being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteoufness, have not fubmitted themfelves unto the righteoufnefs of God. The world is ignorant of God, ignorant of the law, ignorant of the gospel, ignorant of Christ, and his righteousness. 1. Ignorance of God, is one caufe of this legal temper. People are ignorant of the perfections of God; more particularly, they are ignorant of the holiness of God: If men faw what an infinite holy God he is, and what an infinite hatred he bears towards the least fin, or violation of his law; if they knew that a proud thought were enough to damn a million of angels, and that a wandering thought is enough to damn a million of worlds, would they entertain a fancy of being justified and accepted upon the ground of any legal righteoufnefs of their own, whether natural or gracious? Nay, they would not imagine to be thus accepted, if they did not think, that God is fuch an one as themselves. They are ignorant also of the juftice of God, and the righteousness of that judge, who will by no means clear the guilty; and if it were not fo, that they were ignorant of his justice, would any guilty finner hope to be cleared and acquitted any other way, than upon the account of a ranfom of infinite value? They are ignorant of the wisdom of God, in the glorious plan of redemption, and contrivance of falvation by the righteoufnefs of another, even of the Godman Chrift Jefus. Ignorance of these, and the like attributes and perfections of God, is the great caufe of their being joined to the law, and alive to it, 2. Igno, 2. Ignorance of the law is another caufe. And here, 1. They are ignorant of the precept of the law in the extent, fpirituality, holiness and perfection thereof: The young man in the gospel thought himself perfect; Why? He did not know the law. Paul thought himself blameless, while he was alive to the law. Men think it a narrow rule, condemning only fome grofs enormities of life, and commanding only fome outward materials of obedience; but they fee not the commandment to be exceeding broad; hence they imagine, they can obferve it perfectly well. 2. They are ignorant of the penalty of the law, the fanction of it: They do not believe, that there is a curfe intailed upon every difobedience, Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them. Hence they are fond of their own legal righteoufnefs, not knowing the severity of the legal fanction. 3. They are ignorant of the end of the law, even of God's end and defign in giving it. God gave the law to Ifrael with fire and thunder: For what end? Even to be a schoolmafter to lead them to Chrift, Gal. iii. 24. For Chrift is the end of the law for rightoufness, to every one that believeth, Rom. x. 4. But behold, fo ignorant was Ifrael of the end of the law, that like the legal fpirit in our own day, they thought it was given for this end, that they might obey it as a condition of life, as it bore the image and representation of a covenant of works; fo they turned it directly to a covenant of works, faying, Exod. xix. 8. All that the Lord hath commanded, we will do. If it had been poffible or practicable for them to have performed what they ignorantly promifed, there would have been no need need of Christ, or his righteousness either: We will do, fay they, there is obedience; we will do, yea, we will do all, there is perfect obedience; yea, we will do all that the LORD JEHOVAH hath commanded us; there is exactly, and perpetually perfect obedience: Yea, we do all, we ourselves; there is their perfect perfonal obedience refolved upon: As if they had in their poffeffion all the power and holinefs that Adam had in innocence, What says Joshua to them, upon fuch a proud, ignorant, and arrogant refolution as this? Indeed, he tells them, it was fimply impoffible for them Ye cannot ferve the Lord, for he is a boly God; Joh. xxiv. 19. He is a holy God, and you're a finful people; it is impoffible for you to do what you fay. The law was given them to let them fee their utter infufficiency and inability to let them fee their fins, and defert because of fin, that, under the fear of divine wrath, they might be driven to the Saviour. But they being ignorant of this great end of the law, fet up an obedience of their own. ; 3. Ignorance of the gofpel is another cause of this legal temper; and here manifold ignorance discovers itself. 1. They are ignorant of the promifes of the gospel, fuch as that, Ifa. xlv. 24. Surely fball one fay, in the Lord, have I righteousness and ftrength. Here is a fum of the gofpel-promife, a promife of Chrift, and of faith in him: Surely fhall one fay; here is a promife of faith, and faith working out from the heart to the mouth; for with the heart men believe to righteoufnefs, and with the mouth confeffion is made unto falvation. One shall say, What? no more but one? What a pity is it, that only one should say fo? Indeed it intimates that very few will be brought off from their legal temper. One fhall fay, not every one. Well, but what will he fay? In the Lord have I righteousness and strength; righteousness for justification, ftrength for fanctification; righteousness to make me happy, ftrength to make me holy; righteousness to give me a title to heaven, ftrength to give me meetnefs for heaven. I have all this, fhall one fay, by the appropriating act of faith, applying all to himself in particular, with affured confidence, according to the measure of faith. I have righteousness and strength. Where hath he it? It is in the Lord I have it; I have it not in myfelf, nor in my own natural power, I have it not in my own free will, I have it not in my walk or converfation, I have it not in my zeal or profeffion, I have it not in my religious duties or performances, I have it not in my heart or life, nay, certainly I have it not there; but furely in the Lord have I righteousness and strength, in the Lord only: Men are ignorant of this. 2. They are ignorant of the method of the gofpel, in the application of the grace promifed, particularly in the command of believing, which belongs to the difpenfation of the gofpel; wherein the law, both in its commands and threatenings, is used in a fubferviency to advance the ends of the gofpel. Though the law does not teach us to believe in Chrift, yet he being revealed, it obliges us to believe in him; though the law reveals not a faviour, yet the gospel revealing him, the law obliges us to come to him. But now this method of the gofpel, and difpenfation thereof is not known in the world; hence come legal notions of it, men confounding the command of believing with the gofpel to be believed; the duty of faith with the object of faith; and fo turn turn the gospel to a new law, a new covenant of works, as if the act of believing were our righteoufnefs for acceptance with God. Neither can they conceive the command of believing to be the great command, tho' God himself hath faid, This is his commandment, that ye believe in the name of his Son't Nay, legalifts cannot understand that; they think it is God's great command, that feeing they have finned by breaking the law, they fhould repent by turning to it; feeing they have difpleafed God by their fins, they fhould please him by their repentance; seeing they have provoked him by their disobedience, they should pacify him by their obedience; seeing they have drawn down the curfe by their tranfgreffions, they fhould remove it by their reformation: They do not know that the great command is, to believe on the Son of God. 3. They are ignorant of the great end of the gospel, which is to humble and abafe the creature to the lowest, and to raise and exalt grace to the higheft; that No flefh fhould glory in God's prefence, but that be that glorieth, fhould glory in the Lord; in the Lord fall all the feed of Ifrael be juftified, and shall glory & This is the great end and defign of the gofpel; but the bafe legal fpirit is ignorant of that defign. 4. They are ignorant of the gofpel-covenant: The doctrinal and practical confounding of the two co+ venants of works and grace is the great reafon of this legal temper. And here people difcover ig norance of the condition of the covenant; they are ignorant of the condition of the covenant of grace and works the condition of the covenant of works was perfonal obedience, the man himself that does thefe things fhall live in them; and perfect obedience was required, a perfection of parts, a per ; fection 1 |