Mercy then is to be found alone in Jesus Christ.  Again, the righteousness of the law is to be obtained only by faith of Jesus Christ; that is, in the Son of God is the righteousness of the law to be found; for he, by his obedience to his Father, is become the end of the law for righteousness.  And for the sake of his legal righteousness—–­which is also called the righteousness of God, because it was God in the flesh of the Lord Jesus that did accomplish it—–­are mercy and grace from God extended to whomsoever dependeth by faith upon God, by this righteousness of Jesus, for them.

He that is dark as touching the scope, intents, and nature of the law, is also dark as to the scope, nature, and glory of the gospel.

I must confess it is a wonderful mysterious thing, and he had need have a wiser spirit than his own that can rightly set these two covenants in their right places, that when he speaks of the one he doth not jostle the other out of its place.  O, to be so well enlightened as to speak of the one, that is the law, for to magnify the gospel—–­and also to speak of the gospel so as to establish and yet not to idolize the law, nor any particulars thereof—–­it is rare; and to be heard and found but in very few men’s breasts.

A man may appeal from the law to the throne, from Moses to Christ—–­from him that spoke on earth to him that speaks from heaven; but from heaven to earth, from Christ to Moses, none can appeal.  Acts 3:  22, 23.

Tell me, you that desire to mingle the law and the gospel together, and to make of both one and the same gospel of Christ, did you ever see yourselves undone and lost, unless the righteousness, blood, death, resurrection, and intercession of that man Christ Jesus in his own person, were imputed to you; and until you could by faith own it as done for you, and counted yours by imputation?  Yea, or no?  Nay, rather, have you not set up your consciences and the law, and counted your obedience to them better and of more value than the obedience of the Son of Mary without you to be imputed to you?  And if so, it is because you have not been savingly convinced by the Spirit of Christ of the sin of unbelief.

I would riot be mistaken; I do not say that the Spirit of Christ gives the least liberty to sin; God forbid; but its convictions are of a more saving and refreshing nature than the convictions of the law, and do more constrain the soul to holiness than that:  the law saying, Work for life; the Spirit saying, Now to him that worketh not (for life,) but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.  As thus:  if I should owe to two creditors ten thousand talents, the one should say unto me, “Thou owest me five thousand talents, pay that thou owest;” the other should say, “Thou owest me five thousand talents, and I frankly and freely forgive thee all.”

Now, these expressions are contrary one to another; even so is the end of the convictions of the law not according to the end of the convictions of the Spirit of Christ:  the one saying, “Pay me that thou owest;” the other saying, “Thou art frankly and freely forgiven all.”