Part 8
1 " For when," says the apostle, " it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away."
Chap. 28. [xvi.] The Holy Ghost, ichy called the finger of God.
" Now the Lord is that Spirit : and where the Spirit of the
3 Now this Spirit of God by whose
Lord is, there is liberty."
gift we are justified, whence it comes to pass that we rejoice, in that we sin not,—a state of liberty ; even as, when we are without this Spirit, it delights us to sin,—a condition of slavery, from the works of which it is incumbent on us to abstain ;—this Holy Spirit, [I say,] through whom love is shed abroad in our hearts, which is the fulfilment of the law, is
4 Is it not designated in the gospel as " the finger of God."
because those very tables of the law were written by the finger of God, that the Spirit of God by whom we are sanctified is also the finger of God, in order that, living by faith, we may do good works through love ? Who is not touched by the congruity [of the idea,] and at the same time not regardless of the diversity implied therein ? For as fifty days are reckoned from the celebration of the Passover (which was ordered by
5 to signify,
Moses to be offered by slaying the typical lamb,
1 Matt, xxvii. 51. 2 2 Cor. iii. 16. 3 2 Cor. iii. 17.
4 Luke xi. 20. 5 Ex. xii. 3.
186 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. XXX.
indeed, the future death of the Lord) to the day when Moses received the law written on the tables of stone by the ringer of God/ so, in like manner, from the death and resurrection of Him who was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
2 there were fifty complete days up to the time when the finger of God—that is, the Holy Spirit—gathered together in one
3 perfect company those who believed [in the Lord Jesus Chr;st.]
Chai\ 29. [xvii.]—A comparison of the law of Moses and of the new law.
Now, amidst this admirable correspondence, there is at least this very considerable diversity in the cases, in that the people in the earlier instance were deterred by a horrible dread from approaching the place where the law was given ; whereas in the other case the Holy Grhost came upon them who were gathered together in expectation of His promised gift. TJiere it was on tables of stone that the finger of God operated ; here it was on the hearts of men. TJiere it was outwardly that the law was registered, so that the unrighteous were terrified by
4 here it was inwardly given, so that we might be justified by it.
5 "For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment,"—such, of course, as was written on those tables, —" it is briefly comprehended," says he, " in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no
6 Now this was not written on the tables of stone, but " is shed ill to his neighbour : therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto
7 God's law, therefore, is love. " To it the carnal mind us."
8 When, however, the works of love are written on tables to alarm the carnal mind, is not subject, neither indeed can be."
there arises the law of works and " the letter which killeth " the transgressor ; but when love itself is shed abroad in the hearts of believers, then we have the law of faith, and the spirit which gives life to him that loves.
Chap. 30.
Now, observe how consonant this diversity is with those words of the apostle which I quoted not long ago in another
1 Ex. xxxi. 18. 2 Isa. liii. 7. 3 Acts ii. 2. 4 Ex. xix. 12, 16.
5 Acts ii. 1-47. 6 Rom. xiii. 9, 10. 7 Rom. v. 5. 8 Rom. viii. 7.
CHAP. XXXI.] THE " LETTEE " CANNOT JUSTIFY. 1ST connection, and which I postponed for a more careful consideration afterwards : " Forasmuch;' says he, w as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." *
See how he shows that the one is written externally to man, that it may alarm him from without ; the other within man himself, that it may justify him from within. He speaks of the " fleshy tables of the heart," not of the carnal mind, but of a living agent possessing sensation, in comparison with a stone, which is senseless. The assertion which he subsequently makes,—that " the children of Israel could not look stedfastly into the face of Moses," and that he accordingly spoke to them through a veil,
2—signifies that the letter of the law justifies no man, but that rather a veil overspreads the mind in reading the Old Testament, until it turns to Christ, and the veil is removed ;—in other words, until the mind resorts to grace, and understands that from Him accrues to us the justification, whereby we do what He commands ; and His commandment He gives us, in order that while failing in ourselves, we may flee to Him for refuge. Accordingly, after most guardedly making this admission, " Such trust have we
3 the apostle immediately goes on to add the statement which underlies our subject, to prevent through Christ to God-ward," our confidence being attributed to any strength of our own. He says : " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves ; but our sufficiency is of God ; who also hath made us able ministers of the Xew Testament ; not of the letter, but of the spirit : for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
Chap. 31. [xviii.]— Tlie old law ministers death ; the new, righteousness.
Now, since, as he says in another passage, " the law was added because of transgressions
" 5 meaning the law which is written externally to man, he therefore designates it both as
6 and " the ministration of condemnation ;" 7 but the other, that is, the law of the Xew
" the ministration of death,"
6 Gal. iii. 19. e 2 Cor. iii. 7. 7 o Cor. iii. 9.
188 ON THE SPIRIT AED THE LETTER. [CHAP. XXXI.
Testament, he calls " the ministration of the spirit l and;" 2 because through the
" the ministration of righteousness spirit we work righteousness, and are delivered from the condemnation due to transgression. The one, therefore, vanishes away ; the other abides, for the terrifying schoolmaster will be dispensed with, when love has succeeded to fear. Now " where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 3 This ministration, however, is vouchsafed to us, as the apostle says, not on account of our deserving, but from His mercy.
" Seeing then that we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, let us faint not ; but let us renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully."
4 By this " craftiness " and " deceitfulness " he would have us understand the hypocrisy with which the proud and arrogant would fain be supposed to be righteous. Whence in the psalm, which the apostle cites in testimony of this very grace of God, it is said, " Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin, and in whose mouth is no guile."
5 This is the confession of lowly saints, who do not boast to be what they are not. Then, in a passage which follows not long after, the apostle writes thus
" For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
6 This is the knowledge of His glory, whereby we know that He is the light which illumines our darkness. And I beg you to observe how he inculcates this very point : "We have," says he, " this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be
7 Then further on he commends in
of God, and not of us."
glowing terms tins same grace, in the Lord Jesus Christ, until he comes to that vestment of the righteousness of faith,
" clothed with which we cannot be found naked," and whilst longing for which "we groan, being burdened" with mortality,
" earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven," u that mortality might be swallowed
1 2 Cor. iii. 8. 2 2 Cor. iii. 9. 3 2 Cor. iii. 17. * 2 Cor. iv. 1, 2.
