80 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. among themselves, in all their moral actings; it gives life, order, motion to them all. Now, the Gospel, which comes to control this sentence of the law, and to relieve the sinner from it, is foreign to his nature, a strange thing to him, a thing he bath no acquaintance or familiarity with; it hath not been bred up with him; nor is there any thing in him to side with it, to make a party for it, or plead in its behalf. Again, the law speaks nothing to a sinner but what his conscience assures him to be true. There is a con- stant concurrence in the testimony of the law and con- science. When the law says, this or that is a sin worthy of death, conscience says, it is even so: and where the law of itself, as being a general rule, rests, conscience helps it on, and says, of this and that sin worthy of death, is the soul guilty: then die, saith the law, as thou hast deserved. Now, this must have a mighty efficacy to prevail with the soul to give credit to the testimony of the law; it speaks not one word but what he has a witness to within himself. These witnesses always agree; and so it seems to be estab- lished for a truth, that there is no forgiveness. The law, also, though it speaks against the soul's interest, yet speaks nothing but what is so just, righ- teous and equal, that it forces the soul's consent. So Paul tells us, that men "know this voice of the law to be the judgment of God." Rom. 1: 32. They know it, and cannot but consent to it, that it is the judgment of God, that it is good, righteous, equal. And indeed what can be more righteous than its sentence ? It commands obedience to the God of life and death, promises a reward, and declares, that for non-per- formance of duty, death will be inflicted. These terms are good, righteous, holy; the soul accepts them, and knows not what it can desire better or more just. This the apostle insists upon, Rom. 7: 12, 13. " Wherefore
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=