longs even to the believer himself, notwithstanding his union to Christ. The pollution of his sin was never transferred to Christ. But every sin he commits, pollutes and defiles his soul, gives him new cause of humiliation and repentance, new cause to fly by faith to the blood of Christ for cleansing; and to the grace of Christ for the sanctifying, renewing, and quickening influences of his Holy Spirit. Hence we find David complaining, that "his wounds stink and are corrupt, because of his foolishness;" that "his loins are filled with a loathsome disease, and there is no soundness in his flesh." And hence we likewise find him so humbly and earnestly praying, that he may be "purged with hyssop, and made clean; washed, and made whiter than the snow." It is not the privilege of believers, that their sins have less pollution in them than the sins of others; or that they are less displeasing to God: but their privilege is, that they being united to Christ, have grace given them to apply for cleansing to the fountain set open for sin and uncleanness; and that they have an Advocate with the Father, to make intercession for them. It is therefore certain, that all such who do not improve this privilege, who do not repair to the blood of Christ for cleansing, but remain careless and secure in their sins, were never yet united to Christ, never cleansed from their filthiness; but are, notwithstanding all their vain dreams of a union to Christ, liable to meet with that final sentence, "He that is filthy, let him› be filthy still."

If we consider sin with respect to its innate guilt, or contrariety to the law of God, the sins of be

lievers, as well as others, are a transgression of God's law, a contempt of his dominion and authority, a repugnancy to his nature and will, a dishonour to his name, and an injury to his kingdom and interest in the world; in all which respects, they bring guilt upon the souls of the offenders, in proportion to the nature and aggravations of the transgressions. Now I hope none will be so daringly blasphemous, as to suppose that our sins are in this respect transferred to Christ; that the blessed Saviour of the world has transgressed the law of God, or dishonoured his holy name. "For he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He always did those things which pleased his heavenly Father."-There is no possibility, from the nature of things, that the innate guilt of sin, or the reatus culpa, (as the schools express it,) can be transferred from one person to another. Whoever represents the person of the of fender, and, as his surety, bears the punishment he deserved, yet the original guilt, the obliquity, the enormity, fault, or crime of the offence, lies at the offender's door, and can lie no where else. Whence it follows, that the believer's union to Christ can no way change the nature of his sinful actions, and make that guiltless and innocent, whilst repugnant to the nature and law of God. Though it deliver from the penalty, it cannot remove the native enormity of sin; it still remains, and cannot but remain abominable to God, and worthy of eternal death. Whence God is displeased with believers, when they sin against him. "The thing that David had done displeased the Lord." "The Lord was angry with Moses." "He was very angry with Aaron." Though he be a Fa

ther, he is a provoked Father when his children "forsake his law, and walk not in his judgments;" and therefore he "visits their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes," though he do not utterly "take away his loving kindness from them, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail." Have not believers, therefore, cause to be deeply affected with their sins, to lament them before God, and penitently to fly to the blood of Christ for pardon, when they render them guilty in the sight of God, are provoking and displeasing to him, and justly deserve his eternal wrath? But if we proceed, in the last place, to consider sin with respect to its law, desert, or demerit, with regard to the penalty annexed to it by the justice and law of God, in this sense Christ bare our sins for us, and took upon him all the iniquities of those who are interested in and united to him. "He bare our sins in his own body upon the tree:" that is, he bare the punishment due to us for sin, when he offered himself a sacrifice upon the cross. He was made a curse for us, and underwent the curse that was due to us. He was made a surety of the better testament; and so the dreadful debt was transferred from the principal debtors to him, and he, being a surety for strangers, was made to smart for it. Thus believers partake of the blessedness ascribed to him "whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, and unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity." And there is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." They are acquitted from the guilt of all their former sins, upon their exercising faith in Christ. "Through faith in his blood, Christ's righteousness is declared,

for the remission of their sins that are past." But how will their state of justification be continued, and their sins pardoned, but in the way of renewed exercise of faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, and repentance towards God? How will they make any progress in the divine life, but by a renewed flight to the fountain of grace, for new supplies of spiritual life and strength? From whence, then, can any man fetch arguments for a careless indifference about his sins, unless he be also careless and indifferent about the favour of God, and his own eternal welfare? Let no man deceive himself with vain words, nor dream of any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God, while he can sin without care or fear. For," because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience."

You go on to argue-" If believers are united to Christ, in the manner described, so that his obedience to the law was performed on their behalf, and is become their obedience; it then follows, that they have in Christ fulfilled the law in all respects, and it can therefore have no more demands upon them; and consequently they can be no more chargeable with sin, nor have occasion to be concerned about it. For where there is no law there is no transgression."

In answer to this objection, I shall, first, endeavour to show you in what respects our blessed Saviour has, in our place and stead, answered the demands of the law, and thereby delivered the believer from its power and dominion; and then proceed to show in what respects the law has still a claim to the believer's observance, notwithstanding his interest in and union to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our blessed Redeemer has these several ways fulfilled the law for believers :-He has fulfilled all the penal demands of it; and hath "redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." We being guilty criminals, the law condemns us to deserved punishment, and the justice of God demands satisfaction. The blessed Saviour has therefore stepped in between us and the avenging justice of God, and has received the flaming sword into his own bowels. Justice is satisfied, and the guilty offender released, upon his acting faith in this blessed Surety. The law does, moreover, require of us a perfect active obedience, as we are rational and moral agents; and accordingly, the original terms of our acceptance with God were, "Do this, and live. The man which doth these things shall live by them. But cursed is every one that continueth not in all things of the law to do them." Now Christ has, in this respect also, answered the demands of the law. He has fulfilled all righteousness, and taken away the power of the law, as it is the strength of sin, as it is a killing letter, and ministration of death, on the behalf of all that believe in him; that it no longer demands perfect personal obedience, as the condition of their acceptance with God. In this respect believers are not under the law, but under grace." Thus Christ has performed a passive obedience to answer the penalty of the law, and an active obedience to fulfil the precept of it, whereby justice is satisfied, God reconciled, and the believer made accepted in the Beloved. I may add to this, that there is an infinite merit in this twofold obedience of our blessed Mediator. He being an infinite per

66

!