6 Ps. xxxii. 2. c 2 Cor. iv. 5, 6. 7 2 Cor. iv. 7.
CHAP. XXXIII.] PROPHECY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 189
1 Observe what he then says : * Now He that up of life."
hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath;" 2 and by and by he given unto us the earnest of the Spirit thus briefly draws the conclusion of the matter : " That we
3—this might be made the righteousness of God in Him/' being not the righteousness whereby God is Himself righteous, but that whereby we are made righteous by Him.
Chap. 32. [xix.] The Christian faith touching the assistance of grace.
Let no Christian then stray from this faith, which alone is the Christian one ; and, in case any one should feel ashamed to say that we become righteous through our own selves, without the grace of God working in us,—because he sees, when such an allegation is made, how unable pious believers are to endure it,—let him not resort to any subterfuge on this point, by affirming that the reason why we cannot become righteous without the operation of God's grace is this, that He gave the law, He instituted its teaching, He commanded its precepts of good. No doubt, without His assisting grace, it is " the letter which killeth ;" but when the life-giving spirit is present, the law causes that to be loved as written within, which it once caused to be feared as written without.
Chap. 33. The prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the New Testament.
Observe how this is also '[declared] in that testimony which was given by the prophet on this subject in the most emphatic way : " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will consummate a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah ; not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. Because they continued not in my covenant, I also have rejected them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel ; After those days, saith the
Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : for
1 See 2 Cor. v. 1-4. 2 2 Cor. v. 5. 3 2 Cor. v. 21.
190 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [£HAP. XXXIV.
they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their
1 What say we to this ? One nowhere, or hardly anywhere, except in this iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
passage of the prophet, finds in the Old Testament Scriptures any mention so made of the New Testament as to indicate it in so many words. It is no doubt often referred to and foretold as about to be given, but not so plainly as to have its very name mentioned. Consider then carefully, what difference God has testified as existing between the two testaments—the old covenant and the new.
Chap. 34. The law; gract.
After saying, " Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt," observe the addition which He makes : " Because they continued not in my covenant." He reckons it as their own fault that they did not continue in God's covenant [or testament,] lest the law, which they received at that time, should seem to be deserving of blame. For it was the very law that Christ " came not to
2 Nevertheless, it is not by that law
destroy, but to fulfil."
that the ungodly are made righteous, but by grace ; and this change is effected by the life-giving Spirit, without whom the letter kills. " For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe,"
3—out of which promise, that is, from the kindness of God, the law is fulfilled, which, however, without the said promise only makes men transgressors, either by the actual commission of some sinful deed, if the flame of concupiscence have greater power than even the restraints of fear, or at least by their mere will, if the fear of punishment transcend the pleasure of lust. In what he says, " The
Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe," it is the benefit of the actual " conclusion " which is asserted.
1 Jer. xxxi. 31-34. 2 Matt. v. 17. 3 Gal. iii. 21, 22.
CHAP. XXXV.] THE OLD AND THE NEW LAW. 191
For to what purposes " hath it concluded" except as it is expressed in the next sentence : " Before, indeed, faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up [or concluded'] for the
1 The law was therefaith which was afterwards revealed?"
fore given, in order that grace might be sought ; grace was given, in order that the law might be fulfilled. Now it was not through any fault of its own that the law was not fulfilled, but by the fault of the carnal mind ; and this fault was to be demonstrated by the law, and healed by grace. " For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh ; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
2 Accordingly, in the passage which we cited from the prophet, he says, " I will consummate a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house flesh, but after the Spirit."
3 Now what means / will consummate but I iv ill of Judah."
fulfil ? " Not, [he goes on to say,] according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt." 4
Chap. 35. [xx.] The old law ; the new law.
The one [covenant or testament] was therefore old, because the other is new. But whence comes it that one is old and the other new, if the same law, which said in the Old
Testament, " Thou shalt not covet,"
5 is fulfilled by the New Testament ? " Because," says the prophet, " they continued not in my covenant, I have also rejected them, saith the
6 It is then on account of the hurt done by the old man, which was by no means healed by the letter which commanded and threatened, that it is called the old testament [or covenant ;] whereas the other is called the new testament [or
Lord."
covenant,] because of the newness of the spirit, which heals the new man of the fault of the old. Then consider what follows, and see in how clear a light the fact is placed, that men who have faith are unwilling to trust in themselves
" Because," says he, " this is the covenant which I will make
1 Gal. iii. 23. 2 Rom. viii. 3, 4. 3 Jer. xxxi. 31.
4 Jer. xxxi. 32. 5 Ex. xx. 17. 6 Jer. xxxi. 32.
192 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER [CHAP. XXXVI.
with the house of Israel ; After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
1 See how similarly the apostle states it in the pashearts."
sage we have already quoted : " Not in tables of stone, but in
2 because [written] " not with ink,
fleshy tables of the heart,"
3 And I apprehend
but with the Spirit of the living God."
that the apostle in this passage had no other reason for mentioning " the New Testament " (" who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament ; not of the letter, but of the spirit "), than because he had an eye to the words of the prophet, when he said, " Not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart," inasmuch as in the prophet it runs : " I will write it in their hearts."
Chap. 36. [xxi.] The law written in our hearts. What then is God's law written by God Himself in the hearts of men, but the very presence of the Holy Spirit, who is " the finger of God," and by whose presence is shed abroad
5 and in our hearts the love which is the fulfilling of the law,
6 Now the promises of the Old
the end of the commandment ?
