Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ; and his blood cleanseth us from all sin (c). In the comprehensive language of the Scriptures, he is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (d).

It is to our Redeemer, viewed as the foundation of Christian morality, that our attention is now to be specially directed. Other foundation can no man lay, consistently with the revealed will of God; consistently with any rational hope of erecting a capacious and lasting superstructure. The world lays its own foundations of morality. It builds upon expediency, or upon honour, or upon custom. The foundation and the morality built upon it are suited each to the other. The one is sand; the other, wood, hay, and stubble. The building may look fair at a distance. It may seem in the season of tranquillity and sunshine to stand firm. But when the fire of temptation shall try every man's work of what sort it is, it shall not abide: when the rains shall descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon that house, it shall fall, and great shall be the fall of it. Not

(c) Eph. ii. 18. Rom. v. 1. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. 1 John, i. 7, (d) 1 Cor. i. 30.

thus shall it be with the morality of the servant of Christ. He builds on the cornerstone which God himself has laid; and builds upon it gold, silver, precious stones. His work shall be revealed by fire: by sustaining the flames, its excellency shall be manifested. When the rains descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon that house, it falls not; for it is founded upon a rock.

In various respects our Lord Jesus Christ may be contemplated as the foundation of Christian morality.

In the first place, our Saviour has fully communicated and interpreted the moral law of God.

The moral law of God, is that law under which the human race, as subject to his moral government, is placed. It includes not only faith and love, and all other holy dispo sitions and actions, of which God is the immediate object; but those duties also, which for his sake are to be performed towards men, and are usually comprised under the name of morality. Being in its nature necessarily correspondent to his own inherent perfections of holiness, justice and benevolence; it is, like them, in its substance unchangeable. To different persons, however, at the same time,

or

or to the same persons at different periods, may be made known, according to his good. pleasure, in different degrees. To the Jews, and through them to many other nations, it has been largely disclosed by the hand of Moses, and of the other inspired writers of the Old Testament. Among the Gentiles God never has left it without witness. They, which have not the law, do, by the light of nature, more or less of the things contained in the law; and shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness (e). But it is by Him who came into the world to be the light of the world, that new and complete lustre was poured upon the moral law. That which was originally permitted to be less distinct in it, he made clear. That which had been corrupted by traditions and commandments of men, he purified by explanations, by comparisons, by parables, he illustrated the bearing and operation of moral rules on the daily proceedings of common life; and by shewing the application of the precepts to a variety of cases, pointed out the method of applying them to all. Having come upon earth, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works: (e) Rom. ii. 14, 15.

B 3

knowing

knowing that in himself dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; that in himself were hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; that, as the final messenger of his heavenly Father, he was to establish a dispensation which should endure to the end of time; he did not leave the execution of his purpose incomplete. He fully instructed men in every particular of their duty. Pressing upon them the inseparable connection between faith and obedience, between reverence of God, and right conduct towards man: he taught them to love the Lord their God with all the heart, and their neighbour as themselves; to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God.

Secondly, Christ is the propitiation for breaches of morality.

For the violation of any moral duty the curse of God is denounced. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or mother. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgement of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Cursed be be that smiteth his neighbour secretly. Cursedis everyone that continueth not in all things, and consequently in all moral duties, no less

than

than in all other things, which are written in the book of the law to do them (f). The neglect and the transgression of the duties of morality have formed, in every age, a large portion of the mass of human guilt. When Christ, therefore, came to redeem us from the curse of the law, by being himself made a curse for us (g); it was in part to deliver us from the penal consequences which we had brought upon ourselves by disobedience in points of moral duty. It was in part to atone for our breaches of moral duty that he laid aside the form of God, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. In every stage of his humiliation, in every pang of his suffering, our breach of moral duty had its share. What a lesson has he thus delivered to us of the importance of moral obedience! What a sanction has he added to the oligation of moral duty! Behold in his humiliation and death for the immoral actions of men, a new testimony that he is the corner-stone of morality!

Thirdly, it is conformably to the example of Christ, that obedience to the precepts of morality is in every point to be rendered to God.

) Deut. xxvii. 16, &c. Gal. iii. 10.

(*) Gal. iii, 13..