:u8 A Sermon on John 7· 19. Ju[\ice for our Offences is altOgether as vain and foolilh as to hope for S;lva<ion by being damned. Thus far th.e ~on~incing Work o~ the ~aw proce.eds, and when it ha rh brought a M:m to defpa1r m h1mfdf, by fhewmg h1m h1s Gu1lt, and that Wrarh to which he ~ands expos'd, and the Rernedilefilefs of his Sad Condition by. any Thing that he can either do or fuffer, it there leaves him in this Horror ofDarkm:fs till the Spirit of God who bath thus by the Mini!hy of the Law convinced him of his own Unrighteoufnefs in himfelf, doth alfo by the Miniftry of the Gof~elconvince. him of a Righreoufnefs out of h1mfdf m the Lord Jefus Chn!t: For it IS rhe Sptnt rbar convincerb m of Sin, of Rigbteoufnefs. •ndof 'Judgment, John r6. 8. Secondly, Another great End of tbe Moral Law is Reformation and Obedience: That .having our Rule before us we ~ay endeavour t~ confo~m .our AEli?nS a~cording unto tr; an~ be deterred by the MajeHy a~d Aut homy of It from addmg Sm [Q Sin, and treafunng up to our felva Wrdtb agaznfl the Day of Wt·otb; and thar by feeing Our Defe8s we may endeavour to amend rhem. Thus the ApoUletells us, Gut. 3.1 9 . That the Law was added becauft of Tran.fi.r(j}ion; i.e. becaufe of the exceeding ProneneiS of our Corrupted Natures to tranfgrefs. God h~<h given us an Holy and Severe Law to curb in our Lu[b, to check our Head-firong Defires and Stnfual Appetites, and to keep us within the Bounds of Duty and_))bedience. For thefe Two great Ends was the Law given, Convi8:ion and RefOrmation. And upcn both thefe Accounts the Preaching ofthe Law is of Abfolute Nece!fity. For Firfl, Where the L~w bath not wrought its Convincing Work with Power upon th~ Confcience, there the Preaching of ]efus Chrift will be altogether in vain : For umil a Sinner be throughly convinc'd of his Guilt and Mifer,, and his Confcience awaken'd by the Threats and Terrors of the Law, that he flands forfeired to the Jufiice of God, liable to Eternal Wrath, and may every Moment be fwallow'd up in the Ahyfs ofWoe and Torments, imo which Thoufands before him have been already plung'd, it will be impoffible to perfwade him ferioufiy te embrace thofe Tenders ot Mercy which the Gofpel holds forth unto him by Jefus Chtift, he wraps himfelf in his own Carnal Con· fidence and Security, and fees no need of looking out after any other Righteoufnefs than his own; and although his own Righteoufnefs be but fihhy Rags, bmh imper~ fe8 and impure, yet being his own he thinks them better than borrow'd Robes. And therefore faith eur Saviour, Matt h. 9· 12. The Who/( need not a Phyjician, but they rbat. arc Sick; i. (, thofe who think themfelves Whole and Sound, although indeed they be Sick unto Death, they need not a Phyfician; i. e. they apprehend not their Need of him, nor will they be perfwaded to feek ~nto him. And, Saondly, As Chriit cannot be accepted where the Law dorb nor perform irs Con.. vincing Work, fo he will nor fave where it doth nor perform hs RefOrming Work. Where there is no Amendment of Life there can be no ForgiveneiS of Sins, nor True Hopes of .Salvation: For Chrift is given us not to fave us in our Sins, but from them. if( it {he Author oj EternalSalvation to all tbo{e that obey him, Heb. )· 9· And thus you fee of what Abfolute Neceffity it is to prefs the Law upon the Con· fcience, ·ro denounce its Terrors, to inculcate its Precepts, fince the Convincing Work of it prepares us for Chrift, and its Reforming Work for the Salvation purchafed by Chrift ·; without the one we fbaU never come unto him, and without the other we !hall never come to Heaven by him. That which I chiefly defign forrhe prefent istotreat of the Convincing Work of the Law, and that in each of its Three Branches. ConviOion if Guilt, Convilli~n oj Wrath, and Convitlion oft be Uucr Impojjibility we lye undu to deliver o11r jdves from it by our own Rigbteoufnift. I fh;ll now treat of the Firft; to which Purpofe I have chofen this Portion of Scrip· tnre, John 7· 1 9· Did not Mofes give you the Law? And yet none of you ketperb the Law: fn which Words we have an Expoftulation and an Accufation. In the Expoftula\ion we may take notice of Three Things. Firfl, That this Law, of which our Saviourfpcaks, was the whole Syllem of Di' \•ine Precepts, both concerning Ceremonial Rites) Judicial ·Procefft!s, and Moral Duties: For the 'Jews fi-om b1if"u's Hands receiv'd lnftruEHons for all their Obfervances, Gifrs, Of!erings, Wafhings, aad other Typical Parts of W01fhip : And for zll their S1.1its and Comroverfies .between Man and Man, which was the Common and Sranding Law of thoir Nation; and lallly, for all Moral and Natural Duties reipeEling either God . m
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