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observance: nay, could we henceforth comply with all its requirements, we should do nothing more than our duty. Instead, therefore, of attempting to palliate the guilt of remissness, we ought to cry with the trembling jailer, What shall I do to be saved? or in the more pertinent language of the publican, God be merciful to me a sinner!

That good works cannot be profitable to God, nor serviceable to man, in the important affair of justification, is a truth that extends to men of every description. The real Christian, who is renewed in the spirit of his mind, and enabled to act on principles very different from men in a state of nature, can claim no exception: nay, it will be the language of his heart, My goodness, O Lord, extendeth not unto thee. Can a man be profitable to God, as he who is wise may be profitable to himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? or is it any gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him, or what receiveth he of thine hands? Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art, and thy right, eousness may profit the son of man-Who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him are all things; to whom be glory for ever-What hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?' Instead, therefore, of attempting to claim the blessedness of heaven on the ground of personal worthiness, it would be acting more in character for a sinful wretch to cry, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed

no further-Enter not into judgment with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.'

Another reason why good works cannot be meritorious, is the vast disparity between them and the salvation they are supposed to merit. There must be a just proportion between the work and the wages: if the latter exceed the former, they are so far gratuitous--favours to which we have no claim, and of course not merited. But can the best services of a creature depraved beyond description, be brought into comparison with the debt he owes to his Maker, or with that consummate happiness which in its duration is eternal? No; it is impossible. The greatest human virtue,' says Dr. Johnson, 'bears no proportion to human vanity.' Nothing short of an obedience commensurate to the requirements of divine law, and to the threatenings of eternal justice, can afford the sinner a well grounded hope of that blessedness which it is the glory of God to bestow as a gift; but which never was conferred on any as a debt, or as a recompense for diligence in duty. Ascriptions of merit to man, may be the language of mortals on earth, but it is not the language of saints in heaven. Concerning that great multitude which stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; not a word is said of their having deserved the honour and the happiness to which they were exalted; but on the contrary, that they themselves cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Say

ing, Amen. Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God, for ever and ever, Amen.' Not an individual of that innumerable company is heard attributing his deliverance and his triumph to himself to the possession of moral qualities, the performance of moral duties, nor yet to the patient endurance of great tribulation; but the reason given by one of the elders why they were before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, is thisThey have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' The unanimous voice of the church militant and the church triumphant is Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and has redeemed us to God by his blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and has made us unto our God kings and priests-Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.'

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But while it is positively asserted that good works have nothing to do in the justification of a sinner before God, it is maintained with equal confidence, that there are other highly important purposes for which they are indispensably necessary. The Scriptures declare, That the elect of God are chosen in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world-that, when the time to manifest this infinite grace is come, they are called with an holy calling, not according to their works, but according to his own purpose and grace-that they are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that they should walk in them.

That faith without works is dead, is an established maxim with the Christian. If there be

time and opportunity, every believer is taught by the Holy Spirit, to maintain good works for necessary uses to let his light so shine before men, that they may see his good works, and glorify his Father which is in heaven.' In this case, faith and holiness are inseparable and it was a conviction of the importance of this truth that induced the apostle James to ask, when writing to the Jewish converts, Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? He knew there was a connexion between the faith of which he then spoke and moral duties: that it would be as congruous to expect grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles, as to suppose faith in the heart unproductive of real holiness in the life. It is as 'impossible for the sun to be in his meridian sphere, and not to dissipate darkness, or diffuse light, as for faith to exist in the soul and not exalt the temper and meliorate the conduct.' Faith, as a divine principle in the soul, purifies the heart, and is in fact the only source of good works. The tree must be made good before the fruit can be good. 'But without faith it is impossible to please God:' and hence we learn that Abraham's faith was prior to that striking proof of filial obedience by which he is said to be justified; and therefore neither the cause nor the condition of his justification.

In examining another part of the same chapter, we find the apostle asserts, when speaking of the extent and spirituality of the moral law, 'That whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all.' Now as Abraham had, in many instances, violated this divine statute; his works could not so justify him, as to render him guiltless and acceptable in the sight of God. Throughout the whole of the

apostle's reasoning there is a beautiful connection and consistency. For, by reciting the affecting story of Abraham and his beloved Isaac, he has shewn, that by the venerable Patriarch's obedience to the command of God, was manifested both the genuineness and strength of his faith.

It is an article of the Christian's faith, and from which he ought never to depart, that God, for the display of his own almighty power, sovereignty and grace, does at the last hour, and perhaps in the latest moments, sometimes snatch sinners from the very jaws of hell, without any consideration as to moral worth, of what they have been, or what they then are. For the glory of infinite mercy, it may probably be said of numbers at the last day, as was said in reference to the ancient Jewish High-priest-' Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Or at least this will be said of him whom the compassionate Saviour took from the cross to the crown-Who was introduced in triumph to bear witness in heaven, as he had done upon earth, that salvation is not of works but of grace!

What advantage, it may be asked, do those gain over their opponents, who zealously maintain that good works are essential to salvation? For whatever is essential to the completion of any purpose cannot be relinquished. On this hypothesis, the salvation of the expiring thief was absolutely impossible. He had neither time nor opportunity to perform good works. Impossible also must it be to thousands, perhaps to millions, who have died, or may die, if not in similar situations, yet so circumstanced as to have no space for amendment: and equally impossible to infants, more than half of whom die before they are capable of moral action. This incapacity may

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