The Perfect Law Sets Free

When the Hebrew servant's liberty was proclaimed, he was delivered from his master, from the command of his master, from the threatening of his master, and from the service of his master, he was a free man; and yet this man, that went out at the year of jubilee, is, says God, My servant. "For they are My servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen" [LEVITICUS 25:42]. So the believing sinner is delivered from the law, that being dead [ROMANS 7:6] from the command of the law, for the letter killeth; from the curse of the law [GALATIANS 3:13] and from the service of the law, for he shall "serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." He is a free man: "if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed;" and yet he that is this free man is Christ's servant [I CORINTHIANS 7:22]; for though he is not under the law, yet he is not without law to God, but under this law of liberty to Christ, Who has made him free indeed, and he that looks into this law of liberty, and continues in it shall be blessed in his deed.

No doubt but many of the mercenary Hebrew masters were grieved at this law of liberty; they were galled and chafed in their minds to see their slaves go out free. Hence we read that Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to their servants unjustly detained: that every man should let his man servant or maid servant, being an Hebrew or Hebrewess, go free; that they should not serve themselves of them. When the princes and people heard of this covenant of the kings, they obeyed it, and let their servants go free; "but afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids."

"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity," says John [REVELATION 13:10]; and so it was here, the masters hated the Lord's release; they refused to break the yoke, therefore God put their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon [JEREMIAH 27:8]. These mercenary masters are lively figures of many of our preachers; and it is with allusion to them that the inspired penman often speak of false apostles and deceitful works, who under the veil of the law, and the influence of the devil transformed, call the everlasting gospel Antinomianism, the preachers of it Anti-nomians, the powerful operations of the Spirit of it enthusiasm, and the liberty of it licentiousness.

-Gospel report by preacher William Huntington (1745 – 1813 A.D.)