Testament are earthly ; and yet (with the exception of the sacramental ordinances which were the shadow of things to come, such as circumcision, the Sabbath and other obser-
7 and the vances of days, and the ceremonies of certain meats, complicated ritual of sacrifices and sacred things which suited
" the oldness " of the carnal law and its slavish yoke) it contains such precepts of righteousness as we are even now taught to observe, especially those which were expressly drawn out on the two tables without figure or shadow : for instance, " Thou shalt not commit adultery," " Thou shalt do no murder," '* Thou
8 " and whatsoever other commandment is shalt not covet," briefly comprehended in the saying, Thou shalt love thy
9—nevertheless, as in the said Testament earthly and temporal promises are, as I have said, neighbour as thyself;" recited, and these are goods of this corruptible flesh (although they prefigure those heavenly and everlasting blessings which
1 Jer. xxxi. 33. 2 2 Cor. iii. 3. 3 2 Cor. iii. 3.
4 Jer. xxxi. 33. 5 Rom. xiii. 10. 6 1 Tim. i. 5.
7 See Retractations, ii. 37. 8 Ex. xx. 13, 14, 17. 9 Rom. xiii. 9.
CHAP. XXXVII.] NATURE OF THE PROMISED REWARD. 193 belong to the New Testament), what is now promised is blessing for the heart itself, blessing for the mind, blessing of the spirit, in other words, a blessing for the understanding to appreciate ; since it is said, " I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their hearts will I write them,"
1—by which He signified that men would not fear the law which alarmed them externally, but would love the very righteousness of the law which dwelt inwardly in their hearts.
Chap. 37. [xxii.]— The eternal reward. He then went on to state the reward to ensue : " I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
2 This corresponds to the Psalmist's words to God : " It is good for me to hold me fast by God."
3 " I will be," says God, " their God, and they shall be my people." What is better than this blessing, what happier than this happiness,—to live to God, to live on
God, with whom is the fountain of life, and in whose light we shall see light ?
4 Of this life the Lord Himself speaks in these words : " This is life eternal, that they may know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent,"
5 —that is, " to know Thee and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent" as the one very God. For no less than this did [Christ] Himself promise to those who love Him : " He that loveth me, keepeth my commandments ; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will
6—in the form, no doubt, of God, wherein He is equal to the Father; not in the form of a manifest myself unto him," servant, for in this He will display Himself even to the wicked also. Then indeed shall that come to pass which is written, " Let the ungodly man be taken away, that he see
7 Then also shall " the wicked
not the glory of the Lord."
go into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into life
6 Now this eternal life, as I have just mentioned, has been defined to be, that they may know the one true God.
eternal"
Accordingly John again says : " Beloved, now are we the sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be
1 Jer. xxxi. 33. 2 Jer. xxxi. 33. 8 Ps. lxxiii. 2S. 4 Ps. xxxvi. 9. 6 John xvii. 3. 6 John xiv. 21.
7 Isa. xxvi. 10 (Septuagint). 8 Matt. xxv. 4G. 9 John xvii. 3.
194 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. XXXIX.
but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him ; for we shall see Him as He is." * This likeness begins even now to be recast in us, while the inward man is being renewed from day to day, according to the image of Him that created him.2
Chap. 38. [xxiii.]— The re-formation which is now being effected, compared with the perfection of the life to come.
But what is this change, and how great, in comparison with the perfect eminence which is then to be realized ? The apostle applies an illustration, such as it is, derived from well-known facts, to these indescribable subjects, comparing the period of childhood with the age of manhood. "When I was a child," says he, " I used to speak as a child, to understand as a child, to think as a child ; but when I became a man, I
3 He then immediately explains why he said this in these words : " For now we see through put aside childish things."
a glass, darkly ; but then [we shall see] face to face : now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
Chap. 39. [xxiv.] The eternal reward which is specially declared in the New Testament, foretold by the prophet.
Accordingly, in our prophet likewise, whose testimony we are dealing with, there is this additional statement, that in God is the reward, in Him the end, in Him the perfection of happiness, in Him the sum of the happy life eternal. For after saying, " I will be their God, and they shall be my people," he at once adds, " And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : for they shall all know me, from the least of them
5 Well, the present is certainly
unto the greatest of them."
the time of the new testament, the promise of which is given by the prophet in the words which we have quoted from his prophecy. Wherefore then does each man still say even now to his neighbour and his brother, " Know the Lord ?" Or is it not perhaps meant that this is everywhere said when the gospel is preached, and when this is its very proclamation ? For on what ground does the apostle call himself " a teacher
1 1 John iii. 2. 2 Col. iii. 10. 3 1 Cor. xiii. 11.
4 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 5 Jer. xxxi. 34.
CHAP. XL.] WHO ARE THE "ALL?"' 195 of the Gentiles," * if it be not that what he himself implies in the following passage becomes realized : " How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ?" 2 Since, then, this preaching is now everywhere spreading, in what way is it the time of the new testament of which the prophet spoke in the words, " And they shall not every man teach his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord ; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them,"
J unless it be that he has included in his prophetic forecast the eternal reward of the said new testament, by promising us the most blessed contemplation of God Himself ?
Chap. 40. How that is to be the reward of all ; the apostle earnestly defends grace. What then is the import of the " All, from the least of them unto the greatest of them," but all that belong spiritually to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah,—that is, to the children of Isaac, to the seed of Abraham ? For such is the promise, wherein it was said to him, " In Isaac shall thy seed be called ; for they which are the children of the flesh are not the children of God : but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this ; but when Eebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth,) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger." 4 This is the house of Israel, or rather the house of Judah, on account of Christ, who came of the tribe of Judah. This is the house of the children of promise,—not by reason of their own merits, but of the kindness of God. For God promises what He Himself performs : He does not Himself promise, and another perform ; which course of conduct would no longer be giving a promise, but uttering a prophecy. Hence it is " not of works, but of Him that calleth,"
1 1 Tim. ii. 7. 2 Rom. x. 14. 3 Jer. xxxi. 34.
