from all their sin and misery; and as an effectual source of joy unspeakable, and life eternal. In the

Old and New Testament, the grace of God which bringeth salvation, doth appear unto all men; it shines forth in all its light and glory, like the rising sun, upon all nations, upon every creature, and upon sinners of every character, such as the "foolish, disobedient, and deceived, who are serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." The transcendent benignity and astonishing love of God towards men in these hideous circumstances, appeareth beaming forth its illustrious and reviving comforts upon mankind in the gospel of Christ. The kindness of God appeareth in this gracious revelation, without any dif ference, to Jews and Gentiles, to sinners of every rank, every character, and every age, to the servant and his master, to the vile prostitute and the modest virgin, to the abandoned profligate and the man of decent conversation. What the law saith in its rigorous demands and alarming threatenings, it saith to all that are under it; and what the gospel saith in its precious declarations, it saith unto all people that hear its joyful sound.

In the dispensation of the gospel, the writings of the prophets and apostles declare unto us an expedient that is every way adequate to the exigencies of our sinful and wretched condition, while they reveal unto us eternal life in the Son of God. They certify us of the truth of the declarations they contain, relative to this inestimable privilege of free and everlasting salvation, assuring us that they are truth, and are no lie, no cunningly-devised fable, no imposition

on our credulity. Moreover, they set the blessings which they declare, before the children of men, without any difference, as the free and unconditional gift of God unto a lost and perishing world; that every sinner, who hears of eternal life in the Son of God, by the declarations of the gospel, may immediately receive Christ and his unsearchable riches, or assure himself of salvation by Christ alone, without waiting for any convictions of sin, any thirsting after righteousness, any inward motions, feelings, experiences, or desires, as any way requisite to such a reception

or assurance.

This revelation of the grace of the gospel in Christ, under the form of a free gift to guilty and ruined sinners, is witnessed, not only by the doctrines of our Saviour and his apostles, but by the law and the prophets. When we speak of the gift of God unto men, we mean, his ordaining or appointing that which is given, to be a means of comfort or advantage to those for whom it is ordained or appointed; but as the purposes of God are a profound secret until they be revealed, it is necessary they be made known or declared, in order that the persons concerned in that comfort or privilege may see the concern they have in it. Such declarations are properly called a gift, when the comfort or benefit they report is ordained or appointed to be enjoyed by the person who credits the declaration, without performing any work to obtain that benefit, but only taking possession of it, and using it for himself. Viewed in this light, we will find that all the declarations in Scripture concerning the blessings of the new covenant, are really, to all intents and purposes, a gift of these blessings

unto the persons to whom they are revealed, as the ordinance of heaven for saving perishing sinners of their character.

That this deeply-interesting view of the revelation of the kindness and love of God towards man, by freely giving his only-begotten Son unto the world, and freely giving us all things with him, may engage our thoughts with greater attention; the Holy Ghost has given us a short, but accurate abridgment of gospel-doctrine, together with the manner of proposing it unto mankind, in these words: "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." This eternal life is given, in the record of the gospel, to many who make God a liar, "because they believe not the record that God gave of his Son." The whole language of Scripture agrees to this view of the dispensation of the gospel. Christ calls himself "the gift of God." The apostle speaks of "the gift of righteousness;" and tells us, that whereas the wages of sin is death, "the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." The privileges of the gospel are said to be " things that are freely given to us of God." When Jesus was instructing Nicodemus concerning the new birth, he used the following similitude: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his onlybegotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In this passage, the lifting up of the Son of man is manifestly of the same import with God's giving his only-be

gotten Son; and both the expressions refer to the manner of proposing him in the gospel, that the world may believe on him, and believing may have life and salvation through his name. He is pro

posed in the same way to a perishing and guilty world, that the brazen serpent was to Israel in the wilderness. Every one that was stung with the fiery, serpents throughout the whole camp, was expressly directed to turn his eyes towards that brazen serpent elevated on a pole. The brazen serpent was lifted up by Moses, and given as the ordinance of God unto Israel, that every one who was stung might behold it, and beholding it might be instantly healed of his dangerous wound. Christ is revealed, in like manner, by the gospel unto mankind-sinners; that every one may perceive and use his right to Christ, and eternal life in him, upon the alone sufficient warrant of his being freely given by God unto all. Christ is given to mankind-sinners, as the manna was given to the Israelites, to all the Israelites both good and bad without any distinction. When the manna made its first appearance, when the people of God neither knew what it was, nor for whom intended, both these particulars were explained by Moses: "This is the bread which the Lord hath

given you to eat." No mention is made of any individual person; yet the whole congregation looked upon this as an undoubted permission, both for themselves and their children, to gather, to fetch home, and to use the miraculous food. Our Lord, alluding to this very miracle, says, to a promiscuous carnal multitude, that sought him only because they did eat of the loaves which he miraculously multi

sess.

plied, "My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven." He giveth you his beloved Son, his divinely excellent righteousness and eternal life, though not in actual enjoyment, yet in a full right to posThis he giveth you in the free indefinite grant of his word; without which grant, any attempt to possess, even in the most upright of men, would be illegal and presumptuous: by virtue of which grant, even the most abandoned sinner has an unquestionable warrant to receive and possess all the riches of Christ.

Upon the whole it seems evident, that the grace of God is proposed to mankind-sinners by the gospel, not as a matter of bargain, requiring them to keep the commandments if they would enter into life; nor as the subject of sale, commanding them to buy salvation with money or with a price; but as an absolutely free gift, conveyed in the most unlimited and ample form, to the most unworthy and the most miserable of sinners.

3. The Scriptures set the law and the gospel before mankind, as one undivided system, operating with united influence to manifest the glory of God, and to promote the salvation of sinners. The law and the gospel are always distinguished, and even opposed to one another: "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith, speaketh on this wise, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt bé saved." If election unto eternal life be of "grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no