blish their own righteoufnefs, and to enjoy an earthly happiness, but to be cloathed with a Redeemer's righteousness, and through him to attain the bleffings of a spiritual and divine life. Thofe, on the other hand, are still in the flesh, and walk after it, who hope that their Christian profeffion and outward religious obfervances will entitle them to the divine favour! and who defire temporal prosperity, in one fhape or other, more than begun communion with God, and conformity to his bleffed image here, and the uninterrupted enjoyment of him for ever hereafter. This is the old man, corrupt according to the deceitful lufts, which none put off, till they have been taught the truth as it is in Jefus (c). The remains of this old man occasion the strife in believers between the flesh and the spirit (d). Even Paul himself found his members, or his frame and conftitution as a fon of apoftate Adam, ftrongly inclining and difpofing him, to truft in his own righteousness, and to feek for happiness in temporal enjoyments. And hence he bitterly complains of a law, that when he would do good evil was present with him, and of another law in his members, even the law of fin, warring against the law of his mind (e).

SECTION IV.

§ 1. POSSIBLY fome may imagine, the fubject of the preceding fections is of no

great importance. The attentive perufal of them,

(c) Ephef. iv. 21,-24. Col. iii. 9,—11.

Y. 5, 16,-18.

(e) Rom. vii. 21, 23.

D 4

(d) Gal.

will

will I hope convince fuch, that juft ideas of the Sinai covenant, throw confiderable light on many important paffages of facred writ. I now add, that they remove some plausible objections against the faith once delivered to the faints, and afford convincing evidence, that the Sinai covenant was of divine original, but that the Meffias is now come, and had authority to annul it.

The preceding pages will guide to the meaning of feveral texts, which have been often urged for the unfcriptural tenets of juftification by the deeds of the law, and of the attainablenefs of perfection in a prefent life. I fhall not trefpass on the patience of my readers, by spending time in illuftrating what is fo obvious. I refer them to fection iii. § 4. of this Differtation.

Ezek. xviii. 24, 26. has been often appealed to as an evidence, that faints may fall from grace, and eternally perish. "When the righteous "turneth away from his righteoufnefs, and com"mitteth iniquity, and doth according to all the "abominations that the wicked man doth, fhall "he live? all his righteoufnefs that he hath "done, fhall not be mentioned in his trefpafs

that he hath trefpaffed, and in his fin that he "hath finned, in them fhall he die." The fallacy of this argument will appear, if we take notice, that a righteous man here means one, who yields an external obedience to the law of Mofes, and in virtue of that obedience has a righteous title (f) to long life and profperity in the land of Canaan. The Jews had been murmuring, ver. 2. that they were punished for the faults of their fathers. They did not complain, that they

(f) Deut. vi. 25.

were

were exposed to eternal deftruction, by their first parent's breach of the covenant of works. And therefore, either to own, or to deny that doctrine, was foreign from the prophet's purpose. The ground of their complaint was, that they, though not guilty of the crimes against which God denounced temporal punishment in the Sinai covenant, yet were punifhed for the crimes of their forefathers. The prophet, on this occafion, begins with foretelling in the name of God, that the Jewish difpenfation, in which the iniquity of the parents was visited upon the children, fhould be abolished, ver. 3. and that even, while it fubfifted, the righteoufnefs of a father would not avail a fon who did not imitate it, and the crimes of a father would be of no prejudice to a virtuous fon, ver. 10,-18. He next acquaints them, that notwithstanding their former idolatries and immoralities, if they would now reform their ways, and keep God's ftatutes, they should enjoy the life and prosperity promised in the Sinai covenant, ver. 21,-23: but that those who had hitherto performed the righteoufnefs required in that covenant, would forfeit all title to the bleffings of it, if they fhould commit iniquity, and do according to the abominations of the wicked, ver. 24. In the whole of this chapter, death certainly means temporal and outward evils; and therefore life muft as certainly import temporal profperity. The righteous and the wicked are not here defcribed, by the inward graces of the fpirit, or the want of thefe graces : but by their outward obedience or difobedience to the law of Mofes. He is a righteous man in the fenfe of this chapter," who hath not eaten 66 upon the mountains, neither hath lift up his 66 " eyes

D 5

66

eyes to the idols of the houfe of Ifrael, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither "hath come near to a menftruous woman, and "hath not oppreffed any, but hath restored to "the debtor his pledge, &c." ver. 6,-9. Of fuch a one it is faid, ver. 22. " in his righteouf"nefs that he hath done, he fhall live." i. e. he fhall receive life on account of his good works: whereas perfons juft, in an evangelical fenfe, are entitled to eternal life by the righteoufnefs of the Redeemer, and live by faith. All therefore that this paffage proves, is, that a man, who, for a time, fulfilled the condition, and was entitled to the benefits of the Sinai covenant, may at laft commit fuch wickedness and abomination, as will forfeit all these benefits. And, no doubt, this has often happened. One very affecting inftance we have in Joath, who did that which was right in the fight of the Lord, all the days of Jehoiada the prieft. But, after the death of that good man, both he and his princes, who had feemed equally zealous for religion, forfook God, and ferved idols. They tranfgreffed the commandment of the Lord, and fo could not profper. And, in the fin that he had finned, their prince perifhed (g). But, will this prove, that one may eternally perifh, in whom the holy Spirit dwells, as a well of living water springing up to eternal life? By no means. The righteoufness of the Sinai covenant, could be, and often was loft. But Chrift's falvation is for ever, and his righteoufnefs fhall not be abolished (b). That I have given a just representation of Ezekiel's meaning, the reader may be further con

(g) 2 Chron. xxiv. throughout.

(b) Ifa. li. 6.

vinced,

vinced, by comparing these nearly parallel Scriptures, Jer. xviii. 7,-10. xxii. 2,-5.

§ 2. If the above account of the Sinai covenant is true, it is a demonftration of its divine original. Mofes affures the Ifraelites, that their prosperity should be invariably determined by their obfervance or neglect of his laws: that, when they were faithful to thefe, every thing fhould go well with them; and that, when unfaithful, a flood of calamities fhould overwhelm them. No principles of human policy could have dictated fuch affurances. So wife a Lawgiver, would never have made them, had he not known, that the hand of God fhould vifibly appear, beftowing bleffings, and inflicting punishments, in execution of thefe promifes and threats. Far lefs would he, under pretence of these extraordinary providences, have deprived his people of the natural means of their fecurity and defence. I fhall fay nothing of the years of jubilee and fabbatic years, or of the obliging all the males thrice in the year to come up to Jerufalem, and thus to leave their frontiers expofed to hoftile invafion. I fhall confine myself to one law. Tho' their neighbours were powerful and ambitious, and well provided with horfes and chariots of war, in which the ftrength of the antient militia chiefly confifted, God prohibited them the use of thefe dreadful engines of deftruction, and enjoined them, when they fhould prevail against their enemies in battle, to hamstring their horfes and burn their chariots with fire, alfuring them that his protection, while they thus manifefted their truft in it, fhould more than fupply the place of both (i). Had Mofes been an

(i) Deut. xvii. 16. Joh. xi. 6. Deut. xx. I.