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<DATE>2013-11-28</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
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<P>TWO SERMONS. One on the Subject of Ju&s;tification, The Other on The Imputed Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and Im|putation of Faith to Righteou&s;ne&s;s, by which we are Ju&s;tified. Preached Occa&s;ionally at the <HI>Merchants-Lecture</HI> in <HI>Pin-makers-Hall</HI> in <HI>Broad-&s;treet.</HI> And Printed at their De&s;ire. By <HI>Walter Cro&s;s,</HI> M. A.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by and for <HI>John A&s;twood,</HI> at his Printing-Hou&s;e behind St. <HI>Chri&s;tophers-Church</HI> in <HI>Thred-needle-&s;treet,</HI> the back-&s;ide of the <HI>Royal Exchange.</HI> 1695.</P>
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<HEAD>SERMON I.</HEAD>
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<Q><BIBL><HI>ROM. IV. 5.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that ju&s;tifieth the ungodly &mdash;</P></Q>
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<P>THe&s;e words are to be con&s;ider'd both relatively and ab&s;olutely, that we may in order comprehend their full &s;en&s;e and impor|tance. The relation they bear to the Apo&s;tle's &s;cope and de|&s;ign, is that of a proof and confirmation of the grand Doctrine of the Go&s;pel, which is, <HI>That no man is, nor can be ju&s;tified by his own Works or Righteou&s;ne&s;s, the only way of being ju&s;tified is by the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God.</HI> The Apo&s;tle on very good ground &s;uppo&s;es &s;uch an oppo&s;ition and di&s;|junction between them two as admits no medium, for we cannot be ju&s;tified without a Righteou&s;ne&s;s; and that Righteou&s;ne&s;s mu&s;t be ei|ther our own or anothers, God's or Man's. It is the Negative branch of the Doctrine the Apo&s;tle doth earne&s;tly contend for in this 4th. Chap. without any appearance of Carnality, but di&s;putes with &s;trenuous dint of Argument, and clo&s;ely connected Topics with the terms of his pro|po&s;ed Doctrine, whereof this in the Text is one; either an immedi|ate Argument thus, <HI>He that worketh not, or is ungodly, cannot be ju&s;tified by his own Works, but he who is ju&s;tified by Grace is one that worketh not, or is ungodly,</HI> Erg. Or rather a Confirmation of an immediate Argument be|fore brought, thus, Maj. <HI>He that is ju&s;tifi'd by Faith, is not ju&s;tifi'd by Works.</HI> Min. <HI>But</HI> Abraham <HI>was ju&s;tified by Faith.</HI> Erg. Abraham <HI>was not ju&s;tified by Works.</HI></P>
<P>The A&s;&s;umption being confirm'd from Scriptures Te&s;timony, <HI>Gen.</HI> 15. he proceeds to prove the grand Propo&s;ition thus, Maj. <HI>He to whom righteou&s;ne&s;s is imputed of Grace, cannot be ju&s;tified by Works.</HI> Min. <HI>But to him that is ju&s;tified by Faith, righteou&s;ne&s;s is imputed of Grace.</HI> Erg. <HI>He that is ju&s;tified by Faith, cannot be ju&s;tified by Works.</HI></P>
<P>The a&s;&s;umption is frequently a&s;&s;erted in Scripture, <HI>v.</HI> 16. <HI>It is of Faith, that it might be by Grace.</HI> The grand Propo&s;ition he &s;uppo&s;es evident from the oppo&s;ition between Grace and Debt in <HI>v.</HI> 4. for when a per&s;on is dealt with on the account of Works, <HI>i. e.</HI> any thing
<PB N="4" REF="3">in him, or done by him, it is debt, his due, I mean the reward; but when a Man is dealt with of Grace, the reward is proportion'd to the Favour and Good-will of the Donor or Judge; the Goodne&s;s of the Judge on the Bench, and the arraigned Per&s;on at the Bar, are very op|po&s;ite, therefore to be treated according to this oppo&s;ite goodne&s;s, mu&s;t be an oppo&s;ite treatment.</P>
