thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith which we preach-for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Salvation upon the condition of law is fairly beyond our reach, but on the condition of faith it is near-brought down to our helplessness and ruin.

A similar train of reasoning upon the law is pursued by the apostle in his Epistle to the Galatians; a few passages from which we shall next proceed to quote and expound :

"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. 17. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin?

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God forbid. 18. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." Gal. ii.

1. The apostle first states the doctrine of justification by faith, and the utter impossibility of justification by the works of the law. Ver. 16.

2. That if the Galatians, seeking justification by faith, were found deficient in their moral and religious character, the gospel would not be to blame, but the fault would lie upon them. Verses 17, 18.

3. That through the application of the law to his life he had been brought to so full a conviction of the impracticability of salvation upon the ground of legal obedience, that he had wholly renounced it as the condition of present or future salvation, and had embraced Christ as his only remedy. "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." Ver. 19.

4. He is so effectually united with Christ that he is "crucified with" him, and he so holds his connection with him as to derive from him spiritual "life," only "by the faith of the Son of God." Ver. 20. Observe here, that the apostle himself, though justified and sanctified, does not consider it practicable for him to stand in this grace on the condition of perfect obedience to the law. But he says, "I am dead to the law-I am crucified with Christ-and the life which I now live-I live by the faith of the Son of God." So that his continued justification, and the perpetuity of his spiritual life, were by faith, and not by legal obedience.

5. Lastly, he affirms that if righteousness could come by the law, the death of Christ would be in vain, and he would "frustrate," or make void, "the grace of God."

In the opening of the third chapter, the Galatians are charged with having foolishly left Christ and gone back to the law. And after demanding of them (ver. 2) whether they had "received the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith," and offered some illustrations, he proceeds :

"10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." Gal. iii.

1. He asserts that those who depend upon the law for salvation are under its curse-and this he proves by a quotation from Moses, (Deut. xxvii, 26,) which will as effectually cut off from the hope of salvation those who are now justified as those who are not, unless they can hope never to offend against any of "the things which are written in the book of the law." For if they trespass in the smallest matter they come under the curse.

2. He next proves, by another scripture, that present and continued justification is by faith. His proof is, "The just shall live by faith." Hab. ii, 4. He cannot mean here, only to say that sinners are at first justified by faith. This is a doctrine which he had repeatedly asserted, as we have seen elsewhere. But now he evidently speaks more especially of continued justification: for his proof would not be applicable to any other view, nor would it well agree with the scope of his argument. He is chiding the Galatians for going back from faith to the law, and laboring to show that there is no point where they can safely put themselves upon the condition of law: "for," says he, "the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." Verses 11, 12. You cannot expect to retain your justification on the condition of law, for the just enjoy their spiritual life by faith. "That is," says Mr. Wesley, "the man who is accounted just or righteous before God, shall continue in a state of acceptance, life, and salvation, by faith."-Notes.

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The interpretation of Macknight and others, "The just by faith shall live'-[i. e., those who are justified by faith shall live] -is very properly rejected by Bishop Middleton, who observes that thus we should have had ὁδίκαιος εκ πίστεως, or else δέκ TίOTεоç díkαιOÇ. Besides, continues he, to say that he who is just,

or justified by faith, shall live, amounts to very little; but to affirm that the good man, he whose obedience, though imperfect, is sincere, shall reap life everlasting from faith, (as opposed to a law of works,) and from faith alone, is a most important declaration; and it agrees exactly with the context: that no man, says the apostle, is justified under the law, is evident; for one of the prophets hath said, 'The just shall live by faith."—Bloomfield's Critical Digest.

Our apostle next proceeds to anticipate and answer an objection :

"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. 22. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed. 24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Gal. iii.

1. First, he says "the law" is not "against the promise of God." They perform wholly different offices. The promise gives "life," which could the law have done, it would supersede the promise, and then "verily righteousness should have been by the law."

2. All are "under sin," and consequently under the condemnation of the law, and can only be saved by "faith."

3. "Before faith came "—that is, before the promise of a Saviour "we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith," &c. -held in duress by the law until faith brought relief.

4. But the law is not hence to be considered useless. For "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Ver. 24. The law teaches the need It can only be received

of justification, but does not confer it. "by faith."

