pleased Him to abate at least, if not entirely to remove the nuisance, by giving a law which, though not perfect in itself, was well suited to the manners and circumstances of that age and nation for whose use it was principally intended; and, if it did not effect that which it was reserved for Christianity to accomplish, the purifying of " a peculiar people zealous of good works'," yet separated, at least, one nation from the grossest and most grievous of those sins and errours into which the Gentiles had fallen; and sanctified them to Himself as guardians of His name, and the depositories of those promises and prophecies which were, to the universal world, the charters of future salvation. As purifying, then, the Israelites from idolatry; as keeping them if not free from sin, yet comparatively free from the worst and most hateful practices of their neighbours; and as supplying a somewhat stronger ground of virtue than the law of nature could supply, the law of Moses may be truly said to have been "added because of transgressions," and to have answered the object of God as a temporary check to the overflowing of the offences of mankind.

Again, the law was added " on account of transgressions" as a sacramental means of grace, and a pledge of that great atonement whereby all the repeated transgressions of men were, at length, to obtain their pardon. We believe indeed that, from

1 Titus ii. 14.

the first martyr, Abel, down to the good old Simeon, who prayed for his release from life on the birth of his Lord, and thirty years, at least, before the sacrifice for sin was offered on Mount Calvary, we believe that the blood of Christ had power to cleanse from sin those who looked forward to it, in faith, beforehand, as well as those who now, in faith, look back to it. And it is equally true that the sacrifices and purifications of the law had, in themselves, no power to put away sin, nor any value but what they obtained by a reference to the blood of the Messiah. But still they were seals and pledges of that mercy; still they were tokens whereby God assured the penitent sinner of His resolution to wipe away the guilt of the world; and the mercy of God which had determined Him to pardon such a sinner, led Him also to comfort and support him beforehand with the assurance of future pardon. Nor is this all, for as God hath ordained that the grace whereby Christians forsake sin should be sought for and received by them through certain actions, as baptism and the Lord's Supper, commemorative of Christ's death; so He also thought fit that the same necessary spiritual aid should be obtained by the house of Israel through ceremonies and sacrifices whereby that great sacrifice was prefigured. Thus it was then that the ceremonies of the law were to the Jew what the sacraments of the Gospel are to the Christian, a public expression of his faith in Christ's blood, "a means of grace and a pledge to assure

him thereof;" and this grace and this pledge were rendered necessary "because of transgressions."

Thirdly, the law of Moses was given "because of transgressions," as a looking-glass wherein our human nature might see its own weakness and deformity, and thus be brought, with deeper lowliness and warmer love, to lay hold on the offered merits of the Redeemer. In the law was shown forth the anger of God against sin; in the law were exhibited the purity and holiness which were necessary to purchase His approbation; and the difference which every man felt between his own character and this perfect model; and the impossibility which he could not but feel in himself to equal or resemble it, while they were sufficient to have driven him to despair if no atonement had been provided for sin, made him cling with ten thousand fold more of joy, and love, and thankfulness to that wonderful and precious atonement which God had prepared in His Son. The Jew, on looking on the law, perceived its spiritual nature, and that he himself was carnal, sold to sin. He felt another love in his members warring against the law in his mind'; he felt that he was unable of himself to merit Heaven or to escape the wrath of God; and when he was now ready to cry out, "Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" he found on a sudden his condemnation withdrawn, his ransom paid, his chain of sin unloosed by the

1 Rom. vi. 23.

2 Rom. vii. 24.

meritorious life, the redeeming sufferings, and the sanctifying grace of Jesus Christ our Lord! Well might his thankfulness be proportioned to the dangers from which he was set free, and blessed was that knowledge of himself and his condition which the law supplied "because of transgressions."

But all these ends which the law so excellently answered, these ends were temporary only, and lasted no longer than "till the seed should come to whom the promise was made" that in Him all the nations of the earth should be blessed. The assurance and certainty of everlasting life and of a just and equal judgement after death which Christ declared to all men, and of which He gave an ample proof by His own resurrection, are a far more powerful sanction to the law of nature and conscience, and the purity of Christ's example is a far more perfect rule of life than any which were supplied by the law of Moses. The sacrifices for sin, which were "a shadow of things to come"," faded away at once when those realities were present which they only prefigured; and the forms which were proper as types of an expected Saviour were fitly replaced by that feast of thanksgiving, which became those who rejoiced in an atonement already offered.

The anger, lastly, of God against sin, and the purity which were required to please Him, were shown forth more strongly than ever in the dread

1 Col. ii. 17.

ful expiation which the sins of the world required, and the aweful fact that it was His own beloved Son, in whom only He was well pleased.

If then, we are asked, why the law of Moses was given by God? the answer will be, "It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made." If we are asked, whether we are bound to keep that law? we should reply that it was not given to us nor to our fathers, and that we live under a better covenant, and have, in the example of Christ, a better rule of life before us. If it should be further enquired, why, then, do we read the Scriptures of the Old Testament? we may answer, that we read them to confirm our faith in Christ by learning all that wonderful chain of prophecy which, from Adam to Moses, and from Moses to Malachi, fixed the attention of the world on Him before His coming; that we read it to increase our thankfulness, by comparing the glorious light which we now enjoy, with the dim and blunted rays which were cast from the veiled countenance of Moses; that we read it to quicken our godly jealousy, and make us more active in the service of the Lord, by observing the zeal which, with far less advantages than ourselves, the ancient patriarchs exhibited. If, lastly, the enquirer should ask what obligation we have, since the law of Moses has no weight with us, to the practice of moral and religious duties? let our answer be given, not only with our lips but in our lives, that the greater the benefits bestowed, the