the very words of Moses, answers, " The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart;" and then he adds, " This is the word of faith which we preach." If then the Apostle was inspired by the Holy Ghost, the matter is clear ; and the Gospel was the commandment of which Moses spake. And it is worthy of observation, that Christ and his Apostles speak of it under very similar terms. Our Lord says, " This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent : " by which he means, that it is the work which God re- quires of us1. St. Paul calls the Gospel, " the law of faith g." St. John says, " This is his commandment, that ye believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ11." And " obeying the Gos- pel" is the common term used for believing in Christ1.]
3. The particular characters by which it is distin- guished—
[Moses speaks of it as plainly revealed, and as easily un- derstood. Now this representation accords with that dispen- sation of the Gospel which was given to the Jews : they had no necessity for any one to ascend up to heaven, or to go over the sea, to bring them information about the way of life ; for God had already revealed it to them from heaven : he had shewn them by the moral law that they were all in a state of guilt and condemnation ; and he had shewn them by the ceremonial law that they were to be saved by means of a sacrifice, which should hi due time be offered. And though that revelation was comparatively obscure, yet any Jew with pious disposi- tions might understand it sufficiently to obtain salvation by it. But these characters in the fullest sense agree with the Gospel as it is made known to us. We are not left to inquire whether there is a Saviour or not? whether Christ has come down from above? or whether he has been raised up again from the dead ? We know that he has come into the world ; that he has " died for our sins, and has risen again for our jus- tification : " we know that he has done every thing that is ne- cessary for our reconciliation with God, and tv ill do every thing that can be necessary for the carrying on and perfecting the salvation of our souls. There is no uncertainty about any point that is of importance to us to know. Nor indeed is there any difficulty in understanding what he has revealed. All that is required, is, a simple, humble, teachable spirit ; and to such an one, however ignorant he be in other respects, every part of the Gospel is clear. The humble Christian " has within himself the witness" of all the fundamental truths of the Gospel. What doubt can he have that he is a guilty and condemned
f John vi. 28, 29. e Rom. iii. 27. h 1 John iii. 23.
5 Rom. x. 15. and xvi. 26. 2 Thess. i. 8. 1 Pet. iv. 17.