DISCOURSE III. 209 3. If the law could have given life, righteousness should have been appointed and obtained for fallen man by it ; because God would never have been at the expence of a gospel, if there had been no need of it, . to recover fallen man, and to do that which the law could do. God does not lay out his thoughts or counsels, nor his riches of grace, in needless things, or in useless contrivances. Now'if the law would have attained this -end, viz. the justification and salvation of man, then the gospel had been needless : then all these glorious riches of grace, and these counsels of wisdom, and mysteries ofmercy, had been in vain. Surely if the law Could have done this work, the blessed God would never have sent his own Son out of his bosom, upon such a longjourney to this sinful providence of his dominion, to this lower world, to take flesh and blood upon him, and to be exposed to, sufferingsand labours, reproaches and shame, pain and anguish, and death ; if the law, could have done the work of the salvation of man without it. God hath more value for the peace, and honour, and life ofhis Son, than to expose it at this rate ; but it is, plain from scripture, that the Son of God was sent into the world to do that which the law could not do ; Rom viii. S: These treasures of wisdom and goodness, these riches of grace, which appear in the gospel, were all laid out to save a ruined creature, whom the law could not save; otherwise Christ died in vain, so the apostle saith express- ly ; Gal. ii. 21. Observ. III. No law 'could give life and salvation to poor fallen man. Here let-it be considered, that.all laws are either moral, i. e. drawn from the nature of God and the creature ; or they are positive ; i. e. such as are appointed merely by the will of God, for particular.. purposes, and in particular seasons or circumstances: Again, moral laws are either such as belong to all mankind in general, whether innocent or sinful, or they are such as belong only to sinful and fallen.man. Now none ofall these sortsof laws can save sinful mankind. Let usprove it thus: - 1. Moral laws, such as oblige all mankind in general, are contained in a due love to God and man ; but fallen man can never be saved or justified by this law, because all these moral laws ofGod require perfect obedience, and cannotjustify us with- out it. God is amost holy, a most wise, and righteous God, a most perfect being ; and the relation between God andcreatures, requires the creature should honour him, and obey him inperfec- tion, and without any defect. The moral law .did require thisperfection in the state of in. VOL. H, O
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