196 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. XLI.
lest the result should be their own, not God's ; lest the reward should be ascribed not to His grace, but to their due and so grace should be no longer that grace which was so earnestly defended and maintained by him who, though the least of the apostles, laboured more abundantly than all the rest,—not himself indeed, but the grace of God that was with
2 He says,—" All" the
1 " They shall all know me,"
him.
house of Israel and house of Judah. " All," however, " are
3 but they only to whom it not Israel which are of Israel," is said in " the psalm concerning the morning aid "
4 (that is, concerning the new refreshing light, meaning that of the new testament), " All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him ; and
5 All the seed, without
fear Him, all ye the seed of Israel."
exception, even the entire seed of the promise and of the called, but only of those who are the called according to His
6 " For whom He did predestinate, them He also purpose.
called ; and whom He called, them He also justified ; and whom He justified, them He also glorified."
7 " Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace ; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed : not to that only which is of the law,"—that is, which comes from the Old Testament into the New,—"but to that also which is of faith," which was indeed prior to the law, even " the faith of Abraham," meaning those who copy of Abraham,—" who is the father of us all ; as it is written, I have made thee the father of many nations."
8 Now all these predestinated ones, who are also called, and justified, and glorified, shall know God by virtue of the new covenant or testament, from the least to the greatest of them.
Chap. 41. The law written in the heart, and the reward of the eternal contemplation of God. belong to the new covenant ; who among the saints are the least and the greatest. As then the law of works, which was written on the tables of stone, and its recompense, the land of promise, which the house of the carnal Israel after their liberation from Egypt received, belonged to the old testament, so the law of faith,
1 1 Cor. xv. 9, 10. 2 Jer. xxxi. 34. 3 Horn. ix. 6.
4 See title of Ps. xxii. (xxi. Sept.) in the Sept. 5 Ps. xxii. 23.
6 Ftom. viii. 28. 7 R m. viii. 30. 8 Rom. iv. 16, 17.
CHAP. XLI.] " THE LEAST," " THE GREATEST " WHO ? 197 written on the heart, and its reward, the beatific vision which the house of the (spiritual Israel, when delivered from the present world, shall perceive, belong to the new testament. Then shall come to pass the issue which the apostle describes
" Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, they shall cease ; whether there be knowledge, it
!—even that imperfect knowledge of " the
shall vanish away,"
2 in which this present life is passed, and which is child but " in part," and " through a glass," and " as an enigma." 3
Because of this, indeed, "prophecy" is necessary, for still to the past succeeds the future ; and because of this, too,
" tongues " are required,—that is, a multiplicity of expressive signs,—since it is by successive signs that a succession of ideas is suggested to him who does not as yet contemplate with a perfectly purified mind the everlasting light of transparent truth. " When that, however, which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away," 4 because then what appeared to the flesh in assumed flesh shall display
Itself as It is in Itself to all who love It ; then it shall be
5 then shall we eternal life for us to know the one very God
6 because "we shall then know, even as we are known be like Him,;" 7 then " they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord ; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, [saith the Lord.]" 8 Now this may be understood in several ways : Either, that in that life the saints shall differ one from another in glory, as star from star.
It matters not how the expression runs,—whether (as in the passage before us) it be, u From the least of them unto the greatest of them," or the other way, From the greatest unto the least. And, in like manner, it matters not even if we understand " tJie least " to mean those who simply believe, and u the greatest " those who have been further able to understand—so far as may be in this world—the light which is incorporeal and unchangeable. Or, " the least " may mean those who are later in time ; whilst by * the greatest " He may
1 1 Cor. xiii.
* 1 Cor. xiii. 10. 5 John xvii. 3. 6 1 John iii. 2.
7 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 8 Jer. xxxi. 34. ,
198 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. XLII.
have intended to indicate those who were prior in time. For they are all to receive the promised vision of God hereafter, since it was for us that they foresaw the future which would be better than their present, that they without us should not
1 And so the earlier are found
arrive at complete perfection.
to be the lesser, because they were less deferred in time ; as in the case of the gospel "penny a day," which is given for an illustration.
2 This penny they are the first to receive who came last into the vineyard. Or, " the least and the greatest" ought perhaps to be taken in some other sense, which at present does not occur to my mind.
Chap. 42. [xxv.] Difference between the old and the new testaments.
I beg of you, however, carefully to observe, as far as you can, the point which I am endeavouring to prove with so much effort. When the prophet promised a new covenant [or testament], not according to the covenant which had been formerly made with Israel when liberated from Egypt, he said nothing about a change in the sacrifices or any sacred ordinances, although such change was no doubt to follow, as we see in fact that it did follow ; even as the same prophetic scripture testifies inmany other passages ; but he simply called attention to the point of difference [between the testaments,]—how that
God would impress His laws on the mind of those who per-
3 and hence the apostle drew his conclusion,—" not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not in tables tained to this covenant, and would write them in their hearts ; of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart ;" 4 and how that the eternal recompense of this righteousness was not the land out of which were driven the Amorites and Hittites, and other
5 but God Himself, " to whom it is good to hold us fast," 6 in order that God Himself, who is the nations who dwelt there, object of their love, may be the good in God which they love, between whom and men nothing but sin produces separation and it is only by grace that sin is remitted. Accordingly, after saying, " For all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them," He instantly added, " For I will forgive
1 Heb. xi. 40. 2 Matt. xx. 8. 3 Jer. xxxi. 32, 33.
* 2 Cor. iii. 3. 5 Josh. xii. 6 Ps. lxxiii. 28.
CHAP. XLIII.] GENTILES IN RELATION TO LAW. 199
1 By their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
the law of works, then, the Lord says, " Thou shalt not
2 but by the law of faith He says, "Without me ye covet,"
3 for there the Lord was treating of good can do nothing;" works, even the fruit of the vine-branches. It is therefore apparent what difference there is between the old covenant and the new,—that in the former the law is written on material tables, while in the latter it is engraven on men's hearts ; so that what in the one alarms from without, in the other delights from within ; and while man in the former becomes a transgressor through the letter that kills, in the other he takes to loving through the life-giving spirit. But for all that we must avoid saying, that the way in which God assists us to work righteousness, and " works in us both to will and
4 is by externally addressing to to do of His good pleasure," our faculties precepts of holiness ; for He gives His increase
5 by shedding love abroad in our hearts by the Holy internally,
Ghost, which is given to us.