<P>This oppo&s;ition or repugnancy in <HI>v.</HI> 5. he illu&s;trates and confirms thus, Maj. <HI>Where the &s;ubjects, cau&s;es, effects, or manner of efficiency, are op|po&s;ite, there the things them&s;elves are oppo&s;ite.</HI> Min. <HI>But in Ju&s;tification by Works and Faith, of grace, and of due, the &s;ubjects, cau&s;es,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>are oppo&s;ite.</HI> Erg. <HI>The Nature of the Ju&s;tifications are oppo&s;ite.</HI></P>
<P>The grand Propo&s;ition is a Maxim in Logic, or Natural Light, ta|ken for granted. The a&s;&s;umption is illu&s;trated and confirmed in the&s;e four <HI>Ver&s;es.</HI> 1. The Subjects, to wit, a godly and an ungodly Man, a righteous and an unrighteous, a Worker and a Non-worker. 2. The Cau&s;es, the grace, favour and good-will of the Governour, and the merit, labour, obedience and righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Subject. 3. The im|mediate effect of this Free-grace, or way of its efficiency, which differs from the Method of Ju&s;tice, mea&s;uring its di&s;tribution by Law; for the former imputes a Righteou&s;ne&s;s, or as in <HI>Ch.</HI> 5. gives a Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>viz.</HI> in a way of accompt and reckoning, that by virtue there|of, and its &s;atisfaction to the Government, it may con&s;i&s;t with govern|ing goodne&s;s to ble&s;s <HI>the ble&s;&s;edne&s;s of the man unto whom God imputes righ|teou&s;ne&s;s without works.</HI> The latter finds an inherent righteou&s;ne&s;s in the per&s;on, and therefore his Ju&s;tification is only an Authoritative de|claration of what he is, a &s;urrender of the Honour that is his due; and he proves this by <HI>David</HI>'s Te&s;timony, a&s;&s;erting the former Ju&s;tificati|on to be a Pardon or Forgivene&s;s: As if he had &s;aid, It's call'd a Ju|&s;tification, becau&s;e that Pardon is the effect of an Imputed Righteou&s;|ne&s;s. Free-grace fir&s;t gives by way of Account an Intere&s;t in Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and conveys the Right or Intere&s;t thorough Faith. <HI>Secondly,</HI> Pardons on the account of that Righteou&s;ne&s;s, which gives ju&s;t ground for the denomination of Ju&s;tification, and this Name is entertain'd as the proper Name for our Pardon in the Go&s;pel, that it may be a con&s;tant Memorial of our Obligation to Chri&s;t for our Par|don, and of the difficulty that there was to render a Pardon con&s;i&s;tent with the Law and Honour of the Law-maker and Governour. One chief end of this added Te&s;timony of <HI>David</HI>'s to the Example and Pattern of <HI>Abraham,</HI> is to prove that we are not ju&s;tified by Works, from the Nature of Go&s;pel-Ju&s;tification, <HI>viz. David</HI> &s;ays it's a Par|don; tho' it's a Ju&s;tification in re&s;pect to Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s, it's
<PB N="5" REF="3">a Forgivene&s;s with re&s;pect to our own Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s. This proves the Subject al&s;o of Go&s;pel Ju&s;tification to be ungodly, for we need and receive a Pardon, not as righteous or godly, but ungodly: And the rea&s;on why the Apo&s;tle gives the &s;en&s;e of <HI>David</HI>'s words to be the Imputing of a Righteou&s;ne&s;s, is becau&s;e it was incon&s;i&s;tent with a nece&s;&s;ary ju&s;t Law, and a ju&s;t Governour and Judge, who cannot do violence to a righteous Law, to pardon or not to impute &s;in, until there be fir&s;t a Righteou&s;ne&s;s imputed; and by &s;howing this to be the &s;en&s;e of it, he thereby proves that our Ju&s;tification is of Grace, becau&s;e Free grace is the only cau&s;e of the Imputation of that Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s. It is not for Chri&s;t's &s;ake that his righteou&s;ne&s;s is impu|ted, for