5. But after we have passed through the law-work-the law has awakened and convicted us, and thus shown us our utter helplessness, and we have been brought to Christ for justification -we are no longer either under the bondage of this "schoolmaster," nor under the necessity for those offices which are superseded by a faith that works by love and purifies the heart.

Having passed through the particular examination of the principal passages upon the subject of the law, found in the two

epistles in which St. Paul treats the subject of set purpose, we shall now proceed to draw several conclusions which seem to us to result from his positions.

1. We have seen that the law, of which the apostle treats, is the moral law-the great rule of human duty given, in various forms and at various periods, by God to man. It is not exclusively the Adamic law nor the Mosaic law, but it embraces the former, and portions of the latter, and even includes the law written upon the hearts of heathen.

But it must be remembered that in all this the law is to be understood separately from the mediatorial system. It was by the law without the atonement, that the Jews sought to be justified, and this was the system which it was the special object of the apostle to show was utterly impracticable. "The law," says Flavel, “in Scripture is taken strictly for the moral law only, considered abstractedly from the promises of grace, as the legal justiciaries understood it. These are two different senses and acceptations of the law." After quoting these words, Mr. Fletcher adds:"Apply this excellent distinction to the refinements with which the doctrine of the law has been perplexed; and you will easily answer the objections of those who, availing themselves of St. Paul's laconic style, lay their own farrago at his door. For instance, when he says, 'As many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things,' &c., he means (to use Flavel's words) the law considered abstractedly from the promises of grace;' for, in that case, the law immediately becomes the Adamic covenant of works, which knows nothing of justification by faith in a merciful God, through an atoning Mediator; and, in this point of view, the apostle says with great truth, 'The law is not of faith, but the man that doeth these things shall live in them,' without being under any obligation to a Saviour."-Equal Check.

2. We have found that this law no longer exists AS A COVENANT OF WORKS-that it is not the condition of justification or sanctification. No truth, it seems to us, is taught more explicitly than this. It was important to the apostle's argument, in the epistles above named, fully to show this truth. He is urging the perfect fitness and the exclusive claims of the gospel; and when he meets the objections of those who set up the claims of the law in opposition to those of the gospel, it seems necessary that he should show, in a clear light, the utter inefficacy of the law for the purposes of human salvation. It was necessary to show not only that we cannot obtain justification and sanctification by the law, but that it

would be equally impossible for us to retain these blessings by perfect obedience to its claims. Hence his argument is addressed not merely to unconverted sinners, but to justified and sanctified believers. He consequently quotes with emphasis the words of the prophet: "The just shall live by faith." The same doctrine is most explicitly taught in a passage not yet quoted. "Therefore," says he, "being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Rom. v, 1, 2. Here we are taught that "we have access into this grace"-the grace of justification-" wherein we stand," "by faith." Justification is a state as well as a change. And we have constant "access into this grace wherein we stand," "through our Lord Jesus Christ," and "by faith" in him. Faith in Christ is as really the condition of our continued justification as it is of the commencement of this blessed state; in other words, as much the condition of the state as of the change. But there is this difference between the faith by which the sinner is justified and that by which the justified stand in this grace: the first instance of faith is that which produces submission to Christ, and reliance upon him for the pardon of all past sins; and the faith which follows adds to these, practical obedience to the precepts of the gospel. Good works follow, and evince the existence of justifying faith.

It has been erroneously supposed by some that because we are required to do God's commandments-to be doers of the word, &c. -we are therefore, subsequently to our justification, put upon the condition of obedience to the moral law. The precepts of the moral law are obligatory upon all Christians; but then it must be borne in mind that they are incorporated into the mediatorial system. First, that this system furnishes them with many helps to aid them in their duties; and, secondly, that it supplies them with an atoning sacrifice to make amends for their involuntary shortcomings. Without these, who could stand for a moment upon the ground of obedience to the law? The law requires unsinning obedience-it can accept nothing short of perfect conformity to all its claims. If we have no atonement to rely upon we must fail of heaven. For who can, in all things, meet the claims of God's holy law? Our errors in judgment and involuntary mistakes, as we are taught by our venerated fathers to believe, need the atoning blood of Christ. But how do they need an atonement if they are not offenses in the eyes of the law still in force as a rule of duty? If the law even makes allowance for