Chap. 43. [xxvi.] A question touching the passage in the apostle about the
Gentiles who are said to do Ly nature the law's commands, which they are also said to have written on their hearts. Now we must see in what sense it is that the apostle says,
" For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts,"
7 lest there should seem to be no certain difference in the new testament, when the Lord promised that He would write His laws in the hearts of His people, inasmuch as the Gentiles indeed have this done for them naturally. This question therefore has to be sifted, arising as it does as one of no inconsiderable importance. For a man may say, If God distinguishes the new testament from the old by this circumstance, that in the old He wrote His law on tables, but in the new He wrote them on men's hearts, by what are the faithful of the new testament discriminated from the Gentiles, which have the work of the law written on their hearts, whereby they do by nature the things
1 Jer. xxxi. 34. 2 Ex. xx. 17. 3 John xv. 5. 4 Phil. ii. 13.
200 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. XLIV.
1 as if, forsooth, they were better than the ancient of the law, nation, which received the law on tables, and in advance of the new nation, which has that conferred on it by the new testament which nature has already bestowed on them ?
Chap. 44. The answer is, that the passage must be understood of the faithful of the new covenant.
Perhaps, however, they whom the apostle mentioned as having the law written in their hearts were those Gentiles who belong to the new testament. Now we must see whence this view arises. First, then, referring to the gospel, he says, " It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
2 He goes on to speak of the ungodly, who by reason of their pride faith : as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
profit not by the knowledge of God, since they did not glorify
Him as God, neither were thankful.
3 He then passes to those who think and do the very things which they condemn, having in view, no doubt, the Jews, who made their boast of
God's law, but as yet not mentioning them expressly by name and then he says, " Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile : but glory, honour, and peace, to every soul that doeth good ; to the Jew first, and also to the
Gentile : for there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law ; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law ; for not the hearers of the law are just before
God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." 4 Who they are that are treated of in these words, he goes on to tell us
" For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature
5 and so forth in the passage which I have quoted already. Evidently, therefore, no others the things contained in the law," are here signified under the name of Gentiles than those whom he had before designated by the name of " Greek " when he said, " To the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
6 Since then the gospel is " the power of God unto salvation to every one
1 Rom. ii. 14. 2 Rom. i. 16, 17. 3 Rom. i. 21.
4 Rom. ii. 8-13. 5 Rom. ii. 14. 6 Rom. i. 16.
CHAP. XLV.] JUSTIFICATION BY GRACE, XOT BY WORKS. 201
1 and that believe tli, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek;" since it is " indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile [or Greek] : but glory, honour, and peace, to every man that doeth good ; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile [or Greek] ; " since, moreover, the Greek is indicated by the term " Gentiles " who do by nature the things contained in the law, and which have the work of the law written in their hearts ; it follows that such Gentiles belong to the gospel as have the law written in their hearts, to whom, on their believing, it becomes the power of God unto salvation. To what Gentiles, however, would he promise glory, and honour, and peace, in their doing good works, if living without the grace of the gospel ? Since there is no respect of
2 and since it is not the hearers of the law, persons with God,
3 it follows that any man of any nation, whether Jew or Greek, who shall believe, but the doers thereof, that are justified, will equally have salvation under the gospel. " For there is no difference," as he says afterwards ; " for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God : being justified freely by His grace."
4 How then could he say that any Gentile person, who was a doer of the law, was justified without the Saviour's grace ?
Chap. 45. It is not by their icorhs, but by grace, that the doers of the laic are justified ; God's saints and God's name hallowed in different senses. Now [the apostle] could not mean to contradict himself in saying, " The doers of the law shall be justified;'
5 as if their justification came through their works, and not through grace, when he declares that a man is justified freely by His
6 intending by the term
grace without the works of the law,
"freely" nothing more than that works do not precede justification. For in another passage he expressly says, " If by grace, then is it no more of works ; otherwise grace is no longer grace." 7 But the statement that " the doers of the law shall be justified " 8 must be so understood, that we may know how unable men are to become doers of the law unless they
1 Rom. i. 16. 2 ftom ij 1L 3 Rom# iL 13 4 Rom. iii. 22-24. 5 Rom. ii. 13. 6 Rom. iii. 24, 23.
7 Rom. xi. 6. 8 Rom. ii. 13.
202 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. XLVI.
be justified, so that justification does not subsequently accrue to them as doers of the law, but precedes them in that character. For what else does the phrase " being justified " signify than
" being made righteous,"—by Him, of course, who justifies the ungodly man, that he may become a godly one instead ? If we were to express a certain fact by saying, The men will be liberated, the phrase would of course be understood as asserting that the liberation would accrue to those who were men already ; but if we were to say, The men will be created, we should certainly not be understood as asserting that the creation would happen to those who were already in existence, but that they became men by the creation itself.
If in like manner it were said, The doers of the law shall be honoured, we should only interpret the statement correctly if we supposed that the honour was to accrue to those who were already doers of the law. When, however, the allegation is,
" The doers of the law shall be justified," what else does it mean than that the just shall be justified ? for of course the doers of the law are just persons. And thus it amounts to the same thing as if it were said, The doers of the law shall be created,—not those who were so already, but that they may become such ; that the Jews who were hearers of the law might hereby understand that they wanted the grace of the
Justifier, in order to become its doers also. Or else the term
" They shall be justified" is used in the sense of, They shall be deemed, or reckoned as just, as it is predicated of a certain man in the Gospel, " He, willing to justify himself," meaning that he wished to be thought and accounted just.