that were to &s;ay, that the &s;ame thing was for the &s;ake of it &s;elf, his Merit for his Merits-&s;ake, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s for his Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s-&s;ake: But as Chri&s;t is the Free-grace of God's Gift, &s;o is his Righteou&s;ne&s;s, without any interveening Merits; and that has made me think, the influence of Chri&s;t's Merit, to u&s;e the accu&s;tom'd Phra&s;e, terminates on the Law, or Legal con&s;titution, not on the Divine Na|ture. God is the God, Author and Owner of all Grace, nothing has chang'd his mind into a more gracious temper, and hence the Impu|tation of righteou&s;ne&s;s is only a&s;crib'd to Grace, but Ju&s;tification is a&s;crib'd to Grace, not immediately as imputation is, but at &s;econd hand: <HI>Ju&s;tified by his Grace thorough the Redemption,</HI> Ch. 3.24. Hence &s;omething may be &s;aid for an Imputation of Righteou&s;ne&s;s from Eter|nity, tho' not for Ju&s;tification from Eternity; and may be this is the rea&s;on why another Phra&s;e is made u&s;e of for the tran&s;itory, tempo|rary Act, <HI>viz.</HI> Faith imputed to righteou&s;ne&s;s; for that denotes God's Act as Judge, in pa&s;&s;ing the ab&s;olving Sentence, <HI>i. e.</HI> thorough the Gift of Faith he conveys a right to that Righteou&s;ne&s;s, which from Eternity was a&s;&s;ign'd in the Book of Life to all that &s;hall ever enjoy its ble&s;&s;ed Fruits. Thus much for the coherent and relative &s;en&s;e of the words, as they are &s;ub&s;ervient and u&s;eful to prove that we are not ju&s;tified by Works.</P>
<P>I &s;hall now con&s;ider them ab&s;olutely: And I mu&s;t &s;ay this of them &s;o con&s;idered, that they are as pure Go&s;pel-Language-Expre&s;&s;ions, as full of encouragement to Sinners, and comfort to Penitents, as any I know in Scripture. Indeed they are not alone, for the &s;ame Apo&s;tle &s;ays Hi&s;to|rically of him&s;elf, what he a&s;&s;erts elenctically here of Free-grace, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.15. <HI>viz.</HI> That he was a <HI>Bla&s;phemer,</HI> a <HI>Per&s;ecutor,</HI> and <HI>injurious Per&s;on,</HI> when abundant grace, together with Faith and Love pre|vented him, <HI>i. e.</HI> ju&s;tifying and &s;anctifying grace; the one in Faith and Love, the other in the abundant grace conveyed thorough them;
<PB N="6" REF="4">and <HI>v.</HI> 16. he &s;hows, this was no &s;ingular favour, for Chri&s;t made a <HI>pat|tern of him to them who &s;hould hereafter believe;</HI> as Arti&s;ts hang out a piece of their Workman&s;hip to bring in Cu&s;tomers, &s;o Chri&s;t hangs up <HI>Paul</HI> for a &s;ign, that all who hear the Go&s;pel may count Chri&s;t (who came to &s;ave &s;inners) worthy of Acceptation, by all who are &s;inners. The Language of St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Conver&s;ion is the &s;ame with that of his Doctrine: Grace finds us &s;inners, and makes us righteous, and then ble&s;&s;ed. Nei|ther is <HI>Paul</HI> the only Pattern; <HI>Levi</HI> is another, <HI>Mat.</HI> 2.14. Sitting at the receipt of Cu&s;tom, &s;erving a Tyrannical Government in its heavy Taxes; Chri&s;t calls him powerfully and effectually into the &s;ervice and glory of his Kingdom, and makes an Offer to the re&s;t of the Publi|cans and Sinners; <HI>That he came not to call the righteous,</HI> (who did repent) <HI>but &s;inners to repentance:</HI> His Office was to be a Phy&s;itian to the &s;ick: And <HI>Zacheus</HI> a chief Commi&s;&s;ioner is a third, who by fal&s;e Methods had aggravated the Burthen of Tribute, and robb'd hone&s;t &s;ubjects, under the Notion of <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI>'s due; yet Chri&s;t tells him, &s;alvation is come to his hou&s;e: For that was his con&s;tant Employ, <HI>To &s;eek and to &s;ave that which was lo&s;t:</HI> But here we have it doctrinally, what is there hi&s;torically, here univer&s;ally a&s;&s;erted, what is there illu&s;trated by Examples and Para|bles; here in &s;trict Logical Terms, what is there under Rhetorical Flouri&s;hes, that when a man is ungodly and without works, then Faith is imputed for righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>Note,</HI> I &s;hall divide them in the&s;e two parts: 1&s;t. As they &s;et forth the condition of a &s;inner, antecedent to ju&s;tification. 