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he is under an obligation in law, to go to the prison of hell, and there to lie till he has paid the utmost farthing. This ariseth from the terrible sanction with which the law is fenced, which is no less than death, Gen. ii. 17. So that the sinner passing the bounds assigned him, is as Shimei, in another case, a man of death," 1 Kings ii. 42. But now, being united to Christ, God saith, "Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom," Job xxxiii. 24. The sentence of condemnation is reserved, the believer is absolved, and set beyond the reach of the condemning law. His sins, which sometimes were set before the Lord, Psal. xc. 8, so that they could not be hid, God now takes and "casts them all behind his back,” Isa. xxxvii. 17. Yea, he "casts them into the depths of the sea," Micah vii. 19. What falls into a brook may be got up again; but what is cast into the sea cannot be recovered. Ay, but there are some shallow places in the sea: true, but their sins are not cast in there, but into the depths of the sea; and the depths of the sea are devouring depths, from whence they shall never come forth again. But, what if they do not sink? He will cast them in with force; so that they shall go to the ground, and sink as lead in the mighty waters of the Redeemer's blood. They are not only forgiven, but forgotten, Jer. xxxi. 34, "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more." And though their after-sins do in themselves deserve eternal wrath, and do actually make them liable to temporal strokes, and fatherly chastisements, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace, Psal. lxxxix. 30-33, yet they can never be actually liable to eternal wrath or the curse of the law; for they are dead to the law in Christ, Rom. vii. 4. And they can never fall from their union with Christ; nor can they be in Christ, and yet under condemnation, Rom. viii. 1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." This is an inference drawn from that doctrine of the believer's being dead to the law, delivered by the Apostle, chap. vii. 1-6, as is clear from the 2d, 3d, and 4th verses of this viii. chap. And in this respect, the justified man is "the blessed man, unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity," Psal. xxxii. 2. As one who has no design to charge a debt on another, sets it not down in his account-book.

Secondly, The believer is accepted as righteous in God's sight, 2 Cor. v. 21. For he is "found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith," Phil. iii. 9. He could never be accepted of God, as righteous, upon the account of his own righteousness; because, at best, it is but imperfect;

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and all righteousness, properly so called, which will abide a trial before the throne of God, is perfect. The very name of it implies perfection: for unless a work be perfectly conformed to the law, it is not right, but wrong; and so cannot make a man righteous before God, whose judgment is according to truth. Yet if justice demand a righteousness of one that is in Christ, upon which he may be accounted righteous before the Lord, “Surely shall such an one say, In the Lord have I righteousness," Isa. xlv. 24. The law is fulfilled, its commands are obeyed, its sanction is satisfied. The believer's Cautioner has paid the debt. It was exacted, and he answered for it.

Thus the person united to Christ, is justified. You may conceive of the whole proceeding herein in this manner. The avenger of blood pursuing the criminal, Christ, as the Saviour of lost sinners, doth by the Spirit apprehend him, and draw him to himself; and he by faith lays hold on Christ; so the Lord our righteousness and the unrighteous creature unite. From this union with Christ, results a communion with him, in his unsearchable riches, and consequently in his righteousness, that white raiment which he has for clothing of the naked, Rev. iii. 18. Thus the righteousness of Christ becomes his; and because it is his by unquestionable title, it is imputed to him; it is reckoned his, in the judgment of God,which is always according to the truth of the thing. And so the believing sinner having a righteousness which fully answers the demands of the law, he is pardoned, and accepted as righteous, See Isa. xlv. 22, 24, 25; Rom. iii. 25, and chap. v. 1. Now he is a free man. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of those whom God justifieth? Can justice lay any thing to their charge? No, for it is satisfied. Can the law? No, for it has got all its demands of them in Jesus Christ, Gal. ii. 20, "I am crucified with Christ." What can the law require more after it has wounded their head; poured in wrath, in full measure, into their Soul; and cut off their Life, and brought it into the dust of death, in so far as it has done all this to Jesus Christ, who is their Head, Eph.i. 22, their Soul, Acts ii. 25, 27, and their Life? Col. iii. 4. What has become of the sinner's own hand writing, which would prove the debt upon him? Christ has blotted it out, Col ii. 14. But, it may be, justice may get its eye upon it again; no, "he took it out of the way." But, O that it had been torn in pieces! may the sinner say: yea, so it is; the nails that pierced Christ's hands and feet, are driven through it, "he nailed it." But what if the torn pieces be set together again? That cannot be; for "he nailed it to his cross, "and his cross was buried with him, but will never rise more, seeing "Christ

dieth no more." Where is the face-covering that was upon the condemned man? Christ has destroyed it, Isa. xxv. 7. Where is death, that stood before the sinner with a grim face, and an open mouth, ready to devour him? Christ has "swallowed it up in victory," verse 8. Glory, glory, glory to him that thus loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood!"