Accordingly, we attach one meaning to the statement, God sanctifies His saints, and another to the words, " Hallowed
2 for in the former case we sup-
[or sanctified] be Thy name;" pose the words to mean that He makes those to be saints who were not saints before, and in the latter, that the prayer would have that which is always holy and sanctified in itself be also regarded as holy by men,—in a word, be feared with a hallowed awe.
Chap. 46. How the passage of the apostle agrees with that of the prophet.
Since therefore the apostle, when he mentioned that the
1 Luke x. 29. 2 Matt. vi. 9.
CHAP. XLVI.] PAUL NOT AT VARIANCE WITH JEREMIAH. 203
Gentiles do by nature trie things contained in the law, and have the work of the law written in their hearts/ intended those amongst them to be understood who believed in Christ, —since they come to the faith in a different way from the
Jews, who have the law before faith,—there is no good reason why we should endeavour to distinguish them from those to whom the Lord by the prophet promises the new covenant, telling them that He will write His laws in their hearts,
2 inasmuch as they too, by the grafting which he says had been made of the wild olive, actually belong to the self-same olive-
3—in other words, to the same people of God. There is tree, therefore a good agreement of this passage of the apostle with the words of the prophet ; so that belonging to the new covenant or testament means having the law of God not written on tables, but on the heart,—in other words, embracing the righteousness of the law with one's innermost affection, where by that love faith works.
4 " Because it is by faith that God justifies the Gentiles;" and the Scripture foreseeing this, preached the gospel before to Abraham, saying, " In thy seed shall all
5 that by this grace of the promise the nations be blessed," wild olive might be grafted into the good olive, and believing
Gentiles might become children of Abraham, " in Abraham's
6—following the faith of him who, seed, which is Christ," without receiving the law written on tables, and not yet possessing even circumcision, " believed God, and it was
7 Now it must be some
counted to him for righteousness."
such thing as this which the apostle attributed to Gentiles of this character,—how that " they have the work of the law written in their hearts ;" 8 like the description which he makes to the Corinthians : " [Written] not in tables of stone, but in
9 For thus do they become of
fleshy tables of the heart."
the house of Israel, when their uncircumcision is accounted circumcision, by the fact that they exhibit not the righteousness of the law by the cutting of the flesh, but keep it by the charity of the heart. " If," says he, " the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be
1 Rom. ii. 14, 15. 3 Jer. xxxii. 32. 3 Rom. xi. 24.
4 Gal. v. 6. 5 Gal. iii. 8 ; Gen. xxii 18. 6 Gal. iii. 16.
7 Gen. xv. 6 ; Rom. iv. 2. 8 Rom. ii. 15. 9 2 Cor. iii. 3.
204 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. XLVII.
counted for circumcision ?" * Now because they are in the house of the true Israel, in which is no guile,
2 they become partakers of the new covenant or testament, since God puts His laws into their mind, and writes them in their hearts with His own finger, the Holy Ghost, by whom is shed abroad
3 which is "the fulfilling; of the law." 4 o in them the love
Chap. 47. [xxvu.] The laio "being done by nature" means, done by nature as repaired by grace.
as doing that which is contained in the law " by nature','—
Nor ought it to disturb us that the apostle described them not by the Spirit of God, not by faith, not by grace ; for it is the Spirit of grace that does it, in order to restore in us the image of God, in which we were naturally created.
5 All sin, indeed, is contrary to nature, and it is grace that heals it,—in relation to which the prayer is offered to God, " Be merciful unto me : heal my soul ; for I have sinned against Thee."
Therefore it is by nature that men do the things which are
7 for they who do not, fail to do so by contained in the law ; reason of their sinful defect. In consequence of this sinfulness, the law of God is erased out of their hearts ; whence it follows that, when once the sin is healed, and [the law] is written in the heart, the prescriptions of the law are done
" by nature"—not that by nature grace is denied, but rather by grace nature is repaired. For "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon
8 wherefore "there is no all men, for that all have sinned;" difference : they all come short of the glory of God, being
9 By this grace there is
justified freely by His grace."
written on the renewed inner man that righteousness which sin had blotted out ; and this mercy comes upon the human race through our Lord Jesus Christ. " For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ
Jesus."
1 Rom. ii. 26. 2 See John i. 47. 3 Rom. v. 5. 4 Rom. xiii. 10.
5 Gen. i. 27. c Ps. xli. 4. 7 roiu . ii. 14. 8 pt0m> v . y^
9 Rom. iii. 22-24.
] ° 1 Tim. ii. 5.
CHAP. XLYIII.] GOD'S IMAGE RENOVATED. 205
Chap. 48. Even if the apostle is understood to speak of unbelieving Gentiles, the difference which has been asserted of the new testament is not taken aicay ; the image of God is not wholly blotted out in these unbelievers; venial sins.
According to some, however, they who do by nature the things contained in the law must not be regarded as yet in the number of those whom Christ's grace justifies, but rather as among those whose actions (although they are those of ungodly men, who do not truly and rightly worship the true
God) we not only cannot blame, but actually praise, and with good reason, and rightly too, since they have been done—so far as we read, or know, or hear—according to the rule of righteousness ; though at the same time, were we to discuss the question with what motive they are done, they would hardly be found to be such as deserve the praise and defence which are due to righteous conduct. [xxviii.] Still, [in estimating these actions, we must not lose sight of the fact] that God's image has not been so completely erased in the soul of man by the stain of earthly affections, as to have left remaining there no merest lineaments of it, whence it might be fairly said that man, even in his very ungodliness of life, did, or could appreciate, some things contained in the law.
