those who fear him; and, by his word and Spirit, he teaches them to receive instruction and benefit even from this root of bitterness. Even now they are the sons of God; but it doth not yet appear what they will be when he shall appear, and be admired in all them that believe. Then they shall be manifested, and then the creature also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption. How blind, then, are they who expect happiness from the creature, which is itself subject to vanity, and who are meanly content with the present state of things! It is because they are estranged from God, have no sense of his excellency, no regard for his glory, no knowledge of their own proper good! They are farther removed from the desires they ought to have, in their present circumstances, than the brute creation, or the very ground they walk on; for all things but man have an instinct, or natural principle, to answer the end for which they were appointed. Fire and hail, wind and storm, fulfil the word of God, though we poor mortals dare to disobey it. But if the secret voice of the whole creation desires the consummation of all things, surely they who have the light of God's word and Spirit will look forward, and long for that glorious day. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! I am, &c. Dear Sir, LETTER XXX. On the right Use of the Law. You desire my thoughts on 1 Tim. i. 8, "We know the law is good, if a man use it lawfully," and I willingly comply. I do not mean to send 338 mi to mi ru W tε fε T 340 On the right Use of the Lan. Let.30. you a sermon on the text; yet a little attention The law, in many passages of the Old Testa- The law of God, then, in the largest sense, is it Thus pointed the moon for its seasons; and the sun knoweth his going down, or going forth, and performs all its revolutions according to its Maker's pleasure. If we could suppose the sun was au intelligent being, and should refuse to shine, or should wander from the station in which God had placed it, it would then be a transgressor of the law. But there is no such disorder in the natural world. The law of God in this sense, or what many choose to call the law of nature, is no other than the impression of God's power, whereby all things continue and act according to his will from the beginning: for "he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." The animals destitute of reason are likewise under a law; that is, God has given them instincts according to their several kinds, for their support and preservation, to which they invariably conform. A wisdom unspeakably superior to all the contrivance of man disposes their concernments, and is visible in the structure of a bird's nest, or the economy of a bee-hive. But this wisdom is restrained within narrow limits; they act without any remote design, and are incapable either of good or evil in a moral sense. When God created man, he taught him more than the beasts of the earth, and made him wiser than the fowls of heaven. He formed him for himself, breathed into him a spirit immortal and incapable of dissolution, gave him a capacity not to be satisfied with any creature good, endued him with an understanding, will, and affections, which qualified him for the knowledge and service of his Maker, and a life of communion with him. The law of God, therefore, concerning man, is that rule of disposition and conduct to which a creature so constituted ought to conform; so that the end of his creation might be answered, and the wisdom of God be manifested in him and by him. Man's continuance in this regular and happy you a sermon on the text; yet a little attention to method may not be improper upon this subject, though in a letter to a friend. Ignorance of the nature and design of the law is at the bottom of most religious mistakes. This is the root of selfrighteousness, the grand reason why the Gospel of Christ is no more regarded, and the cause of that uncertainty and inconsistence in many, who, though they profess themselves teachers, understand not what they say, nor whereof they affirm. If we previously state what is meant by the Law, and by what means we know the law to be good, I think it will, from these premises, be easy to conclude what it is to use the law lawfully. . The law, in many passages of the Old Testament, signifies the whole revelation of the will of God, as in Psalm i. 2, and xix. 7. But the law, in a strict sense, is contradistinguished from the Gospel. Thus the Apostle considers it at large in his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians. I think it evident, that, in the passage you have proposed, the Apostle is speaking of the law of Moses. But, to have a clearer view of the subject, it may be proper to look back to a more early period. The law of God, then, in the largest sense, is that rule, or prescribed course, which he has appointed for his creatures according to their several natures and capacities, that they may answer the end for which he has created them. Thus it comprehends the inanimate creation. The wind or storm fulfils his word or law. He hath appointed the moon for its seasons; and the sun knoweth his going down, or going forth, and performs all its revolutions according to its Maker's pleasure. If we could suppose the sun was an intelligent being, and should refuse to shine, or should wander from the station in which God had placed it, it would then be a transgressor of the law. But there is no such disorder in the natural world. The law of God in this sense, or what many choose to call the law of nature, is no other than the impression of God's power, whereby all things continue and act according to his will from the beginning: for "he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." The animals destitute of reason are likewise under a law; that is, God has given them instincts according to their several kinds, for their support and preservation, to which they invariably conform. A wisdom unspeakably superior to all the contrivance of man disposes their concernments, and is visible in the structure of a bird's nest, or the economy of a bee-hive. But this wisdom is restrained within narrow limits; they act without any remote design, and are incapable either of good or evil in a moral sense. When God created man, he taught him more than the beasts of the earth, and made him wiser than the fowls of heaven. He formed him for himself, breathed into him a spirit immortal and incapable of dissolution, gave him a capacity not to be satisfied with any creature good, endued him with an understanding, will, and affections, which qualified him for the knowledge and service of his Maker, and a life of communion with him. The law of God, therefore, concerning man, is that rule of disposition and conduct to which a creature so constituted ought to conform; so that the end of his creation might be answered, and the wisdom of God be manifested in him and by him. Man's continuance in this regular and happy |