2ly. In what me|thod God brings them from that condition into ble&s;&s;edne&s;s through <HI>an Imputation of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and imputation of Faith to Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>The Fir&s;t Part affords us this Doctrine.</P>
<Q>Doct. <HI>That the Object of Ju&s;tification, antecedently to it, is a per&s;on without works of righteou&s;ne&s;s, an ungodly man.</HI></Q>
<P>When in our blood he bids us live, the day of our Enmity was the time of his Love, the Condition of our Adamical Nakedne&s;s was that he ca&s;t the skirt of his beautiful Garments over; when aliens, he en|ter'd into a Covenant of Grace with us, order'd for the &s;alvation of &s;in|ners; when in our filthine&s;s, he puts his Comeline&s;s on us, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16. The plain Go&s;pel &s;ence of the&s;e Prophetical Figures is, <HI>To him that work|eth not, but believeth on him that ju&s;tifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>There are three Limitations put on this Text, by Inteepreters of differing Opinions, from what is the old and common road of them call'd Prote&s;tants, who u&s;ually di&s;tingui&s;h the ca&s;e thus, as <HI>Altingius</HI> con&s;ider'd
<PB N="7" REF="4">in him&s;elf, he is ungodly and unrighteous, but con&s;idered in Chri&s;t he is righteous; or Dr. <HI>Tuckney,</HI> finds him unrighteous, but leaves him not &s;o.</P>
<P N="1">1. Some di&s;tingui&s;h as to time thus, was ungodly, not is; they rec|kon &s;ome little time before for the exerci&s;e of Faith and Repentance, before he can be ju&s;tifi'd. A Priority of Order between the Gift of Faith and Ju&s;tification I willingly grant, but a priority of time is pregnant with Ab&s;urdities: The former doth not &s;erve their turn, who make the Exerci&s;e of faith and repentance Conditions of ju&s;tification; for it requires no time; as the Sun is in no time before its Beams, nor the Ring before the relation of Man and Wife: Relations re&s;ult immediate|ly from their foundations, but the mind of Man, tho' it needs le&s;s time for the nimble &s;ucce&s;ion of its &s;wift thoughts, yet time it doth require. (2.) Man mu&s;t be regenerate, effectually call'd, before faith and re|pentance, for the tree mu&s;t be good before the fruit: Now its repug|nant, to think one regenerate, a &s;on of God, can be in a &s;tate of Condem|nation; and it's as incon&s;i&s;tent, to think that any are out of a &s;tate of Condemnation before a pardon. But to &s;uppo&s;e any time between re|generation and forgivene&s;s, for the exerci&s;e of faith and repentance, is to &s;uppo&s;e a time when we are neither in a &s;tate of Condemnation or Ju&s;tification. (3.) <HI>There is no condemnation to them that are in Chri&s;t:</HI> Now we are united to Chri&s;t by a double Cement, the Spirit working faith, and faith therefore where that Cement is there is no condemna|tion but pardon. (4.) The Scripture &s;ays, <HI>We were reconciled when ene|mies,</HI> Rom. 5.10. The difficulty here is, if this be meant the price for peace paid, or the application of it in ju&s;tification, <HI>v.