from the covenant of works b : and that distinction is confirmed by the account which he gives of it else- where. The law, as published on Horeb or Mount Sinai, made no provision for the pardon of any sin whatever : it simply said, " Do this and thou shalt live :" but the covenant made afterwards in the land of Moab, was ratified with the blood of sacrifices ; which blood was sprinkled upon the altar, the book, and all the people0; and therefore sprinkled, that they might know how to seek the remission of their sins, as often as occasion for it should arise d. In this act the gospel way of salvation was set before them ; so that they needed not henceforth to be looking for any one to come down from heaven, like Moses, or from the depths of the sea, like Jonah, to proclaim it, seeing that it was " very nigh unto them" already, even " in their mouth," which approved of the law, and " in their heart," which loved it.
The things which the Gospel more particularly inculcates, are, Repentance, Faith, and Obedience ; and these are almost as clearly revealed in the Old Testament as in the New.
To shew this to the Jewish people is, I conceive, the very first step towards bringing them to Chris- tianity. The Apostles, when preaching to the Jews, always appealed to the Old Testament in confirma- tion of all that they delivered : and I also, after their example, will endeavour to shew you, my Jewish Brethren, that your own Scriptures declare in the plainest terms,
I. That you are guilty and condemned by the moral law. The law is a perfect transcript of the mind and will of God ; and it requires of every human being an obedience to all its commands. For one single transgression it utterly and eternally condemns us : nay more, it requires every individual to express his
b Deut. xxix. 1. c Exod. xxiv. 3 — 8.
d The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who was so deeply conversant with the whole of the Mosaic law, refers to this very covenant in this precise point of view. Heb. ix. 19, 20.