The second benefit flowing from the same spring of union with Christ, and coming by the way of justification, is Peace; peace with God, and peace of conscience, according to the measure of the sense the justified have of their peace with God, Rom. v. 1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God." Chap. xiv. 27, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Whereas God was their enemy before, now he is reconciled to them in Christ; they are in a covenant of peace with him; and as Abraham was, so they are the friends of God. He is well pleased with them in his beloved Son. His word, which spoke terror to them formerly, now speaks peace, if they rightly take up its language. And there is love in all his dispensations towards them, which makes all work together for their good. Their consciences are purged of that guilt and filthiness that sometime laid upon them: his conscience-purifying blood streams through their souls, by virtue of their union with him, Heb. ix. 14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ -purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?" The bonds laid on their consciences, by the Spirit of God, acting as the spirit of bondage, are taken off, never more to be laid on by that hand, Rom. vii. 15, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear." Hereby the conscience is quieted, as soon as the soul becomes conscious of the application of that blood; which falls out sooner or later, according to the measure of faith, and as the only wise God sees meet to time it. Unbelievers may have troubled consciences, which they may get quieted again: but alas! their consciences become peaceable, ere they become pure; so their peace is but the seed of greater horror and confusion. Carelessness may give ease, for a while, to a sick conscience; men neglecting its wounds, they close again of their own accord, before the filthy matter is purged out. Many bury their guilt in the grave of an ill memory; conscience smarts a little; at length the man forgets his sin, and there is an end of it; but that is only an ease before death. Business, or the affairs of life, often give ease in this case. When Cain is banished from the presence of the Lord, he falls a building of cities. When the

evil spirit came upon Saul, he calls not for his Bible, nor for the priests to converse with him about his case, but for music to play it away. So many, when their consciences begin to be uneasy, they fill their heads and hands with business, to divert themselves, and to regain ease at any rate. Yea, some will sin over the belly of their convictions, and so some get ease to their consciences, as Hazael gave to his master, by stifling him. Again, the performing of duties may give some ease to a disquieted conscience; and this is all that legal professors have recourse to, for quieting of their consciences. When conscience is wounded, they will pray, confess, mourn, and resolve to do so no more; and so they become whole again, without any application of the blood of Christ, by faith. But they, whose consciences are rightly quieted, come for peace and purging to the blood of sprinkling. Sin is a sweet morsel, that makes God's elect, sick souls, ere they get it vomited up; it leaves a sting behind it, which some one time or other, will create them no little pain.

Elihu shows us both the case and cure, Job xxxiii. Behold the case one may be in, whom God has thoughts of love to. He darteth convictions into his conscience, and makes them stick so fast, that he cannot rid himself of them, ver. 16, "He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction." His very body sickens, ver. 19, "He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain." He loseth his stomach, ver. 20, "His life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat." His body pines away, so that there is nothing on him but skin and bone, verse 21, "His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen, stick out." Though he be not prepared for death, he has no hopes of life, verse 22, "His soul draweth near unto the grave, and (which is the height of his misery) his life to the destroyers:" he is looking every moment when devils, these destroyers, Rom. ix. 11, these murderers, or man-slayers, John viii. 44, will come and carry away his soul to hell. O dreadful case! yet there is hope. God designs to "keep back his soul from the pit," ver. 18, although he bring him forward to the brink of it. Now, see how the sick man is cured. The physician's art cannot prevail here: the disease lies more inward, than that his medicines can reach it. It is soul trouble that has brought the body into this disorder, and therefore the remedies must be applied to the sick man's soul and conscience. The physician for this case must be a spiritual physician: the remedies must be spiritual, a righteousness, a ransom or atonement.

Upon the application of these, the soul is cured, the conscience is quieted, and the body recovers, ver. 23—26, "If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness: then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's, he shall return to the days of his youth. He shall pray unto God, and he shall be favourable unto him, and he shall see his face with joy." The proper physician for this patient, is a messenger, an interpreter,' ver. 23, that is, as some expositors, not without ground, understand it, the great Physician Jesus Christ, whom Job had called his Redeemer, ch. xix. 25. He is a messenger, 'the Messenger of the covenant of peace,' Mal. iii. 1, who comes seasonably to the sick man. He is an Interpreter, the great Interpreter of God's counsels of love to sinners, John i. 28, "One among a thousand, even the chief among ten thousand," Cant. v. 10. "One chosen out of the people," Psal. lxxxix. 29. One to whom the Lord "hath given the tongue of the learned, to speak a word in season to him that is weary," Isa. l. 4, 5, 6. It is he that is with him, by his Spirit, now, to "convince him of sin and judgment." His work now is to show unto him his uprightness, or his righteousness, i. e. the Interpreter Christ his righteousness; which is the only righteousness arising from the paying of a ransom, and upon which a sinner is "delivered from going down to the pit, And thus Christ is said to "declare God's name,' Psal. xxii. 22, and to "preach righteousness," Psal. xl. 9. The phrase is remarkable; it is not to show unto "the man," but "unto man, "his righteousness; which not obscurely intimates, that he is more than a man, who shows or declareth this righteousness. Compare Amos iv. 13, "He that formeth the mountains and created the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought." There seems to be in it a sweet allusion to the first declaration of this righteousness unto man; or, as the word is unto Adam after the fall, while he laid under terror from apprehensions of the wrath of God: which declaration was made by the Messenger, the Interpreter, namely, the eternal Word of the Son of God, called, "The Voice of the Lord God," Gen. iii. 8, and by him appearing, probably, in human shape. Now, while, by his Spirit, he is the Preacher of righteousness to the man, it is supposed the man lays hold on the offered righteousness; whereupon the ransom is applied to him, and he is "delivered from going down to the pit;" for God has a ransom for him. This is intimated to him: God saith, "Deliver him." ver. 24. Hereupon his conscience, being purged by the blood

ver. 24.

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