</HI> 9. &s;hows the lat|ter; being now ju&s;tifi'd by his blood, either we are ju&s;tifi'd at Chri&s;t's death, which the party denies, or el&s;e we are enemies when ju&s;tifi'd; and indeed reconciliation &s;ignifies a mutual peace, the hatred remov'd on on &s;ide by pardon, and on the other by regeneration; a new temper of Mind. It is true. <HI>Col.</HI> 1.21. it is &s;aid, <HI>Who &s;ometime were ene|mies, but now are reconcil'd;</HI> yet that &s;uppo&s;es the &s;ame time to conti|nue until the reconciliation, which <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.9. &s;ays was the time of Ju|&s;tification. A (5th.) Argument is from the onene&s;s of time, by Scripture Connexion between regeneration and ju&s;tification, <HI>Col.</HI> 2.13. <HI>You hath he quicken'd, together with him, having forgiven you all tre&s;pa&s;&s;es,</HI> 2 Pet. 1.3. <HI>We are call'd to glory and vertue at once, and</HI> 1 Pet. 1.3. <HI>are begotten again unto an inheritance incorruptible,</HI> Tit. 3.5, 7. 2 Cor. 6. <HI>ult.</HI> A (6th.) Argument is from <HI>Rom.</HI> 6. Where the Apo&s;tles &s;olution to the objection of <HI>Libertines,</HI> is, from the near connection between ju&s;tifying and &s;an|ctifying grace. (7.) I &s;ee nothing in the context to favour this di&s;tin|ction, but <HI>&eacute; contra</HI> would overturn the Arguments and Doctrine too.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="5">
<P>A 2d. <HI>Limitation</HI> is, from di&s;tinction of Laws; they own he is an un|godly man, a Non worker, as to the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Law, &s;trictly &s;o call'd, (which requires perfect, perpetual and per&s;onal obedience) who is the Object of Evangelical Ju&s;tification. But they think there is a nece&s;&s;ity of a righteou&s;ne&s;s to another, new, di&s;tinct Law; for as Le|gal Ju&s;tification requires Legal Righteou&s;ne&s;s, Evangelical Ju&s;tificati|on requires Evangelical Righteou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>i. e.</HI> Faith and Repentance, in &s;incerity and per&s;everance: And this la&s;t qualification comes in, lea&s;t they &s;hould be under a nece&s;&s;ity to hold a man pardon'd one time of his Life, and yet be afterward condemn'd thorough after back-&s;li|ding and falling from Grace. Some of them hold final falling away, and &s;o an once ju&s;tifi'd man may be eternally damn'd: Others total, but not final, and &s;o may be in a &s;tate of Condemnation and Ju&s;tification al|ternatively a hundred times: But a third, to prevent this Ab&s;urdity, adds per&s;everance, by which a man is excluded from ju&s;tification until his la&s;t breath, which excludes the Doctrine of A&s;&s;urance during life, and pardon too, which is a &s;trangely new Doctrine; yet I have heard &s;ome more cautious per&s;ons &s;ay, they think there are &s;ome degrees of Grace, at the attainment of which they e&s;cape that danger; may be that is it they allot for the time of ju&s;tification. This Limitation &s;eems unaccep|table to me on the&s;e grounds,</P>
<P N="1">1. This Law countenances iniquity, indulges tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions; for &s;ince the fir&s;t Law is holy, ju&s;t and good, what Law requires le&s;s, is &s;o far unholy, unju&s;t, bad; and &s;hall we &s;uppo&s;e an holy God, that is of pu|rer eyes than to connive at iniquity, to e&s;tabli&s;h iniquity by a Law? was our corrupt natures, or imperfectly renew'd to his image, the Ori|ginal to this Law? as his own Nature gave birth to the fir&s;t, it &s;eems rea&s;onable to &s;ay that God accepts imperfect obedience on his account who perform'd perfect obedience in our &s;tead as &s;urety; but that the office of the Mediator &s;hould be to obtain of God to lay by that glorious manife&s;tation of his Holine&s;s, and change that perfect Law into a Council and Directory, and to yield &s;o far to us, as to take a penny of the pound of obedience from broken debtors, &s;eems to me pregnant of difficulties and ab&s;urdities. We deny our Obedience comes to be accepted as the obedi|ence the Law requires, or under the Notion <HI>Adam</HI>'s righteou&s;ne&s;s was accepted, <HI>viz.