The saints dignity and duty· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardness. /…The saints dignitie and dutie· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardnesse. /…

The first is this, that it accepteth of nothing but perfect obedience; it pardoneth no failings, no imperfections. This is that, do this and live: do it; the Law it doth not accept of endeavours and of desires; there is nothing that standeth with the Law but a perfect doing. Hence is that same, Gal. 3.10. there saith the Apostle, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the Law to do them. Here is the first direct property of the Law, it accepteth of nothing but perfect obedience, it pardoneth no failings, it will admit of no imperfections, but Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things, that are written in the book of the Law to do them.

The first is this, that it accepteth of nothing but perfect obedience; it pardoneth no failings, no imperfections. This is that, doe this and live: doe it; the Law it doth not accept of endeavours and of desires; there is nothing that standeth with the Law but a perfect doing. Hence is that same, Gal. 3.10. there saith the Apostle, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the Law to doe them. Here is the first direct property of the Law, it accepteth of nothing but perfect obedience, it pardoneth no failings, it will admit of no imperfections, but Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things, that are written in the book of the Law to doe them.

The second direct property of the Law is this, that it giveth Commandments, but it giveth no power at all to obey the Commandments: it setteth us a rule, but it helpeth with no virtue, no strength to walk by the rule. In this respect it is, that the Law is called the Letter, 2 Cor. 3.6. Who hath made us able Ministers of the new Testament, not of the Letter, but of the Spirit. By the Letter there is meant the Law, as by the spirit is meant the Covenant of Grace: the Law is called the Letter, because as the writing of Letters doth direct us and show us a Copy, but administereth no kind of art, or skill to the Scholar to follow the copy: so this is the property of the Law, it prescribeth a rule, but administereth no ability to walk by the rule. These are the two direct properties of the Law. Now in respect of these two, man, so long as he was in the state of innocency, before his fall, he was well enough: I tis true, the Law would pardon no failings, would accept of no imperfect obedience; but man in that estate needed not to care, for he had power to keep the whole Law, and to observe