that when a Lawyer expreffed his veneration for it, by declaring that the love of God and our neighbour was more than all the whole burnt-offerings and facrifices; Jefus feeing that he had answered difcreetly. faid unto him: Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.

The gospel itself terminates in the fulfilling of the commandments: For as the curfe of the law like the fcourge of a fevere schoolmafter drives; fo the gospel like a loving guide brings us to Christ, the great law-fulfiller, in whom we find inexhauftible treafures of pardon and power; of pardon for paft breaches of the law, and of power for prefent obedience to it. Nor are we fooner come to Him, than he magnifies the law by his precepts, as he formerly did by his obedience unto death. If Ye love me, fays he, keep my commandments: This is his commandment that we should love one another; and he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Again, the gofpel difplays Jefus's dying love, that by believing it we may love him; that is, have everlasting life, the life of love which abideth when the life of faith is no more. Hence St. John furs up chriftianity in thefe words, We love him because. he first loved us ; and what is it to love Jefus, but to fulfil the whole law at once, to love God and man, the Creator and the Creature, united in one divinely human perfon?

Did the Son of God magnify the Law that we might vilify it? Did he make it honorable that we might make it contemptible? Did he come to fulfil it that we might be discharged from fulfilling it according to our capacity? that is, difcharged from loving God and our neighbour? difcharged from the employment and joys of heaven? No: the Word was never made flesh for this dreadful end. None but Satan could have become incarnate to go upon fuch an infernal errand as this. Standing therefore upon the rock of evangelical truth, we aik with St. Paul, Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Nay, we establish the laws. We point finners to that Saviour, in and from whom they

may

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may continually have the law-fulfilling power, that the righteousness of the Law may be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

Such are the glorious and delightful views, which the Scripture gives us of the Law difarmed of its curfe in Chrift, the Law of holy, humble love, fo ftrongly inforced in the difcourfes, and sweetly exemplified in the life and death of the Prophet-like unto Mofes !--So amiable, fo precious is the book of the law, when delivered to us by Jefus, fprinkled with his atoning blood, and explained by his loving Spirit! And fo true is St. Paul's affertion, We are not without law to God, but under the law to Chrift!

Inftead then of dreffing up the Law as a fcarecrow, let us in our degree magnify it, and make it honorable as did our Lord. Inftead of reprefenting it as 66 an intolerable yoke of bondage," let us call it with St. Paul the Law of Chrift, and with St. James the perfect law of LIBERTY. And let

every true believer fay with David, I love thy commandments above gold and precious fones: I fall alway keep thy law, yea for ever and ever: I will walk at LIBERTY for 1 seek thy precepts.

But alas! how few give us thefe evangelical views of the law, and practical views of the gofpel! How many intimate Chrift has fulfilled all righteoufnefs, that we might be the children of God with hearts full of unrighteousness! If fome infift upon our fulfilling all righteousness alfo, is it not chiefly when they want to draw us into their peculiarities, and dip us into their narrow denomination? And what number, under the fair pretence that they "have a living law written in their hearts," infinuate, "there is no need of preaching the law" to them, either to fhew them more of God's purity, indear the atoning blood, regulate their conduct, or convince them of the neceflity of perfecting liness!

But fuppofe thefe Objectors have, as they fay, e law written in their inward parts, (which the actions

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actions and tempers of fome make rather doubtful,) is the writing fo perfectly finished, that no one stroke needs be added to it? Is not the law an important part of the word of righteousness? And could not the Holy Ghoft re-touch the writing, or deepen the engraving, by the miniftry of the word of righteousnefs? Again, if the internal teachings of the holy fpirit fuperfede the letter of the law, muft they not by the fame reafon superfede the letter of the gospel? Is there any more need of preaching the gofpel than the law to believers? Or have they not the gofpel written in their hearts, as well as the law?

At what amazing heights of unfcriptural perfection must our Objectors fuppofe themfelves! What palpable errors do they run into, that they may have the honor of paffing for evangelical! And who will envy them the glory of countenancing the antinomian delufion, by ftanding in direct oppofition to Chrift, who thus decides the controverly Think not that I am come to deftroy the Law and the Prophets: I am not come to deftroy but to fulfil. For verily I fay unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle fhall in no wife pass from the law, till all be fulfilled, either in what it requires or denounces; for the law is fulfilled not only when its precepts are obeyed, but when rewards are given to the obfervers, and punishments inflicted upon the violators, of it. Whosoever therefore shall Do my commandments, and TEACH them, shall be great in the kingdom of heaven.

