Gal. iii. 19. Wherefore then serveth the laiv?
WE are now arrived at the second use of the law, which is very strongly pointed out in the passage before us. The law itself has been explained as spi- ritual ; and as extending to the whole of man's duty, whether to God or man. This, as you have heard,
was originally given to man as a covenant of life : and, if man had obeyed it perfectly, it would have given him a title to life. But to man in his fallen state, " that which was ordained to life is found to be unto death." The first use, therefore, of the law now is, as a monitor, to guard us against adhering to the first covenant. The second use is as an instructor, to guide us to a better covenant7". And it is in this view that I am to speak of it at this time.
You will perceive that I exclude from my discus- sion every thing which does not immediately belong to my argument. The subject itself is exceedingly extensive, and might easily be pursued through a great variety of branches, all useful and important in their place. But to prosecute it to this extent would be to weaken the general impression. I wish the whole of what I shall have to offer to be an answer to the question specified in the words before us, " Wherefore then serveth the law ?■" To shew what the law is, was necessary of course : so that the exhibition of that was no deviation from my plan, but rather indispensable to the prosecution of it. And my strict adherence to this line, if it appear to leave out much which might enrich the subject, will have this advantage at least, that it will simplify the sub- ject. And, in truth, after having so solemnly prepared your minds for it in the first discourse, I should feel that I were criminally inattentive to your feelings, if I did not labour to the uttermost to keep that alone in view which I then described to be of so much importance.
To open, then, that part of the subject on which I am now entering, I must shew, in the first place, What we refer to as that better covenant ; and then, How the law, as an instructor, guides us to it.
First, What do we mean by that better covenant ? What better covenant has God given us ? You will naturally say, Let us know, distinctly, what the cove- nant is ? With whom it was made ? In what respects
a ver. 24. VOL. XVII. I