And thus the moral law is our schoolmaster to bring us to God, our Judge, to Christ, our Redeemer, and to the Holy Spirit, our constant guide and support. That perfect obedience which the law demands, but demands in vain, leads us to lean upon the satisfaction of the Cross. And that subordination of all the lusts of the flesh and of the soul to the awakened and enlightened conscience, which is the only consistent interpretation of the law, makes it needful for us to ask the aid of that Spirit, whose fruits are * "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance." But we must hasten to conclude an exposition which must be far too brief and imperfect for the subject to which it refers. Yet it has, we trust, appeared, that we have within us principles by which we are directed, not only to "do good unto all," but also to "present our bodies and souls a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." It has been seen that, even according to the light of our natural conscience, this alone is our 66 reasonable service." But if nature afford light to show, she does not supply strength to pursue this upward road. We must, as our teacher further † Rom. xii. 1. * Gal. v. 22, 23. tells us, "be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is that good and And when all our facul exalted and purified by acceptable will of God." ties and powers are thus the Divine communion, then also we may well believe, that our Conscience, enlightened and invigorated by the indwelling of his favour, will teach us-not to offer an account to our Master of distant calculations of extraneous good, at which we have aimed, but to give to him all our affections and thoughts, our hearts and ourselves. But above and beyond all other offices of Conscience, remaining when all else is done, and beginning when all else is ended, will be her task, of reminding us how little is our all, how scanty our abundance, how empty the fulness of our obedience. It will be her office, as long as our service of our Master continues, to cry out to us that we are unprofitable servants, that we have done far less than it was our duty to do. Our own wisdom and knowledge, our own righteousness and holiness, will vanish out of our sight: and we shall only think of that which stirs the Apostle's soul, when he contemplates the provisions for the salvation of man *"O the depth of the * Rom. xi. 33. riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" Conscience is his minister; the law of the heart is his writing; the demand for the obedience of thought and will is his word; and yet how small a part is this of that vast dispensation, by which the sting of death, which is sin, was plucked out; and the strength of sin, which is the law, was tamed; and the victory was won for us; and the Conqueror, "having spoiled principalities and powers, made a shew of them, triumphing openly* ;" and Death and Sin, and the Law of Moses, and the Law of Nature, all became only as figures belonging to His triumphal procession. Col. ii. 15. |