rendered, either in himself or in his divine Surety, a perfect obedience to the law : in a word, he will regard the Lord Jesus Christ as " the end of the law for righteousness to the believing soulb," and trust in him altogether under that character, " The Lord our Righteousness0." Thus you perceive that the Gospel provides for the honour of the law, not only in shewing that it has been honoured by the obe- dience and sufferings of our incarnate God, but in requiring every sinner in the universe to honour it in his own person, by founding all his hopes on that very mediation by which the law has been so greatly honoured.
Nor have we yet attained a full view of this part of our subject : for the Gospel yet further requires, that all who in this way have found acceptance with God shall endeavour to honour the law by their own obedience to it in every respect. True, indeed, the believer feels that he cannot perfectly obey it : he feels too that he can never, by his best attempts to obey it, recommend himself to God, so as to obtain a justifying righteousness before him : yet he regards the law as " holy, and just, and good;" and endea- vours to fulfil it, as much as if he were to be saved altogether by his obedience to it. " The grace of God, which bringeth salvation, teaches him this : it teaches him, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, he should live soberly, and righteously, and godly, in this present worldd." Whilst, therefore, he embraces the promises of the Gospel as the one ground of his hope, he will make use of those pro- mises as an incentive to " cleanse himself from all filthiness, both of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of Gode."
Now, this effect of the Gospel is not produced only in a few particular instances ; it is universal : nor is there so much as one sinner that ever finds accept- ance through Christ, without having this experience realized in his soul. If any person under heaven
b Rom. x. 4. ° Jer. xxiii. G.
d Tit. ii. 1 1, 12. e 2 Cor. vii. 1.