people, not obliging any other now, further than the general equity thereof may require 8. i V. The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God, the Creator, who gave it 1. Neither doth Christ in the gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation. VI. Although lished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Ver. 16. And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. IV. [Exod. Chapter xxi. Exod. xxii. 1. to the 29th Verse. See both in the Bible. Gen. xlix. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. With 1 Pet. ii. 13. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme: Ver. 14. Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well. Mat. v. 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. With ver. 38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Ver. 39. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 1 Cor. ix. 8. Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? Ver. 9. For it is writ : : ten in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Ver. 10. Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? for our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thrasheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. V. h Rom. xiii. 8, 9. [See above in letter. Ver. 10. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour : therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Eph. vi. 2. Honour thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with promise.) 1 John ii. 3. And hereby do we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. Ver. 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Ver. 7. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning: the old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Ver. 8. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. b i James ii. 10, 11. [See in letter Mat. v. 17. See in letters.] Ver. 18. For verily I say unto you, VI. Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned1; yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly m; discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and lives"; so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be ful filled. Ver. 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach the law of Moses. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. m Rom. vii. 12. Wherefore the keep them, the same shall be called law is holy; and the commandgreat in the kingdom of heaven. ment holy, and just, and good. James ii. 8. [See in letter before. Ver. 22. For I delight in the law Rom. iii. 31. Do we then make of God after the inward man. void the law through faith? God Ver. 25. I thank God, through Jeforbid yea, we establish the sus Christ our Lord. So then, law. with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Psal. cxix. . Thou hast commanded us to thy precepts diligently. Ver. 5.0 that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Ver. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. 1 Cor. vii. 19. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Gal. v. 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. See in the Bible. VI. 1Rom. vi. 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Gal. ii. 16. Know ing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ; even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Gal. iii. 13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. Gal. iv. 4. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, Ver. 5. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Acts xiii. 39. And 'n Rom. vii. 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 20. Therefore by the deeds of the Rom. iii. law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. • James 1 to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin °; together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of his obedience P. It is likewise of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin; and the threatenings of it serve to shew what even their sins deserve, and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although freed from the curse thereof threatened in the law 1. The promises of it, in like manner, shew James i. 23. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; Ver. 24. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. Ver. 25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. Rom. vii. 9. For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. Ver. 14. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. Ver. 24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? P Gal. iii. 24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Rom. vii. 24. [See before in lettero. Verse 25. in letter m Rom. viii. 3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: Ver. 4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. James ii. 11. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. Psal. cxix. 101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. Ver. 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Ver. 128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. r Ezra ix. 13. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; Ver. 14. Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations, wouldest not thou be angry with us, till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? Psal. lxxxix. 30. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; Ver.31. If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Ver. 32. Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Ver. 33. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. Ver. 34. My covenant will I not break, shew them God's approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof, although not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works: so as a man's doing good, and refraining from evil, because the law encourageth to the one, and deterreth from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law, and not under grace ˇ. VII. Neither are the forementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the gospel, but do sweetly comply with break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. [Lev. xxvi. to the 14th Verse.] With 2 Cor. vi. 16. And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Eph. vi. 2. Honour thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with promise ;) Ver. 3. That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. Psal. xxxvii. 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. With Mat. v. 5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Psal. xix. 11. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. t Gal. ii. 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Luke xvii. 10. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do. v Rom. vi. 12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Ver. 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 1 Pet. iii. 8. Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Ver. 9. Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise, blessing: knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. Ver. 10. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Ver. Î1. Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. Ver. 12. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. With Psal. xxxiv. 12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Ver. 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Ver. 14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. Ver. 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open with it; the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God revealed in the law requireth to be done *. CHAP. XX. Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience. THE liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the gospel, consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law; and in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin 1, from open unto their cry. Ver. 16. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Heb. xii. 28. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. Ver. 29. For our God is a consuming fire. VII. w Gal. iii. 21. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. * Ezek. xxxvi. 27. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. Heb. viii. 10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. With Jer. xxxi. 33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and the will be their God, and they shall be my people. I. a Tit. ii. 14. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 1 Thess. i. 10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. iii. 13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. Gal. b Gal. i. 4. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father. Col. i. 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Acts xxvi. 18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Rom. vi. 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. c Rom. |