472 1 Timothy, I. 11. [2225.

time that he comes to Christ for mercy, must ac- knowledge, that he is justly condemned by the law ; and that, if, for his transgressions of the law, he be cast into the lake that burnetii with fire and brim- stone, it will be no more than his just desert. And this must he acknowledge, not in mere words only, that carry not the heart along with them : no ; he must feel that he is actually in danger of this very punishment ; and that nothing but a most wonderful act of mercy can ever deliver him from it. He must go to God, as one that sees this very punishment awaiting him ; and must, from his inmost soul, cry out with Peter, when sinking in the waves, " Save, Lord, or I perish!" Moreover, in his supplications for mercy, he must plead the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ in his behalf. He must not even desire that the authority of the law should be made void ; no, not even for the salvation of his soul : he must found all his hopes on the honour done to the law by the sufferings of Christ ; and must desire, that those sufferings may be put to his account, as if he himself had endured them : nor is his own mind to be satisfied with any thing which does not satisfy the law, and put honour upon the law. Nor is this all : for he must acknowledge, that without a right- eousness commensurate with the utmost demands of the law, he never can be, nor ever ought to be, accepted of his God. He must deeply lament his utter inability to keep the law in this manner ; and must renounce all hope in himself; assured, that nothing but perfect obedience can ever be received by God, or be acknowledged by him as honouring his law. A man rightly instructed would deem it an insult to the law to desire that his partial and worth- less performances should be regarded as answering its demands : and, in this view, renouncing all hope in himself and his own works, he will plead the obedience which his incarnate God has paid to the law, and trust in that alone for righteousness and salvation. He will not even wish for acceptance with God on any other terms than those of having