be the duty of a creature to love and serve his Creator ; and to love, in subordination to him, all the works of his intelligent creation. I must say, then, that this law is unalterable ; and that, if any would obtain righteousness by it, they must obey it per- fectly, from first to last : and as this is impossible, since we all are transgressors of it, the thought of obtaining righteousness by the law must be relin- quished by every soul of man. We must, if ever we would be saved at all, look out for some other right- eousness more commensurate with the demands of the law, and more consistent with the honour of the Lawgiver.
But here I must stop, because this would lead me to what must occupy a separate discourse. I con- clude, therefore, with commending these thoughts to your attentive consideration ; and with entreating, that you would seek to make yourselves acquainted with this all-important subject. The Apostle says, " We know that the law is spiritual :" would to God that all of us could say the same ! But, indeed, it is not generally " known" On the contrary, a very general and lamentable ignorance of it prevails in the Christian world. Every one is desirous of moderating the demands of the law to his own standard. Every one is desirous of lessening his own criminality before God : and, to effect this, he lowers the standard whereby to try his obedience. But I pray you to settle it in your minds, as an indisputable fact, that the law is, and ever must remain, spiritual. Unless this be thoroughly understood, it will be impossible for you to go along with me in my future discourses: for how can you comprehend the uses of the law, if you know not what the law itself is ? Indeed, if you get not a clear insight into this as the first step, I shall appear to you to be bringing forward things strange and unwarrantable. But let the Epistles to the Romans and the Galatians be attentively read with this particular view ; and I dare affirm, that the spirituality of the law will be found written in them as with a sun-beam : and, that once seen, you will be