shall have peace with God, through their Lord Jesus Christ.

Righteousness is a perfect conformity to the law if it be tried by the balance of the sanctuary, it is full weight; if by the standard, it is full measure; if judgment be laid to the line and righteousness to the plummet, it is quite upright. There is no defect in it of any kind. This is the righteousness of the lawit must be perfect and continual, failing in no one point for the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And it is an adjudged case, that there is none righteous, no not one. It is left upon record, that ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.

When the Holy Spirit has convinced a sinner of his being in this unrighteous state, then it becomes an important inquiry-how can the Judge of all the earth ever look upon and treat a sinner, as if he was a righteous person? To which the gospel answers directly-" God hath made Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made. the righteousness of God IN him."

This

was agreed upon in the covenant of the eternal Three. The Father undertook to maintain the honour and dignity of his law and justice. His co-equal Son undertook for his people to come in their nature, and to stand in their place and stead; to act for them, and to suffer for them. As their surety, he made himself answerable for their debt of obedience, and for their debt of suffering. Accordingly, when the great law-fulfiller cometh into the world, he saith" Lo, I COME TO DO THY WILL, O God." He did it in his infinitely holy life, in which he magnified the precepts of the law, and made them everlastingly honourable. He suffered it in his infinitely holy passion, bearing the sins and sorrows of his people, their curse and wrath, in his body and soul upon the tree, until the immense debt being paid, he cried out in the triumph of a conquering, though a dying Jesus—“ IT IS FINISHED:" for through death he conquered death, and him that had the power of death; that is, the devil: he finished the transgression, and made an end of sins, and made

reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteousness.

This is the great leading truth of the gospel, in which the peace of conscience is principally concerned. The justly offended God is here revealed under the character of a reconciled father. He gave his Son to be a covenant of the people; who was to fulfil all covenant engagements for them, and he has fulfilled them all. The end of his living and dying for them is answered. He has finished the transgression, and has made peace by the blood of the cross. He has brought in everlasting righteousness by his divine obedience, and the lord is well pleased with him for his righteousness sake; yea, he is well pleased also with his body the church. He looks upon all the members, as he looks upon the head. He accepts them in the beloved. He beholds them in him with perfect delight, and rests in his love. He is his Father, and their Father. He is related to his whole family in heaven and earth in the closest bonds of fatherly affection, and he makes his love known to them, and sheds it abroad in their

hearts by the Holy Ghost. He would have all his children to address him under his dear name-OUR FATHER, which art in heaven ; and to expect from his fatherly love all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

When this comfortable doctrine is received into the conscience, it silences guilt, and produces peace with God. The gospel comes with full authority to establish it in the conscience for it is therein revealed and proposed to our belief, under the character of a divine RECORD, made authentic and properly enrolled in the court of heaven. The witnesses are the eternal Three. Their record is in the nature of a covenant, confirmed by their joint counsel, and ratified by their joint oath-the two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie. He graciously vouchsafed to give the heirs of promise this perfect security for their salvation, that after they had fled to Jesus for refuge, there might be an end of all strife in their consciences, and they might have strong consolation. Ac cordingly we read-" There are Three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,

and the Holy Ghost, and these Three are One." A record among men, is an authentic testimony in writing, entered by authority inone of the king's courts, in order to preserve the proceedings had upon any suit. This record contains the final determination of the judges in that cause, and is their memorial of it, and therefore imports in itself such uncontrollable evidence, as to admit of no proof to the contrary. The matter of the record is never allowed to be tried by a jury, but is of such credit as not to be questioned in any instance. This is the nature of a record in law. And if we receive the witness of men, certainly the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God, which he hath witnesscd of his Son-namely, " He hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." To which the Spirit beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. He has revealed the covenant of life and peace, which was between the Father and the Son; he has entered it upon record, and every word of the record may be pleaded: for it is allowed to be good and valid in the court of heaven. As a powerful