say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he who loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God, love his brother also," 1 John iv. 20, 21. These two commandments are exceedingly weighty; for "on them hang the whole law and the prophets." The law and the prophets denote here the scriptures of the Old Testament. Luke xvi. 29. xxiv. 27. And all these scriptures urge men to love. For all the histories, commandments, doctrines, and prophecies that have been written, serve to excite man to love God and his neighbour. For "the end of the commandments is charity, out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned, 1 Tim. i. 5.

If this law of love shall conduct the sinner to a knowledge of his misery, he must then know that it hath a relation to the covenant of grace, as a rule of gratitude. Paul views it thus, Rom. xii. and xiii. and the instructor, in the doctrine of gratitude. This law hath a respect also to the covenant of works, as the condition of it, which God demanded of man, with a promise of life, and a threatening of death. In this manner is the law exhibited in the text, as appears from the connexion and it is thus also proposed by the instructor in our present Lord's day, in order to convince and humble the sinner. It is necessary to explain here in some measure the covenant of works. The good, holy, and righteous Creator, and Supreme Ruler established this covenant before the fall with Adam, who was holy and able to fulfil the condition of it, and it was established in him, as the head, with the whole human race. The Lord demanded that Adam should obey him perfectly, and thus love God and his neighbour. This demand was co-natural to him and all his posterity with the image of God; which appears from the remains of this law in the heathens, Rom. ii. 14, 15. It is true, we read only of "the covenant of eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” Gen. ii. 17. but this can be considered only as a probationary command, whereby Adam was to be proved for some time, whether he would continue good, or become evil, and whether he would love God more than the creature, or the creature more than God; as the Saviour commanded that presumptuous young man "to sell all his goods, and give to the poor," that he might prove him, whether he had, as he pretended, truly "kept the whole law from his youth up,” Matt. xix. 17, 22. This demand God enforced with the promise of life, that he might encourage Adam to observe it perfectly: "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man who doth those things shall live by them," as Paul explains it, Rom.

2. 5. Which life was sealed to him by the tree of life. By this life we must understand not only corporal and spiritual, but also eternal life and that not only in Paradise, but also in heaven itself, into which he should be admitted after the time of his probation. For whatever the elect sinner obtains by Christ, he lost in Adam, and therefore also everlasting life in heaven. This is shown with the utmost evidence by the apostle, Rom. v. 12, 19. viii. 3, 4. God enforced his command also with a threatening, that "he should surely die," if he transgressed. See Gen. ii. 17. By which we must necessarily understand corporal, spiritual and eternal death; which threatening is otherwise called the curse: "For it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things, written in the book of the law to do them," Gal. iii. 10. Neither our time nor method will permit us to enter largely upon this subject, in order to prove the reality of this covenant. We say briefly, that the constituent parts of the covenant, to wit, the covenanting parties, the condition, promise, threatening, and the seal of the covenant, or the tree of life, occur in many passages of scripture, particularly Gen. ii. 17. Certainly Hosea vi. 7, compared with Job xxxi, 33, supposeth that Adam stood in a covenant relation with God. Paul teacheth Rom. vii. 1, 2, 3. that the sinner is bound to the law, as the woman is to her husband by a marriage covenant. All the parts of the covenant of works are opposed to all the parts of the covenant of grace, as "Adam and Christ," Rom. v. 1 Cor. xv. "Works and grace," Rom. vi. 14. xi. 6. “The law of works and the law of faith," Rom. iii. 27, 28. See also Rom. viii. 3, 4.

Inasmuch now as Adam, and in him all his posterity, have broken this covenant, as will appear upon the seventh question, therefore the law that promised life to them upon their keeping of it, could not adjudge them to life. For "the law cannot do this, because it is weak through the flesh," Rom. viii. 3. The law condemns them, "it worketh wrath," Rom. iv. 15. it declares to them that "they are under the curse," Gal. iii. 10. and discovereth to them that they are wretched and miserable; for "we know" as Paul declares, Rom. iii. 19, 20. "that whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." And for this end, namely, that the law may convince man of his misery, it still remains in "the heathens, who do by nature the things contained in the law, accusing or else excusing themselves," Rom. ii. 14, 15. But the law is become so

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obscure, that it is scarcely legible any more, and it is therefore not sufficient to discover the sinner's misery to him. God nevertheless willing through his free mercy to prepare sinners for salvation, and for this end to humble them by the knowledge of their misery, republished his law in the clearest, and most solemn manner from mount Horeb, with exceedingly dreadful tokens, that he might by that law convince the breakers of the covenant of their damnable condition. Therefore the apostle saith, Rom. v. 20. "The law entered, that the offence might abound." God did indeed give his law that it might be a rule of gratitude for those who were in the covenant of grace, Exod. xx. which he had established with Israel, Exod. xix. but also that he might teach the sinner his misery. All the Israelites were not the true covenant people of God: many entered only outwardly into the covenant, and viewed it simply as a covenant of works, which they were bound to observe by their own strength as they said, "All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do," Exod. xix. 8. xxiv. 3. And in the same manner have the latter Jews also conducted toward the law, as Paul accuseth them, Rom. ix. 31, 32. x. 2, 3. "They will be under the law, and in bondage," to it, Gal iv. 21. 25. And so the law serveth only to convince them of their misery, and to condemn them, and is "a ministration of death and condemnation" to them, 2 Cor. iii 7, 9. God gave the law even to the believing Israelites under the Old Testament, to humble them, by discovering their imperfection to them, and that he might cause them to seek their salvation in the Messiah, who was to come. For "the law was added to the promise," to discover "transgressions :" the church was kept under the law, shut up, and the law was her school master, to bring her to Christ," Gal. iii. 19, 23, 24. And the law serveth still to convince Jews and Gentiles of their misery: as Paul intimates in the text, and in what he had said before, vrs. 9, 20. The law is also exceedingly well calculated to teach the sinner his misery for it is like a glass, to show him his spots and deformity; and like a right rule, to show him his declinations, crooked ways, and unrighteousness, 1 John iii. 4.

