LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 187 But ifa law be taken in a large sense, for any consti- tution of a governor, whereby he graciously acceptsat our hands, less than his law requires, and pardons those offenders who are sincerely willing and desirous to obey his law,-and who trust in his mercy ; then the gospel may be called a law. Torah, in the Hebrew, is used in this large sense for the gospel ; Is. ii. 3. " Out of Zion sliall go,forth the law, IS.c. andother places. And NoNcos, in the Greek, may be enlarged to such an extensive sense also : But originally it signifies; that which distributes to every one their due reward, according to their merit or their services ; and in this sense the gospel cannot be a law. St. Paul does not usually call it so nor can I think it the best way for ministers, to represent it thus. 'Yet, after all, it is but a sort of difference in words, if we 'do bat explain the 'things in the right manner, and guard against those errors, which we are liable to fall into on either side. Nor would I be angrywith any man, who considerately and sincerely thinks this the best way of representing and explaining the gospel, any further than to say, that St. Paul did not think it the best way ; and I ani much of his mind. Remark 4. IIowmuch should our souls bless God, for the introduction of the gospel into the world, at the-first promise; and even for all the promises of this new cove-, nant, especially in this'last, and best, and brightest edi- tion, and the administration of it by Jesus Christ, and his _Spirit? As it is expressed and explained in Heb. viii. 10; 12. Have we not sometimes had an awakening and pain- ful sense of guilt? Have we never thought ourselves .sinners, and feared the eternal anger of God, and cried out for salvation, from the condemning sentence of the brokenlaw ? And when we have resolved, and watched, and la- boured again to fulfil the holy law of God, and failed in many instances, have we not bewailed ourselves as weak and impotent creatures, as well as under the guilt ofso many offences, repeated and abounding ? O what abun- dant reason have we to bless God, for the gospel of his grace, through Jesus Christ, wherein our only hope lies,
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