ed people; that he should have "the keys of death and the "unseen world;"' and that the universal kingdom of nature and providence should be administered by him, is a most surprising mystery: but that all this should be to subserve the good of such worthless creatures as we are, is most stupendous and inconceivable love! And they must have very high thoughts of human nature, or very low apprehensions of the infinite God, who can suppose a mere man to be capable of such pre-eminent dignity and authority.

It is a firm ground of admiring and thankful exultation, that he who is our brother and friend, thus rules all worlds/ with absolute sway, as "C King of kings, and Lord of lords." The rise, fall, and revolutions of empires are ordered by him : and he hath all hearts in his hand, and turneth them as he pleaseth. For the Father "hath set his King upon his "holy hill of Zion," in defiance and contempt of the opposition of all those who say, "Let us break his bonds asunder, "and cast away his cords from us; and "with his iron "rod he will dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Be "wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges "of the earth: kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye

perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a "little."-The duration, prosperity, and termination of every man's life are appointed by him; and the doom of every soul. Storms and tempèsts, pestilences and earthquakes, are his servants; and all nature obeys his word, of judgment, or of mercy. Tyrants and persecutors accomplish his secret purposes, though "they mean not so:" nor can deceivers, by their unwearied efforts, exceed the limits which he assigns to them. Even apostate spirits know his power, and reluctantly obey his mandate. When he was "in the form of a servant," a legion of them could not so much as possess a herd of swine without his permission; nor can any of them defeat his counsels, escape his detection, or avert his omnipotent vengeance." His riches are unsearch"able;" "in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge;" "all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in him "bodily," yea, the fulness of the Spirit of wisdom, truth, power, and holiness; and "from his fulness all his people "receive." "3 He governs all events in that manner, which may best promote the safety and happiness of his church, and of true believers. Therefore, "all things work toge"ther for good to them that love God." "None can pluck "any of them out of his hands; "4 "No weapon formed against them shall prosper." Nothing shall separate

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John i. 16. iii, 34, Col. ii, 3, 9,

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"them from the love of God." "Jehovah is their shep"herd; they shall not want." Tribulations, temptations, persecutions, conflicts, yea, and death itself, are instruments in the hands of Christ, to prepare them for " an exceeding "and eternal weight of glory," and "in all things they "will be made more than conquerors," until they are enriched with everlasting felicity. But this power is equally formidable to obstinate unbelievers: all "who will not have "Christ to reign over them," will be destroyed as his enemies: no refuge can be found from his intolerable indignation, no resistance made to his omnipotent word.

This kingdom shall endure through all ages, to the end of time: then his power will raise the dead. He will " judge "the world in righteousness," and decide the eternal state of all mankind: and thus the design of his delegated authority being completely answered, he will, as mediator, deliver up "the kingdom to God, even the Father; the absolute dominion of the Creator will be re-established, and "God will be all in all."

It scarcely needs to be observed, that the authority, protection, and munificence of our glorious King demand of us implicit and unreserved obedience. The faith, that welcomes his salvation, "worketh by love," and ensures a cheerful attention to his commands: all the precepts of Scripture are either the mandates of Christ our King, to those who share the blessings of his peaceful rule; or they constitute that law which is "the ministration of death" and condemnation. Though his commands coincide with the moral law; yet they are modified differently, as addressed to sinners who seek salvation by him. The commands to repent, to believe, to pray, to observe his ordinances, and to love the brethren, are indeed virtually contained in the comprehensive requirement of supreme love to God, and the love of our neighbour as of ourselves: yet they are given to sinners only through Christ and the gospel; and those alone are his true subjects, who submit to his authority, and, from evangelical principles, uprightly endeavour to obey his commandments.1

We must likewise consider the ascended Redeemer, as the great Prophet of his Church. He indeed personally performed the prophetical office on earth, only during his humiliation: but, as all the ancient prophets were his servants and representatives; so, the apostles, evangelists, and penmen of the New Testament were his delegates; and so are all those who preach according to the holy Scriptures. Christ is the great teacher of mankind: the whole revelation of 1 Matt, vii, 21-28, John xiv, 21-23, xv, 14,

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God is imparted to him: he is the Word and Wisdom of the Father, and "the light of the world:" all who follow him have "the light of life," all others abide in darkness. Divine truth is reposited in him as in a storehouse, for our benefit; thence it is communicated to us through the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit was sent forth from him, to inspire prophets, apostles, and evangelists; and he still furnishes pastors and teachers for their work; for these are the gifts" of the ascended Redeemer to rebellious man.1 Moreover, the same Spirit prepares men's minds to receive the truth in faith and love, and to understand its nature, glory, and tendency: thus he gives efficacy to the word, and applies his salvation to our souls. So that the Lord Jesus, as ascended on high, is the sole Prophet of the church, and teaches his people by his word, by faithful ministers, and by his Holy Spirit. They, therefore, who with a humble, teachable, believing, and obedient disposition, seek from him the knowledge of God, and of his truth and will, in the use of his appointed means, will be " made wise "to salvation;" preserved, in proportion to the simplicity of their dependence, from errors and delusions; guided "in the midst of the paths of judgment;" and instructed how to act, as circumstances may require, with discretion and propriety. But the self-wise of every description, and all who refuse to receive instruction from Christ, will be entangled in error, and given over to strong delusion; whatever their talents, opportunities, attainments, reputation, or assiduity may be.3 And even believers will be left to fall into distressing mistakes, if at any time they "lean to their "own understanding," neglect to seek wisdom from this great counsellor, or prefer the opinion of some favourite teacher to the word of him who is the truth itself.

