3. The law coming first into consideration, as our remedy, its impossibility to justify and give life, needs to be sufficiently demon- strated ; for till we are dead to the law, we shall but carelessly seek after the grace of God in Jesus Christ ; therefore doth the scripture travail so much in this point, and showeth us, we must not only be dead to sin and dead to the world, but dead to the law, before we can live unto God : Gal. ii. 19, ' I through the law am dead to the law, that I may live unto God ;' and again: Rom. vii. 4, ' Ye are become dead to the law, by the body of Christ, that ye may be married to another, even to him that was raised from the dead, that ye may bring forth fruit to God. ' These two places show the means how we become dead to the law, partly through the law requiring a righteousness so exact and full, in order to live, as the corrupt estate of man cannot aiford ; partly, by the body of Christ introducing a better hope, that is, his crucified body, which is the foundation of the new covenant. Besides Paul argueth this, that the law doth only discover sin, but cannot abolish it, but doth increase it rather ; it bindeth over to death, and therefore cannot free from death ; and so to fallen man, * it is a law of sin and death ; ' and then answereth the objections that might be brought against this ; ' Is therefore the law sin ? God forbid : ' Rom. vii. 7 ; and verse 10, ' The commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death ; ' and so was a law of death, and working wrath, and all not because of any defect in God's institution, but the ^yeakness of our flesh, that is, the corruption of our nature. Nature being depraved, cannot fulfil it, or yield perfect obedience to it. Once moi'e it is said : Acts xiii. 39, ' By him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. ' The law of Moses was either the ceremonial law. All the oblations and sacri- fices, the washings and the offerings then required, could not take away sin, for they were but shadows and figures of what Avas to come : Heb. ix. 9, ' They were figures which could not make him that did the service perfect, as appertaining to the conscience;' and again, Heb. x. 1, 4,
422 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. [SeR. IY.
tkey were * shadows of good tilings to come, and it was not possible tliat the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.' They might obtain some temporal blessings, or remove some temporal judgments, as they obeyed (xod in them ; but did little as to the ease of the soul, as it was conscious of sin, or under fears of the eternal punishment. They that looked beyond them, to the Messiah to come, with an humble and penitent heart, might have their consciences cleansed from dead works. Every effect must have a cause sufficient to produce it. The blood of bulls and goats was no such cause, had no such virtue ; the effect was far above it ; there was a more precious blood signified, and shadowed out thereby, that could do it indeed. Or secondly, the moral law given by Moses ; partly, because we cannot keep it of ourselves, and the best works that the regenerate perform, are so imperfect, and mixed with so many infirmities and defects, that they stand in need of pardon : Jam. iii. 2, ' In many things we offend all of us ; ' ' our right- eousnesses are as filthy rags : ' Isa. Ixiv. 6 ; and partly, because they cannot satisfy for the least sin, whereby the infinite Majesty of God is provoked. This is only spoken to show why the scriptures do so often speak of the weakness of the law, and how impossible it is the law should give us life, that we may wholly be driven to Christ.
4. The utter impotence of the law to produce this effect, may be known by these two things, which are necessary to salvation, justifica- tion and sanctification. The law can give neither of these.
[1.] It cannot give us justification unto life ; the law promiseth no good to sinners, but only to those that keep and observe it ; he that doth them, shall live in them. Do and live, Sin and die, this is the voice of the law, that was a way whereby an innocent person might be saved, but not how a sinner might be saved. The law considered us as innocent, and required us to continue so ; * Cursed is every one that continueth not in all the words of the law to do them :' Gal. iii. 20. But alas, all we have broken with God : Rora. iii. 23, ' We have all sinned, and are come short of the glory of God.' The gospel consider- eth us in this sinful estate, and therefore it promiseth remission, and requireth repentance ; both the privilege and the duty concern our recovery to God. Secondly, if the law could be fulfilled for the future, past sins would take away all hope of reward by the law ; for the paying of new debts would not quit old scores ; what satisfaction shall be given for those transgressions ? Let me express it thus, the paying of what we owe, will not make amends for what we have stolen. We have robbed God of his glory and honour ; though for the future we should be obedient to him, yet who shall restore that we have taken away, or satisfy for the wrong done to God's justice? Thirdly, the law had no power of taking away of sin, but only of punishing of sin, as it threatened death to the sinner ; but how we should escape this death, it told us not. Being all shut up under sin, we are shut up under wrath, and there is no escape but by Jesus Christ.