If the sinner shall learn his misery from the law, he must come to himself, compare, and examine himself by the law. Therefore the instructor brings him to himself, and asks him, "Canst thou keep all these things perfectly?" and he, surveying himself and his actions, saith, "In no wise: for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbour." It is supposed here, that we must keep the law perfectly, according to the covenant of works, if we shall enter into life. If thou wilt enter into lite, keep the commandments,” saith

Christ to the young man, who sought his righteousness by the law, Matt. xix, 17. See also Luke x. 25, 26, 27, 28. It is shown in the exposition of the seventh question, that man was once able to keep the law, and in the exposition of the eighth, that he cannot keep it now, and of the ninth, that he is still obligated to keep it. We will therefore not busy ourselves at present with proving, that man is without strength for that which is good, because we must do this in order upon the eighth and ninth questions. It will suffice at present, to know that the sinner hath not kept the law, "but is prone by nature to hate God and his neighbour." This answer is an occasion of great offence to the Pelagians: they imagine that human nature hath not been violated, or that it hath been at most only weakened, and that the will of man is free, and that he can keep the law perfectly; but they add for decency's sake, "with the help of God," and they say "that nature, although corrupt, is inclined with the help of grace to love God and our neighbour." But the grace of God doth not help, but it changes nature: We must be changed by the renewing of our mind," Rom. xii. 2, and "become new creatures," 2 Cor. v. 17. Eph. ii. 10. Nature is indeed wholly degenerate, men are ❝ a crooked and perverse generation," Deut. xxxii. 5.

But it behooves us, lest we should be misconstrued,to inquire what we are to understand here by nature, and how it is prone to hate God and our neighbour. By nature we do not understand here the upright, or the new created nature of man; for this is inclined to love God and our neighbour: but the corruption of man, which is become as it were, his nature, so that "he is a natural man, not having the Spirit," Jude vrs. 19. 2 Cor. ii. 14. and thus nature is "the old man, and the body of sin," Rom. vi. 6, which remains still in part in the regenerate, as Paul complains, Rom. vii. This is the sense in which the catechism useth the word nature here; for it speaks of a man who lives yet under the broken covenant of works, who is "a child of wrath by nature," Eph. ii. 3, and who is not yet delivered, but must be dealt with, in order to his deliverance.

This corrupt "nature is prone to hate God and our neighbour." Thus speaks the instructor according to the word of God: If we should cite every passage of scripture, which declares this expressly, we should extend our discourse to an undue length, and weary both you and ourselves. See what is said on this subject, Exod. xx. 5. Numb. x. 35. Deut. vii. 10. xxxii. 41, Job. xv. 25, 26. Psalm xxi. 8. Ixviii. 1. lxxxi. 15. cxxxix. 20. Prov. viii. 36. John xv. 18, 23, 24. Rom. i. 30. viii. 7. And not only the nature of some abominable wretches, who sin against God with a high hand, but the nature

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of every individual, is so degenerate. Paul "proves that Jews and Gentiles are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no not one: they are all gone out of the way," Rom. iii. 9, 18, and although the word of God did not assert this, experience would still teach it. He who attends to the emotions, issues, and inclinations of the heart in himself, and in others, will be convinced by experience, that what the instructor saith here is the truth. For (1) all the thoughts, considerations, and imaginations of sinful nature concerning what God hath revealed or commanded, are wholly "contrary to God's thoughts," Isaiah lv. 8. "The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be," saith the apostle, Rom. viii. 7. There are "imaginations and high things, that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God," 2 Cor x. 5. For whence else proceed so many evil and hateful opinions and iniquities, that do, as it were, deluge the world? (2) Sinful nature doth not surely love God; for where, and in what man, who hath no more than nature, do we see that high estimation of the Lord, that ardent desire of union with him, and of enjoying him, that cheerful satisfaction in God, and that steadfast inclination to do his will, and that of none other, heartily? It is certain, that where there is no love, there must be hatred and that where there is ' hatred, there is no love: See this, Judges xiv. 16. xvi. 15. (3) The sinner loves nothing by nature but sin. This appears from all those evil emotions of the sinful nature, and from the sinners cherishing of those emotions. He seeks his honour, pleasure and profit in sin, he is so closely wedded to it, that "though such a fool should be brayed in a mortar with a pestil among wheat, yet would not his foolishness depart from him," Prov. xxvii. 22. Now he who so loves that which the Lord hates, doth not he hate the Lord? surely the Lord judges so: "He that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own soul; all they that hate me love death," saith he by the mouth of Solomon, Prov. viii. 36. (4) The sinner ends with all that he hath in himself. It is the nature of love to God to do all things for the Lord's sake, even "eating and drinking," 1 Cor. x. 31, but the sinner is prone by nature to do all things for his own sake: he imagines "that he is something, and some great one," with Theudas and Simon the sorcerer, Acts v. 36. viii. 9, and he therefore wishes that all things should issue for him, and so " he sets his heart as God's heart," Ezek. xxviii. 2. He aims even at the throne and crown of God: for "he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty; he runneth upon him, even upon his neck, upon the thick bosses of his buckler," saith Eliphas, Job xv. 25, 26. And this