These distinct offices of our glorified Lord cannot be separated, either in respect of his performance of them, or of our dependence on him. The self-righteous and the selfwise may seem willing to own him as their King; whilst the one rejects him as a Prophet, and both of them refuse to come to God through him as their High Priest: on the other hand, the antinomian may seem to rely on him as a Priest, whilst he determines that "he will not have him to 66 reign over him." But these and similar dependencies are mere delusions: for Christ rules as a Priest on his throne: he intercedes with regal authority, and he teaches his disciples to rely on his atonement and advocacy, to shelter their souls under his omnipotent protection, and to submit to his sovereign rule. He reveals as a Prophet, what he pur 1 Eph. iv. 9-16. * John xvi. 14, 15, 3 Matt, xiii, 11-15,

chased as a High Priest, and confers as a munificent Prince The obedience, which he requires of his subjects, he by his grace disposes and enables them to perform, and renders it accepted through his intercession. So that they, who truly receive him in one of these combined offices, receive him in them all.

In this manner our Lord prepares the souls of his people for the inheritance which he hath prepared for them; nor could any one of these distinct parts of his mediatorial undertaking, apart from the others, by its utmost efficacy accomplish that gracious purpose. His sacrifice and intercession, indeed, render it consistent with the glory of God, to admit us sinners into his presence, to receive us to his favour, to make us his children, and to give us an inheritance in his own holy habitation: but how should we profit by this provision, did he not send forth his word and his ministers to proclaim the glad tidings, to give the invitations, and to set before us his precious promises and new covenant engagements? How can we receive the advantage even of this revelation, without we understand and believe it? or how shall we credit such a humbling spiritual message, except the eyes of our minds be opened by the Holy Spirit? How could we unholy creatures be made meet for this holy inheritance, without the influences of his new-creating Spirit? How could we overcome the powers of darkness, and all our enemies, if he did not fight for us ? How could we meet the king of terrors, if he did not engage to support and deliver us: and finally to raise our bodies, incorruptible, immortal, and glorious, to unite with our souls in the everlasting enjoyment of the love of our reconciled God and Father?

We indeed may consider Christ as our Shepherd and Physician, or in many. other characters illustrative of our dependence on him and obligations to him: yet they may all with propriety be referred to the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, according to the old and scriptural distinction. These are comprised in his title, Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed of God; as prophets, priests, and kings were anointed under the typical dispensation of the Old Testament.2

Is this then our creed, our experience, and our dependence? Do we thus receive and rely on Christ our Prophet, Priest, and King? and do we, in the patient obedience of faith and love, "wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus "Christ unto eternal life? " 3 Our answer to these en

1 Cor. ii, 12-14.

2 Lev, viii. 12. 1 Sam. x, 1. xvi. 13. 1 Kings xix, 16, 2 Kings ix. 6. 3 Jude 20, 21.

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quires, as in the presence of our heart-searching Judge, is of infinite importance; for this and this only is genuine Christianity.

ESSAY XI.

On Justification.

ALL things having been made ready for the salvation of sinners, in the person and mediation of the great Redeemer; it was also necessary, that the method or medium, of appropriating this inestimable benefit, should be clearly and expressly revealed; and this leads us to the consideration of the scriptural doctrine of Justification. I shall, therefore, in the present Essay, briefly explain the meaning of the words justify and justification, as they are used by the sacred writers ;-shew that we must be justified before God by faith alone;-consider the peculiar nature of faith, and the manner in which it justifies ;-assign a few reasons, why justification and salvation are ascribed to faith, rather than to any other holy dispositions or actions ;-and answer some of the more plausible objections to the doctrine.

The terms justify and justification are taken from the common concerns of life; and they are applied, with some necessary variation of meaning, to the dealings of God with his rational creatures, especially to his admission of sinful men into a state of acceptance, and to the privilege of being thus accepted. They denote, therefore, that such persons are now dealt with, as if they were righteous; being wholly exempted from those sufferings which are, strictly speaking, penal, and entitled to the reward of perfect obedience: though in themselves they have merited no reward, but, on the contrary, have deserved the punishment denounced in the law against transgressors. These are commonly said to be forensick terms; that is, they refer to the practice of courts of justice among men; and indeed they seem to have been originally taken from such transactions: yet this derivation gives us a very inadequate idea of their import. For when a man is charged with a crime before an earthly tribunal, he must be either condemned or acquitted: if he be condemned, he may be pardoned, but he cannot be justified; if he be acquitted, he may be justified, but he cannot stand in need of pardon. Moreover a criminal may be acquitted for want of legal evidence, or from other causes, when there can be no reasonable doubt of his guilt: yet no accusation for the same crime can be brought against him; though he is very far from being fully justified, or admitted to