130 ÑOStAL LAW UNDER, THE GOSPEL. of man : It is one of the promises of the gospel that the law of God shall bewritten in our hearts ; LIeb. x. 16. and of the great offices and business of Christ, as a Saviour, is by all the methods- of his grace and power, to reduce our hearts to the loveof God andhis law : He ismade sanctification to us aswell as redemption : 1 Cor. i. 30. So that for men to talk of beingsaved without love and obedience to the moral law of God, is to talk plain inconsist- encies, or to affirm whatnatural reason can never allow, andwhat scripture and the gospel never designed; in short, it is to talk of beingsaved without salvation. The moral lawofGod is of eter- nal obligation upon creatures : And it would be our constant duty to obey it, even if we could suppose there were no such future state, no such eternal life provided for men as the gospel reveals. It arises from the relation between God and his creatures. We can never be disengaged or released from this duty by the gospel, which brings in pardon and mercy 'to save usfrom thepunishment due to our defects or transgressions of the law ; but not to release tis from obedience to it. A holy God will not save sinners from hell, and forgive them their sins, without making them holy. Christ in all his abounding love to sinners; will not become a minister of sin ; Gal. ii. 17-20. The design of Gòd in his grace to sinners, by Jesus Christ, is that they might be holy and without blame be- fore him in love: Eph. i. 4. And herebywe shew that the grace of God, in the forgiveness of sin, is not lost upon us, but obtains the end for which it was designed, viz. to bring us back to God and holiness. II. " Good works are necessary to manifest our gratitude to God for his pardoningmercy ;" These are our returns of love to the blessed Jesus for his dying love manifested to us ; 2 Cor. v. 15. Ile died for all ranks .arid characters of men, Jews. and Gentiles, that they who live should not henceforth live to them- selves, but to him, who died for them, and rose again. 1 John iv. 19. We are bound to love him, and we do love him because he he first loved us. 1 Cor. vi. 20. Ye are bought with a price, therefore glorifij God withyour body and spirit,which are God's. III. " Good works are alsonecessarÿ to render us useful to men our fellow-creatures," and fo make our profession honour- able in their sight. Good works are recommendedby St: Paul for the purpose ; Tit: iii. 8. " This is is a faithful saying, and I will that thou constantly affirm, that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable, to men." It is necessary to convince the world that our gospel is all holy, and that it indulges and allows of no known sin: That thisgospel is a divine blessing to man- kind, that it carries blessings with it wheresoever it comes, that it cures the vices of the mind, and the sinful passions of the
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