In conclusion then, I ask, “is not the way of the Lord equal?” And of those, who presume to arraign it, are not the ways unequal? Equal and merciful do all the ways of God appear, whenever they can be traced; equal and merciful they are, whether they can be traced or not. “O man, who art thou that repliest against God?” { 207b} “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” { 207c} Humble thyself, and accept His proffered mercy: Hear His words; “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” { 207d} Salvation is all that the sinner can desire; and surely he can repose, without doubt or distrust upon the all-wise, all-merciful, omnipotent God. Understanding and experiencing, in so many instances, the divine wisdom and mercy, we can have no difficulty in believing, that God “doeth all things well.” “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” { 208a} Most unreasonable, most ungrateful would it be to question or complain. No true believer does so: he is thoroughly convinced of the truth of God’s word, and the equity of God’s dealings and dispensations. This is his concern, this the great purpose resting in his soul, to be reconciled to God in His own appointed way; to be made an inheritor of His eternal kingdom. He knows, and it is enough for him to know, that “the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men;” { 208b} he believes, and he acts upon the belief, that “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin;” { 208c} he seeks to “wash and be clean,” and faithfully waits for the promised blessing: “Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth the earth.”{ 208d}
_That ye put on the new man_, _which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness_.
IN treating of these words, it shall be my first object to explain their real nature and import. St. Paul has been describing, in this chapter, the character of the unregenerate Gentiles, who “walked in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” And this description applies, with almost equal force and truth, to a considerable portion of those who have “named the name of Christ:” though they acknowledge with their lips the truth and obligation of the christian religion, they still “walk in the vanity of their minds.” As to any saving view of the truth, “the understanding is _yet_ darkened:” and though their ignorance be removed, with respect to a revelation of the divine will, they are as far as ever from “the life of God;” though the mind is enlightened with the knowledge of the fact, the blindness of the heart remains.