can
man stand before God, nor God be his God. And likewise, seeing the gospel
was preached in paradise, and afterwards to Abraham, God could not be
false in his promise made to Abraham, neither could the promulgation of
the law that followed make that null which went before, Gal. iii. 17. What
meant all the ceremonial law? It shadowed out Jesus Christ, the only
sacrifice and propitiation. And this is the sum of the gospel salvation to
penitents believing in Christ, and looking through the sacrifices unto
him, and thus David's righteousness was the imputation of righteousness,
and not inherent holiness, Psal. xxxii. 1, 2; Rom. iv. 5. But 2. It used
to be a question, whether the law delivered upon mount Sinai was a
covenant of works or not. Some say, that the law which was delivered upon
mount Sinai was indeed a covenant of works, though they confess it was
preached with the covenant of grace, and not delivered to them to stand by
it or of intention to get righteousness by it, but to be subservient to
the covenant of grace. Others speak absolutely that the law upon mount
Sinai was a covenant of grace. We conceive this is but a contention about
words. The matter is clear in itself, (1) That neither is now the gospel
preached without the law, as ye may see in Christ's sermon upon the mount,
and his sermon to the young man, (Matt. chapters v., vi., vii., Mark x.
17,) nor yet was then the law preached without the gospel, as ye may see
in Exod. chap. xx. The preface to the commandments, and the second command
contains much of the gospel in them. Deut. xxx. 6, 7, &c., compared with
Rom. x. 6, &c., where Paul notes both the righteousness of faith and of
the works of the law. (2) Those who say the law on mount Sinai was a
covenant of works, do not assert that God gave it to be a covenant of
works, out of intention that men should seek salvation thereby, but they
make it only a schoolmaster to lead us unto Christ, and to discover our
sinful condition; and those who say it was a covenant of grace, consider
it in relation to God's end of sending it, and as it takes in all the
administration and doctrine of Moses. So there needs be no difficulty
here. The matter seems clear, that the covenant of works was preached by
Moses, and so it was by Paul, (Rom. x., Gal. iii.) and that neither Paul
nor Moses preached the covenant of works, but as a broken covenant; not as
such that men could stand unto, or be saved by. No man can preach the
gosp