suppose his conviction so strong, that he confesseth the justness of the sentence condemning him to die, which is very consistent with a desire of life will a pardon offered or intimated to such a person make him disloyal? Is this its natural, nay, is it its possible effect? If it could be supposed to have any such consequence at all, it could only be in this distant way, that pardon seems to lessen the sense of a judge's displeasure at the crime. But even this can have no place here, because sufficient care is taken to prevent any such abuse of it, by the substitution and vicaroius sufferings of a Mediator.

I cannot help observing here, that the similitude above used will lead us to the discovery of one great cause of the objection against which I am reasoning. It arises from that corruption of heart and inward opposition to the law of God in its extent and purity, which is in all men by nature, and continues in all who are not renewed in the spirit of their minds. As they have a strong tendency and inclination to transgress the law where they dare, they are ready to think, that the hopes of impunity must encourage every one to a bold violation of it. And no doubt this would be true, if there could be any real esteem or cordial acceptance of the gospel, without a previous conviction of the obligation of the law, and the guilt and demerit of every transgressor. But supposing, what is in truth the case

*

* But this is impossible: for though there may be some sort of fear of punishment, occasioned by displays of divine power, where there is no true humiliation of mind or genuine conviction of sin: this is but like the impatient struggles of a chained slave instead of the willing subjection of a penitent child. There is still in all such an inward murmuring against the sentence, as that of an unjust and rigorous tyrant, and not of a righteous judge! Therefore, though such should pretend to rely on the merits of Christ for pardon and deliverance, it is plainly not from their hearts; and therefore neither to the saving of their souls, nor to the reformation of their lives.

with every believer, that there is a real and strong conviction of the obligation of the law of God upon every rational creature, which cannot be taken away; to imagine that the mercy of God in pardoning sinners for Christ's sake will lessen or weaken the sense of this obligation, is a most manifest contradiction. On the contrary, sin must needs have received a mortal blow, the love of it must necessarily have been destroyed, before pardon in this way could be sought or obtained; so that the apostle might well say, "How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?"

In the second place, he who believes in Christ, and expects justification through his imputed righteousness, must have the deepest and strongest sense of the evil of sin in itself. This is in a good measure included in, or an immediate consequence of, what has been already mentioned. For the obligation of the law, as hinted above, is but very imperfect, if we consider it only as founded on the power of God, and the dependence of the creature, and not also on the holiness, justice, and goodness of the law itself. In the first sense, perhaps, it may be felt by the wicked in this world, at least, we are sure, it is felt by devils and damned spirits in a separate state. They know that they must suffer, because they will not obey. But where there is a complete sense of obligation, it implies a belief of the righteousness of the law, as well as the power of the lawgiver; of the equity, nay, the excellence of the command, as well as the severity of the sanction. All such not only believe that God will punish for sin, but that it is most just that he should do so, and that sin has richly deserved it.

It may therefore seem unnecessary to add any thing on this subject more than has been already said: but I have mentioned it by itself, because, besides that sense of the obligation and purity of the law of God which must pave the way to a sinner's acceptance of the righteousness of Christ, there is a discovery of the

evil of sin, and its abominable nature, in every part of this " mystery of godliness. God manifested in the flesh," and the truth founded upon it; so that the more these are believed, and the more they are attended to and recollected, the more must the believer be determined to hate and abhor every wicked and false way; every new view which he takes of the gospel of his salvation, every act of trust and confidence exerted upon it, must increase his horror of sin, and excite him to fly from it.

Let us consider a little what views are presented us of the evil of sin, in the doctrine of Christ, and of him crucified. Here we see that a holy and just God would not forgive sin without an atonement. What a demonstration is this of its malignity, if carefully attended to, and kept constantly in our eye, as a part of our very idea of the divine nature! The difficulty in this case, is our partiality in our own cause; we are unwilling to think sin so very blame-worthy, because this is condemning ourselves; but let us consider what views an all-wise and impartial God hath of it, and form ours upon his. And that we may not so much as once blasphemously imagine, that he also is partial on his own side, let us remember that he is the God of love, who, by this very salvation, hath magnified his love in a manner that passeth knowledge. He shows his sense of the evil of the crime, even whilst he is contriving, nay, in the very contrivance of a proper way for the criminal's escape. He is not, so to speak, setting forth the malignity of the offence, in order to justify the severity of his own vengeance, but he is exerting his amiable attribute of mercy, and yet here must the evil of sin appear.

Consider, in a particular manner, upon this subject, the dignity and glory of the person who made this atonement. The value of the purchase may be seen in the greatness of the price; the evil of sin in the worth of the propitiation. "For we are not redeemed

with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." It was no less a person than the eternal and only begotten Son of God, who was before all worlds, the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person, who suffered in our stead. Whoever considers the frequent mention in the sacred oracles of the glory and dignity of the person of Christ, must be satisfied that it is not without design; and none can truly relish or improve these truths, but such as thence learn the evil of sin, the immenseness of that debt which required one of so great, nay, of infinite and inexhaustible riches, to be able to pay it. A creature indeed behooved to suffer; and therefore he became the son of man, but intimately united to the Creator, God blessed for ever. It was one of the first and earliest confessions of faith, That Jesus Christ was the Son of God; and this belief must have the strongest influence in showing us the evil of sin, which none else was able to expiate.

In many passages of Scripture, God's sending his own Son into the world to save sinners, is represented as the strongest proof possible of his compassion and love. The nearness of the relation teaches us, as it were, to suppose some reluctance in bestowing him; in allusion to which their is a beautiful expression of the apostle Paul," He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ?" The very same thing shows, with equal clearness, his abhorrence of sin. However strongly disposed to save sinners, he would have sin to be expiated, though his own Son should be the victim: if any thing could have made him dispense with it, this should surely have had the effect; and therefore the condemning of sin seems to have been as much in view as the salvation of the sin

per.

Every light in which we can view this subject, contri

butes to set before us the evil of sin. I shall only mention further, the greatness and severity of the sufferings of our Redeemer, as they are represented both prophetically, to show how much was exacted, and historically, to show what was paid. As the whole of his life was to be a state of humiliation and sorrow, it is said, "As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form than the sons of men." Again, "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid, as it were, our faces from him he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Once more," He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." In the history of his life in the New Testament, we see all this verified, in the meanness of his birth, and the continued insults and reproaches thrown upon him during the course of his life. There is one remarkable passage, John viii. 57. "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" The meaning of this is hardly obvious, unless we suppose that his natural beauty and bloom was so wasted and decayed by sorrow, that he seemed to strangers near twenty years older than he really was.

In the close of the Gospel, we have an account of the last scene of his sufferings in the garden and on the cross. "He was sore amazed and very heavy. His soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. His sweat was as it were great drops of blood, falling down to the ground." He was at last stretched on an accursed tree, where the pain of a tortured body was but small to the anguish of an overwhelmed spirit, which constrained him to utter this heavy complaint, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" Let the Christian stand at the foot of the cross, and there see the evil of sin, which required so costly an expiation. Let him there see the holiness and justice