Brown - BS2685 B86 1695

6 The words of the Text explained. C i A r. r. thing. And in the following verte, he taketh the Law, & doing of them, thatis , the commands of the Law., for one & the fame thing. Thofe that were looking to the Law for juftification-, he faith of them vers io. That they arc of the works of the Law and chap. 4: 21. -- Ye that define to be under the Law. This elfewhere vii Phil. 3: ç. hecalleth his own righteoufnefs , which it of the Law : & Tit. 3: 5. works ofrighteoufnofs , which use have done- & Rcm. 10 :3. their own righteoufnerr &Korn. 2: :3i. the Law ofrighteorifnefs. But what Law is this ,, by which , he denieth , that any can be jufaified ? The forementioned Exprefíions do Sufficiently cleare, what Law he meaneth, even all that Law , that; was the Rule of Righteoufnefs, & was prefcribed of God, as filch ; & not the Ceremonial Law only : that Law , by the works whereof he denied ( Rem. 4: i, z. ) that Abraham, the father of the faithful , was juftified. That Law , in obedience to which conffled that righteoufnefs , which the fewer laboured to caufe Rand; & that righ- teoufnefs , which himfelf defired not to be found in : That Law , which was called the Law of righteounefs: That Law , which the Gofpel el }abliiheth Isom. 3: 31. In a word , it is that Law , whereof he fpeaketh , in the pre - ceeding verfe, that is, that Law , the tranfgreaion of which, in theleaft particular, bringeth the finner under the curie, according to that faying. Curfed it every one , that continueth not in all things , which are contained in the bookofthe Lam, to do them Deut. 27: 26. And here allo we fee the Law & the book of the Law , are one : & fare , this book of the Law contained more , than the Ceremonial Law even all the Moral Commandments; in refpet of which & not in refpeCt of the Ceremonial Law , the Gentiles, & amongft the reft , thefe Galatians , at leaft, fo many of them, as had isot yet Judaized , were of the Law , &fo, under the curfe. It is obvious, how ufelefs all the Difputeof the Apoftle here, & in his Epibtle to the Ro- manes , is rendered by afferting, That Paul's DifpuTrunneth only upon the obfervation of the Ceremonial Law ; feing now the very Subje t of the de- bate is taken away from us. And , if matters be fo, I would faine know, why the Apoftle lhould have ufed any other Argument , in all his Difpute, betide this one, That by the Gofpel, the fubjeEt of the queftion is wholly removed; the Ceremonial Law being utterly abrogated by the Gofpel ? Sure , this would have Sufficiently put an end to that debate. But this Suppofal is, I confefs, a fhort cutt to anfwere all the otherwife unan- fwerable Arguments of the Apoftle againft Juftification by works, but yet it is fuch, as cannot yeeld fatisfaétion. He addeth in thefight of God , Tw 04;J', which is the fame , upon the matter, with that exprefliion Rpm. 3: 2o, , in .His fight; whereby we underftand, what juftification this is, whereof the Apoftle fpeaketh ; even ; juftification before Gods Tribunal , in His Court , who is the Supr4am Sc Righteous judge ; as it is with Him alone that the poor convinced & wakened Sinner bath to do: And this is the juftification, that we are molt concerned to know the nature of, & to underftand what way it is brought abodt, or to be had : This is the juftification, which the Apofile alwayes denieth to be by works, & afferteth alwayes to be by faith,

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