and the Prophets; and this fully explains that difficult phrafe of the righteousness of God being revealed by the gospel from faith to faith; that is by a gradual revelation, being more obfcurely foretold in the Old Teftament, and clearly difcovered in the New; fo that these two paffages are equivalent; In the gospel, the righteoufnefs of God is revealed from faith to faith; and the righteousness of God without the works of the law is manifefted, being witneffed by the law and the Prophets. There is the firft and more imperfect revelation of it, but the clear revelation of it is in the gofpel, this the Apoftle calls revelation from faith to faith, that is, from a more imperfect and obfcure, to a more exprefs and clear difcovery and belief of it. And then the citation which follows is very pertinent, as it is written. The just shall live by faith; for this citation out of the Old Teftament plainly fhews that the way of juftification by faith was there mentioned; or, as our Apoftle expreffeth it, was witnessed by the law and the Prophets; and confequently

quently that this was a gradual discovery, which he calls a revelation from faith to faith. The just fhall live by faith, that is, good men fhall be faved by their faith, fhall be juftified and efteemed righteous in the fight of God, and finally faved by their faith. And fo the Apoftle in the 5th chapter of this epiftle, ver. 18. calls our juftification by the faith of the gofpel, the juftification of life, in oppofition to condemnation and death, which very well explains that faying of the Prophet, the just shall live by faith. I have been the longer upon this, that I might give some light to a very difficult and obfcure text.

Secondly, The other inftance whereby the Apoftle proves the gospel to be fo powerful a means for the recovery and falvation of men is, that therein also the feverity of God against impenitent finners, as well as his grace and mercy in the juftification of the penitent, is clearly revealed, ver. 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifefted in them, for God hath Shewn it unto them. The firft, viz. the grace of God in our juftification and the remiffion of fins paft, is a most proper and powerful argument to encourage us to obedience for the future; nothing being more likely to reclaim men to their duty than the affurance of indemnity for paft crimes; and the other is one of the most effectual confiderations in the world to deter men from fin, that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, &c.

From which words I fhall obferve these fix things: First, The infinite danger that a wicked and finful courfe doth plainly expofe men to. The wrath of God is here faid to be revealed against the impiety and unrighteousness of men.

Secondly, The clear and undoubted revelation which the gofpel hath made of this danger. The wrath of God against the fins of men, is faid to be revealed from heaven.

Thirdly, That every wicked and vicious practice

doth

doth expofe men to this great danger. The wrath of God is faid to be revealed against all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men.

Fourthly, That it is a very great aggravation of fin, for men to offend against the light of their own minds. The Apoftle here aggravates the impiety and wickedness of the heathen world, that they did not live up to the knowledge which they had of God, but contradicted it in their lives, which he calls holding the truth in unrighteousness.

Fifthly, The natural knowledge which men have of God, if they live wickedly, is a clear evidence of their holding the truth in unrighteousness. The Apoftle therefore chargeth them with holding the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God, is manifefted in them, God having fhewed it to them.

Sixthly and laftly, That the clear revelation of the wrath of God in the gofpel, against the impiety and wickedness of men, renders it a very powerful and likely means for the recovery and falvation of men. For the Apostle proves the gospel of Chrift to be the power of God to falvation, because therein the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodlinefs and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; that is, against all impenitent fin

ners.

I fhall at the prefent, by God's affiftance, speak to the three first of thefe particulars.

First, The infinite danger that a wicked finful courfe doth plainly expofe men to. If there be a God that made the world, and governs it, and takes care of mankind, and hath given them laws and rules to live by, he cannot but be greatly difpleafed at the violation and tranfgreffion of them; and certainly the difpleafure of God is the moft dreadful thing in the world, and the effects of it the most infupportable. The greatest fear is from the greatest danger, and the greatest danger is from the greatest power offended and enraged; and this is a confideration exceeding full of terror, that by a finful courfe we expose ourselves to the utmoft difpleasure of the

great

great and terrible God; for who knows the power of his wrath? and who may stand before him when once he is angry? According to thy fear, fo is thy wrath, (faith the Pfalmift.) There is no paffion in the mind of man that is more boundlefs and infinite than our fear, it is apt to make wild and frightful reprefentations of evils, and to imagine them many times greater than really they are; but in this cafe our imagi nation must fall fhort of the truth and terror of the thing for the wrath of God doth far exceed the utmoft jealoufy and fufpicion of the most fearful and guilty confcience; and the greateft finner under his greateft anguifh and defpair, cannot apprehend or fear it more than there is reafon for; according to thy fear, fo is thy wrath.

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If it were only the wrath and difpleasure of men that the finner were expofed to, there might be reafon enough for fear, becaufe they have many times power enough to crufh an offender, and cruelty enough to fret every vein of his body, and to torment him in every part: but the wrath and vengeance of men bears no comparison with the wrath of God. Their paffions are many times ftrong and bluftering; but their arm is but fhort, and their power finall; they have not an arm like God, nor can they thunder with a voice like him. They may defign confiderable harm and mifchief to us; but it is not always in the power of their hand to wreck their malice upon us, and to execute all the mischief which their inraged minds may prompt them to. The very utmoft they can defign, is to torment our bodies, and to take away our lives, and when they have defigned this, they may dy firft, and return to their duft, and then their thoughts perish with them, and. all their malicious defigns are at an end; they are always under the power and government of a fuperior Being, and can go no further than he gives them leave. However, if they do their worst, and shoot all their arrows at us, we cannot ftand at the mark long, their wrath will foon make an end of us, and fet us free from all their cruelty and oppreffion; they can but kill the body, and after that they have VOL. V.

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no more that they can do. Their most refined malice cannot reach our fpirits; no weapon that can be formed by the utmost art of man can pierce or wound our fouls; they can drive us out of this world, but they cannot purfue us into the other: fo that at the worst the grave will be a fanctuary to us, and death a fafe retreat from all their rage and fury.

But the wrath of God is not confined by any of thefe limits. Once hath God spoken (faith David, by an elegant Hebrew phrafe to exprefs the certainty of the thing) once hath God spoken, and twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God, Pfal. lxii. 11. He hath a mighty arm, and when he pleaseth to Itretch it out, none may stay it, nor fay unto him, what doft thou? He hath power enough to make good all his threatnings, whatever he fays he is able to effect, and whatever he purpofeth he can bring to pafs; for his counsel fhall stand, and he will accomplish all his pleasure. He need but fpeak the word, and it is done; for we can neither refift his power, nor fly from it: if we fly to the utmost parts of the earth, his hand can reach us, for in his hand are all the corners of the earth; if we take refuge in the grave (and we cannot do that without his leave)

thither his wrath can follow us; and there it will overtake us for his power is not confined to this world, nor limited to our bodies; after he hath killed, he can destroy both body and foul in hell.

And this is that wrath of God which is revealed from heaven, and which the Apoftle chiefly intends, viz. the mifery and punishment of another world. This God hath threathed finners withal; to exprefs which to us, as fully as words can do, he heaps up in the next chapter fo many weighty and terrible words, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every foul of man that doth evil; in oppolition to that great and glorious reward of immortality and eternal life, which is promised to a patient continuance in well-doing.

So that the wrath of God, which is here denounced against the impiety and unrighteousness of men, comprehends all the evils and miferies of this and

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