m, therefore the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to keep the Sabbath
day." Deut. v. Can any Gentile obey this instruction? It is impossible!
Moses said, "Behold I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the
Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go
to possess it. Keep, therefore, and do them, for this is your wisdom and
your understanding, in the sight of the nations which shall hear all these
statutes and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people. For what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and
judgments so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day."
Deut. iv, 5. The authority and glory of Christ forbid all such Judaizing
as that which we speak against. "He was given of God to be head over all
things to the church." "And He is head of all principality and power." The
Father put all things under Him. The prophet Isaiah said, "He shall not
fail, nor be discouraged till He hath set judgment in the earth, and the
isles shall wait for His law." Ch. xlii, 4. And Paul said, "Bear ye one
another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Gal. vi, 2.
The object of law is to regulate the exemplification of principles. Some
principle is exemplified in every act that man performs. And one principle
may be in a great variety of acts. The principle of hatred is exemplified
in a great many different actions; and the principle of love to God is
manifested, or exemplified, in every act of obedience to God. So the
spiritual may be brought out under different dispensations, and by
different laws, while it remains always the same. Indeed, principles are
unchangeable; they belong to the nature of things. Covenants, priesthoods,
dispensations and laws have changed, but principles, _never_. So the moral
objective of every law is the same, viz., to bring out and develop the
spiritual in man. To accomplish this great end it is necessary that the
evil principles of a carnal, or fleshly nature, should be restrained by
the penal sanctions of law, and the principles of man's higher nature
brought out by its motives of good. Such being the nature of principles,
and the facts of law, Paul says, "We know that the law is spiritual." And
again, "The law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit." "Do we then make void law through faith? God forbid; yea, we
establish law."
I have left the article out of this text because it is not in
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