The reasons hereof are these : There is no other answer, 1 . Be cause in every other answer we should attempt the soul is lifted up The prophet doth distribute all things that can be said to God when we are reproved under these two heads ; — one of them, " whose soul is lifted up, and that is not upright in him;" and the other pleads that " the just shall live by faith/' There is an elation of mind, a lifting up of soul, which God abhors, in any other answer we can give him when we are reproved, whatever it be. This is the only answer, 2. Because, in truth, the Lord Jesus Christ hath really made this answer for us. The whole charge from God consists in the curse of the law, and in the application of it unto our souls in particular. If Jesus Christ hath answered to both these, where shall we have another answer? He hath answered the curse of the law, taken away the curse by "being made a curse for us," Gal. iii. 13; hath answered whatever the law required. " What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his
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own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh : that the righteousness of the law might be ful filled in us." God reproves not but by the law. He speaks in the command and curse of the law, and reproves in both. Christ hath answered in both. He was made a curse, and answered that re proof. He fulfilled the righteousness of it, and answered that re proof, paying that which he took not. God reproves us in the par ticular application of the law to our souls for our sins. Why, God hath made all our sins to meet upon him, Isa. liii. 6 : which is the second reason why this is the only answer, — because, indeed, Christ hath made this answer for us. 3. Because in all cases wherein we are reproved by God, Christ hath undertaken to be our advo cate: 1 John ii. 1, "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." It is upon the account of sin that we are reproved. God comes to reprove us, and we have set ourselves upon the watch-tower to see what we can answer him ; for God must be answered when he reproves. Why, we have an Advo cate. An advocate appears for a man, and pleads his cause. Shall we take the plea of Christ out of his mouth, and say, ' We can an swer better for ourselves?' I think it is our wisdom to trust to our advocate. And he pleads his own righteousness; for he is a propitia tion for us. He pleads the atonement unto all God's reproofs. When a man pleads nothing but pardon of sin through free justification by the blood of Christ, he saith nothing to God but what Jesus Christ pleads for him. The last reason is, 4. Because indeed we have no thing else to plead, no other answer to give. Our mouths are stopped, we are become guilty, and have not [any thing wherewith] to answer any reproof of God. We are apt to betake ourselves for relief unto excuses and promises, of what we are, and have done, or will do ; but these answers will not do. I might easily go over the consideration of all we are apt to consider, our works before justi fication and after justification, to see if any of them will answer God when he comes to require a perfect righteousness of us, and to reprove us for every sin. What else will answer, what can we return else, but this righteousness of Christ? " The just shall live by faith. v
[As] for the use of it, it should keep our souls in an abhorrency of all. those doctrines which pretend other pleas before God for our jus tification, — that would make our own faith, our own obedience, our own works, to be the condition of our justification ; that is, to make them to be our plea when we come to answer God when we are reproved of him. Do we think we can do such things when God charges upon us the curse of the law? Will our faith, our obedi ence, our works, be an answer to God ? ' Nay, Lord, we have done thus and thus; we have obeyed in sincerity; we have performed
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these and those duties/ Shall we trust to it? Will the men of these doctrines trust to it themselves, when God comes indeed to deal with them? Can their hands be strong or their hearts endure upon these principles, when indeed God shall deal with them? when God speaks in the application of the law to their souls? Besides the great con tempt cast therein upon Christ, we will not allow him to be our ad vocate. They will soon find their hearts cannot endure when they come to die, or when conscience is brought under a sense of his dis pleasure for sin.
A second use of it is for instruction unto ourselves, that we should always have this answer in readiness. We know not how soon God may come with special reproofs unto us. Truly, besides those gene ral ways, in the law and in the preaching of it, God hath particular applicatory ways, and works in the world in judgments and afflic tions; and how soon he may enter into our consciences we know not. It is good to have an answer ready. And truly we see what the an swer is, ' Lord, we are poor, lost, undone creatures. If thou wilt deal with us, we cannot answer thee for one of a thousand ; if thou markest what is done amiss, none can stand/ ' What, then, have you to plead, or are you speechless?' ' No, Lord; yet there is a plea left, this great plea, " The just shall live by faith/' Thou hast appointed a new way of interesting us in justification, by the way of believing in Christ; and that plea our souls advance/ Have this plea in readi ness when sin is charged upon your souls and consciences, in all your troubles and fears. Nothing else will answer God when he reproves.