If, then, this is what is meant by the statement [of the apostle,] that " the Gentiles, which have not the law " (that is, the law of God), " do by nature the things contained in the law," * and because men of this character " are a law to themselves," and " show the work of the law written in their hearts,"—that is to say, because what was impressed on their hearts when they were created in the image of God has not been wholly blotted out,—even in this view of the subject, that wide difference will not be disturbed, which separates the new covenant or testament from the old, and which lies in the fact that by the new covenant the law of God is written in the hearts of believers, whereas in the old it was inscribed on tables of stone. This writing in the heart, indeed, is effected by renovation, although it had not been completely blotted out by the old unrenewed nature. For just as the very image of God is renewed in the mind of believers by the
1 Rom. ii. 14.
206 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTEE. [CHAP. XLYIII.
new testament, which impiety had not quite abolished (for there had remained undoubtedly that faculty which cannot be anything else than man's rational soul), so also the law of
God, which had not been wholly blotted out there by unrighteousness, is certainly written thereon, being renewed by grace. Now in the Jews the law which was written on tables could not effect this new inscription (which in a word is justification), but only transgression ; for they too were men, and there was inherent in them that power of nature, which (enables the rational soul both to perceive and do anything that pertains to the law. But the godliness which is to transfer
[the soul] happy and immortal to another life has " a spotless law, converting souls," * so that by the light thereof they may be renewed, and that be accomplished in them which is written, " There has been manifested over us, Lord, the light of Thy countenance."
2 Turned away from which, they have deserved to fall into decay, whilst they are incapable of renovation except by the grace of Christ,—in other words, without the intercession of the Mediator ; there being " one
God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man
Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all."
3 Should they be strangers to His grace of whom we are treating, and who (after the manner of which we have spoken with sufficient fulness already) " do by nature, the things contained in the
4 of what use will be their "excusing thoughts" to them law,"
" in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men," unless it be perhaps to procure for them a milder punishment? For as, on the one hand, there are certain venial ,siaa,which do not hinder the righteous man from the attainment of eternal life, and which are unavoidable in this life, so, on the other hand, there are some good works which are of no avail to an ungodly man towards the attainment of everlasting life, although it would be very difficult to find the life of any very bad man whatever entirely without them. But inasmuch as in the kingdom of God the saints differ in glory as
6 so likewise, in the condemnation one star does from another, of everlasting punishment, it will be more tolerable for Sodom
1 Ps. xix. 7. 2 Ps. iv. 6. 3 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6.
* Rom. ii. 14. 5 Rom. ii. 15, 16. 6 1 Cor. xv. 41.
CHAP. XLIX.] GRACE THE SUBJECT OF PROMISE. 207
' whilst some men will be twofold more the children of hell than others.
than for that other city
2 Thus in the judgment of God not even this fact will be without its influence,—that one man will have sinned more, or sinned less, than another, even when both are involved in the condemnation of the same ungodliness.
Chap. 49. The grace promised by the prophet for the new covenant. What indeed could the apostle have meant to imply by the fact that, after checking the boasting of the Jews, by telling them that not the hearers of the law are just before
3 he imme-
God, but the doers of the law shall be justified," diately afterwards speaks of them " which, having not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law," 4 if in this description not they are to be understood who belong to the
Mediator's grace, but rather they who, while not worshipping the true God with true godliness, do yet exhibit some good works in the general course of their ungodly lives ? Or perhaps the apostle deemed it probable (from the very fact that he had previously said that " with God there is no respect of persons," 5 and that he afterwards said that " God
" 6 is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles
) that even those scanty little works of the law, which are suggested by nature, were only discovered in those, who received not the law, by the remains of the image of God, which He does not disdain when they believe in Him, with whom there is no respect of persons. But whichever of these views is accepted, it is evident that the grace of God was promised to the new testament or covenant even by the prophet, and that this grace was definitively announced to take this shape, —God's laws were to be written in men's hearts ; and they were to arrive at such a knowledge of God, that men were not severally and solitarily to teach their neighbours and brothers, saying, Know the Lord ; for all were to know Him, from the least to the greatest of them.
7 This is the gift of the Holy Ghost, by which love is shed abroad in our hearts,
8 —not, indeed, any love of a vague, indefinite character, but
God's love, " out of a pure heart, and a good conscience, and
1 Luke x. 12. 2 Matt, xxiii. 15. 3 Rom. ii. 13. 4 Rom. ii. 14.
6 Rom. ii 11. 6 Rom. iii. 29. ' Jer. xxsi. 33, 34. 8 Rom. v. 5.
208 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. L.
an unfeigned faith/' * by means of which the just man, while living in this pilgrim state, is led on, after the stages of " the glass," and " the enigma," and "the partial knowledge," to the actual vision, that he may see face to face, and know even as he is known himself.
2 For one thing has he required of the
Lord, and that he still seeks after, that he may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, in order to behold the fair beauty of the Lord.
Chap. 50. [xxix.] Righteousness is the gift of Gad.
Let no man therefore boast of that which he seems to pos-
4 nor let him think that he sess, as if he had not received it has received it merely because the letter of the law has been externally exhibited to him to read, and sounded in his ear for him to hear it. For " if righteousness came by the law,
5 Seeing, however, that He has
then Christ died in vain."
not died in vain, and has ascended up on high, and has led
6 it follows that whosoever possesses gifts, has them from that source. If, captivity captive, and has given gifts to men, indeed, any man denies that he has received them thus, he either does not possess them, or is in great danger of being
7 " For it is one God which justifies
deprived of what he has.
the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through;" 8 in which clauses there is no real difference in the faith sense, as if the phrase " by faith" meant one thing, and "through faith" another, but only a variety of expression. For in one passage, when speaking of the Gentiles,—that is, of the uncircumcision,—he says, " The Scripture, foreseeing that God would
9 [ex fide, ifc Trio-recDs]
" again, in justify the heathen by faith another, when speaking of the circumcision, to which he himself belonged, he says, " We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith [per fidem, Sea
7rtVrea)9] in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Jesus Christ." 10
Observe, he says that the uncircumcision are justified by faith,
1 1 Tim. i. 5. 2 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 3 Ps. xxvii. 4. 4 1 Cor. iv. 7. 5 Gal. ii. 21. 6 Ps. lxviii. 18 ; Eph. iv. 8.
