THE GOD-GLORIFYING TRANSITION.

'God be thanked, that though you were the servants of sin, ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you; being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.'Rom. vi. 17, 18.

When we direct attention to any given portion of the word of God we wish it to be distinctly understood that we recognize it as a part only of a perfect whole-a part of that glorious constitution given us by God under his Son, by the ministration of the Spirit, and contained in the New Testament, the grand and distinguishing characteristic of which is that it reaches to the purifying of the heart with a view to the perfecting of the character, that we may be disciples indeed, and filled with all the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Still farther, we wish it to be distinctly noticed, that while we hold forth the new covenant or constitution thus given us by God under his Son, we would not for a single moment detract from the glory that belonged to the old covenant as emanating also from God; but with the apostle we affirm that it had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excelleth, 2 Cor. iii. 7-18. It is upon this all-important distinction, so luminously set before us in this passage, that are based the awfully solemn and momentous appeals of Heb. ii. 1-4, x. 28-31, and xii. 24-29. With such a distinction, drawn by the unerring pencil of heaven, and such appeals, based upon this distinction, it is passing strange that there should have been going on for fifteen hundred years such a process of amalgamation of the two covenants as to tarnish the glory of both, and paralyze every effort made to facilitate the advance of the truth. It is surely high time for the people of God to awake from their slumbers and carry out in all its grandeur the fact, that while the law came by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and that under the renovating power of the truth, and conquering energy of that grace, shew to the world that they are the living epistles of Christ.

The law we honour as coming from God, in all its prophetic descriptions, in all its typical representations, and in all its moral requirements. But higher it cannot rise, and higher it never was intended to rise than as being a schoolmaster to bring to Christ, that men might be justified by

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the faith; after the faith has come, Christians are longer under a schoolmaster, for, says Paul to the Galatian converts, 'ye are all the children of God by the faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.' Moses, as a servant, was faithful in all his house, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ, as a son over his own house,' claims the supremacy, and has a right to claim it. And how cheerfully did Moses lay his honour at his feet, when he testified, saying, 'A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you;' and again when he appeared, with Jesus and Elias on the mount of transfiguration, and the theme of their conversation was the decease which the Messiah was to accomplish at Jerusalem-a decease by which he was to make an end of offering for sin, make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness, by all which he was to supersede the authority of Moses and Elias, as is evident from the fact that a cloud overshadowed them, and there came a voice out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him.' We cannot, then, wonder at Paul reminding the thoughtless Galatians (and foolish they were like many in our day) that if righteousness came by the law then Christ had died in vain. Neither the believers at Rome nor in Galatia, then, had become the servants of righteousness by the law, but by the faith —that form of doctrine to which they had given themselves up. Christ, therefore had not died in vain, for without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin, and the blood of bulls and of goats was incompetent to effect this as it respected the conscience, but the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Dead in vain? Never! for it was the close of a train of accomplishment which justified the Saviour in saying to his Father, I have glorified thee upon the earth; I have finished the work thou hast given me to do.' Dead in vain? Never! for by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. The sanctified are those separated to the service and worship of God, according to the arrangements of the new institution; and be it remarked, that we become the subjects of the power of his one perfect offering only in so far as we bend our whole spirit, soul, and body to the stipu lations and arrangements of the new covenant, which is well

ordered in all things and sure. This is clearly set before us in many portions of the New Testament, especially Heb. viii. ix. and x. chapters, from all which we learn that the religion of Jesus Christ has to do with the whole man, and that in no instance are its saving operations carried on without an appeal to, and a perfect concurrence of the understanding, will, and affections of the individual saved. By grace are ye saved' (proclaims the oracles of heaven), 'through the faith,' mark it, 'through the faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.' Most assuredly it is the gift of God, for truth as well as grace came by Jesus Christ, and both are necessary to effect our salvation, and both originated with and emanated from God, who is the God of salvation, and to him as such will arise the highest notes of praise from all holy intelligences through eternity. How emphatic, then, is the declaration of Eph. ii. 9, Not of works, lest any man should boast; for we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which he hath before ordained that we should walk in.' Romans, chapters v. and vi., set luminously before us this saving grace in its origin, and in all its operations through the faith, and in its commencement, progress, and consummation of the divine life in man. And there we observe two antagonistic powers, represented by the terms sin and grace. 'That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." These powers are not the mere speculations of the philosophy of the schools, but the clear annunciations of heaven as matters of fact. They are represented as holding kingly authority, governing by controlling principles, which lead to momentous results diametrically opposed to each other. Grace reigns through an equitable channel, devised and arranged by infinite wisdom, justifying God in the whole of his procedure toward man, and leaving man without the least shadow of excuse if he be not saved. All this is carried on by, and under the authority of Jesus, who is the Christ, the Son of God, and Saviour of man, and who is crowned Lord of all; for although he was crucified in weakness, he lives by the power of God, and in reference to all who are in Christ the same power of God-a divine energy-the Spirit of the living God-the Spirit of all grace and power carries on its emancipating, renovating, and moulding operations, not indeed, as has been already noticed, without the perfect concurrence of the understanding, will,

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