Do not imagine, Rev. Sir, I thus cry up God's Law, to drown the late cries of herefy and apoftacy. I appeal to matter of fact and your own obfervations. Confider the religious world, and fay, if ANTINOMIANISM is not in general a motto better adapted to the fate of profeffing Congregations, Societies, Families, and Individuals, than Holiness unto the Lord, the infcription that should be even upon our borfes bells.

II.

Begin with Congregations, and caft firft your eyes upon the Hearers. In general they have curious. itching ears, and will not endure found doctrine. Many of them are armed with the breastplate of a righteousness which they have vainly imputed to themfelves: they have on the fhowy helmet of a prefumptuous hope, and hold faft the impenetrable fhield of ftrong prejudice. With thefe they quench the fiery darts of convincing Truth, and stand undaunted under vollies of reproof.

They fay, they will have nothing but Chrift:" And who could blame them, if they would have Christ in all his offices? Chrift with all his parables and fermons, cautions and precepts, reproofs and expoftulations, exhortations and threatnings? Chrift preaching to the multitudes upon a mountain, as well as honorably teaching in the temple? Chrift fafting in the wilderness, or praying in Geth.

Our imputation of Chrift's righteousness to ourselves is a trick of our antinomian hearts, and is a dreadful delufion but God's imputing of Chrift's righteousness to true believers is a moft bleffed reality, for which we cannot too much contend. He speaks the word and it is done; his imputation is not an idea, but a fiat, wherever it takes place, Jehovah our righteousness, or Chrift the righteous drvells in the beart by faith. I with that with refpect to imputed rigtheoufnefs, we paid more regard to the late Mr. Hart's fentiment. This experienced and found Calvinist, in the account of his converfion, prefixed to his hymns, fays with great truth: "As much as Lazarus coming out of the grave, and feeling himself restored to life, differed from those who only faw the miracle, or believed the fact told them; fo great is the difference between a foul's real coming to Chrift out of himself, and having the righteoufness of Chrift imputed to him by the precious faith of God's elect; and a man's bare believing the doctrine of imputed righteousness, because he fees it contained in the fcripture, or affenting to the truth of it when propofed to his understanding by others."

femane;

femane; as well as Chrift making the multitudes fit down upon the grafs to receive loaves and fishes, or promising thrones to his difciples? Christ conAtraining them to get into a ship, and toil in rowing all night with a contrary wind; as well as Chrift coming in the morning, and caufing the hip to be immediately at the land whither they went? Chrift upon mount Calvary as well as Chrift upon mount Tabor? In a word, Who would find fault with them, if they would have Chrift with his poverty and selfdenial, his reproach and crofs, his fpirit and graces, his prophets and apoftles, his plain apparel and mean followers?

But alas! It is not fo. They will have what they please of Chrift, and that too as they please. If he comes accompanied by legal Mofes and honeft Elijah, who talk of the crucifixion of the body and decease of the flesh, they can do very well without him. If he preaches free grace, free will, faithfulness, or heavenly-mindednefs, fome turn to the right, fome wheel about to the left, others go directly back, and all agree to say or think, This is an hard faying, who can hear it?

They admire him in one chapter, and know not what to make of him in another. Some of his words they extol to the sky, and others they seem to be afhamed of. If he afferts his authority as a Lawgiver, they are ready to treat him with as little ceremony as they do Mofes. If he fays, Keep my commandments, I am a King: like the Jews of old they rise against the awful declaration; or they crown him as a furety, the better to fet him at nought as a monarch. And if he adds to his minifters, I am the Prophet that was to come, go in my name and TEACH ALL nations to OBSERVE ALL THINGS what

Joever I have COMMANDED you; they complain, "This is the law; give us the gospel, we can relish nothing but the gospel."

They have no idea of eating the pafchal lamb whole, his head with his legs, and the purtenance thereof; nor do they take care of not breaking his bons: They do not like him roaft with fire nei

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ther;