7 Luke viii. 18, xix. 26. 8 Rom. iii. 30.
9 Gal. iii. 8. 10 Gal. ii. 15, 16.
CHAP. L.] RIGHTEOUSNESS THE GIFT OF GOD. 209 and the circumcision through faith, if, indeed, the circumcision keep the righteousness of faith. For "the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of [or ' by'] faith," * by obtaining it of God, not by assuming it of themselves. " But
Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. And why ? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the
2—in other words, working it out as it were by themlaw" selves, not believing that it is God who works within them.
" For it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of His own good pleasure."
3 And hereby " they stumbled at the
4 For what he asserted about their " not
stumbling-stone."
seeking [righteousness] by faith, but as it were by the works
5 he most clearly explained in the following words : " They, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about of the law," to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of
6 Then the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
are we still in doubt what are those works of the law by which a man is not justified, if he believes them to be his own works, as it were, without the help and gift of God, which is " by the faith of Jesus Christ ? " Do we suppose that they are circumcision and the other like ordinances, because some such things in other passages are read concerning these sacramental rites ? In this place, however, it is certainly not circumcision which they wanted to establish as their own righteousness, because God established this by prescribing it Himself. ISTor is it possible for us to understand the statement of those works concerning which the Lord says to them, "Ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition;" because, as the apostle says, Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteous-
1 He did not say, Which followed aftei their own ness."
traditions, framing them and relying on them. This then is solely the distinction in their case, that the very precept,
1 Rom. ix. 30. 2 Rom. ix. 31, 32. 3 Phil. ii. 13.
4 Rom. ix. 32. 5 Rom. ix. 32. 6 Rom. x. 3, 4.
7 Mark vii. 9. 8 Rom. ix. 31.
210 ON THE SPIKIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. LI.
1 and God's other good and holy commandments, they attributed to themselves ; whereas, that man may keep them, God must work in him through faith in Jesus
"Thou shalt not covet,"
Christ, who is " the end of the law for righteousness to every
2 That is to say, every one who is incorone that believeth."
porated into Him and made a member of His body, is able, by His giving the increase within, to work righteousness. It is of such a man's works that Christ Himself has said, " Without me ye can do nothing."
Chap. 51.
The righteousness of the law is set forth in these terms, that whosoever achieves the same shall live in it ; and the purpose which such a proposition has in view is, that whenever a man has discovered his own weakness, he may by faith conciliate the grace of the Justifier, and thus, arriving at [the righteousness of the law] not by his own strength, nor by the letter of the law (which becomes impracticable and unavailing to him), may reduce it to action, and live in it. Now the work by which a man shall live, if he accomplish it, is only effected by one who is justified. His justification, however, is obtained by faith ; and concerning faith it is written, " Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven ? (that is, to bring down Christ therefrom ;) or, Who shall descend into the deep ? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it ? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart : that is (says he), the word of faith which we preach ; 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 be saved."
4 As far as he is saved, so far is he righteous. For by this faith we believe that God will raise even us from the dead,—even now in the spirit, that we may in this present world live soberly, righteously, and godly in the renewal of His grace ; and by and by in our flesh, which shall rise again to an undying condition. This indeed is the gift of the Spirit, who introduces this immortality by a resurrection which is suitable in itself, —in a word, by our justification. " For we are buried with
Christ by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised
1 Ex. xx. 17. 2 Rom. x. 4. 5 Jolm xv. 5. * Rom. x. 6-9.
CHAP. IH.] GRACE STRENGTHENS FREE WILL. 211 up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." 1 By faith, therefore, in Jesus Christ we obtain salvation,—both so far as it is begun within us in reality, and is expected to be accomplished for us hereafter in hope; -for whosoever shaU caU on the name of the Lord shaU be saved." 2 «How abundant," says the Psalmist "is the multitude of Thy goodness, Lord, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee, and hast perfected for them that hope in Thee !" 3 By the law we fear God ; by faith we hope in God: but from those who are afraid of punishment grace is hidden. Now the soul which labours under this fear, from not having conquered its evil concupiscence and from which this fear, like a harsh master, has not departed should flee for refuge to the mercy of God in faith that He' may nnpart to it what He commands, and may, by infusing into it the sweetness of His grace through His Holy Spirit" cause the soul to take greater delight in what He teaches it, than pleasure in what opposes His instruction. In this manner it is that the abundance of God's goodness —that is to say, the law of faith,—the love which is impressed and shed abroad m men's hearts, is perfected in them that hope in Him, that good works may be wrought by the soul, when it is healed not by the fear of punishment, but by the love of righteousness.
Chap. 52. [xxx.] Do we then by grace make void man's freedom of will ? Goo; forbid! .We rather establish that faculty. For as the law is not weakened or cancelled by faith, neither is free will by grace.
4 Indeed, the law is only fulfilled by a free exercise of the will; for by the law is the knowledge of sin By faith comes the acquisition of grace to resist sin ; by oTaCe the soul procures healing from the disease of sin
by the health of the soul liberty is given to the will ; from this freedom of the will arises the love of righteousness, and from this love of holiness proceeds the accomplishment of the law Accordingly,, as the law is not made void, but is established through faith, since faith procures the grace whereby the
4 - 2 Eom. x. 13; Joelii. 32.
212 ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. [CHAP. LIII.
law is fulfilled, so the freedom of the will is not made void through grace, but rather is thereby established, inasmuch as grace gives a healthy condition to a man's desire, whereby he is enabled to love righteousness frankly and fully/' Now all the stages which I have here connected together m their successive links, have each their proper voices in the sacred Scriptures. The law says : "Thou shalt not covet."
Faith says : " Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee."
Grace says : " Behold, thou art made whole : sin no more, lest
3 The healed condition says :
a worse thing come unto thee."
" Lord my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed
4 The liberty of the will says: "I will freely sacrifice me."
5 The love of righteousness says : " Transgressors unto Thee."
told me pleasant tales, but not according to Thy law, Lord."
6 How is it then that miserable men dare to be proud, either of their free will, before they have liberty, or of their own strength, if they have been liberated ? [Talk of free will !] They do not observe that in the very mention of free will there is of course the sound of liberty. But " where the