</HI> that which gave right to Indemnity and Life, but is accep|ted as the way to the Kingdom, and preparation for the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of a place in the&s;e man&s;ions, where all the inhabitants are holy: It is the righteou&s;ne&s;s of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t alone, by which that Law is ful|fill'd; he is the end of the Law for righteou&s;ne&s;s, and his righteou&s;|ne&s;s gives right to remi&s;&s;ion and ble&s;&s;edne&s;s.</P>
<PB N="9" REF="5">
<P N="2">2ly. I am inform'd, this Notion of the Evangelical Law was the prin|cipal error of the <HI>Antinomians;</HI> for they &s;aid, &s;ince Faith and Repen|tance was all that was nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, what was the need of any other Law? Alas, it is a &s;ad mi&s;take; for the Moral Law is the rule of true Repentance: <HI>Let him that &s;tole, &s;teal no more;</HI> that hath broke the fir&s;t, &s;econd, or third Command, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> ought to do &s;o no more; that is true Repentance, New Obedience: The Law that did forbid &s;tealing once, forbids &s;tealing always, el&s;e it were not perfect. Indeed the Go&s;pel has &s;uch an influence on this Law, and our obedience to it, that it is a new Law to what it was; but that ever God &s;hould lay that by, and make another, or make any that requires not perfection, is to me unconceivable: If any duty belongs to this New Law, it's patience, and God commands that it be perfect; <HI>Let patience have its perfect work:</HI> Or, for the &s;ame God to have two Laws, &s;o contrary, that we may condemn'd by one, and ju&s;tifi'd by another.</P>
<P N="3">3ly. As it introduces <HI>Antinomiani&s;m,</HI> &s;o a chri&s;tianiz'd <HI>Phari&s;ai&s;m,</HI> which was the error the Apo&s;tle is refuting: He is not di&s;puting a|gain&s;t <HI>Pagans,</HI> who denied the Me&s;&s;ias, or own'd many Daemons, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.6. <HI>To us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and one Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, by whom are all things:</HI> Nor again&s;t the <HI>Jews,</HI> who de|ny'd he was come in the fle&s;h; for he tells them, their Faith was fa|mous thorough the World, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.8. But again&s;t &s;ome that believ'd, and pleaded the nece&s;&s;ity of Circumci&s;ion, <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.28. That pleaded, <HI>We were ju&s;tified by Faith and Works;</HI> for the The&s;is, &s;hows the Antago|ni&s;ts Opinion, which is, we are <HI>ju&s;tifi'd by faith, without the deeds of the Law,</HI> and <HI>Rom.</HI> 9.23. They &s;ought after a righteou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>as if it were by the works of the Law,</HI> i. e. by the works of the Law in &s;ome &s;en&s;e and mea&s;ure; this may be more evident by con&s;idering the <HI>Jews</HI> Doctrine about the way of Salvation, and add to it the belief of a Me&s;&s;ias come, and we may find the opinions too much alike: They reckon'd that there were three ranks of Men, with re&s;pect to Heaven; the lowe&s;t were &s;in|ners; of Publicans and Sinners we read frequently; the highe&s;t were perfect men, and that they thought hardly attainable it &s;eems, <HI>Mat.</HI> 19.21. That was the young mans doubt he brought to Chri&s;t; <HI>If thou would&s;t be perfect, &s;ell all thou ha&s;t, and follow me;</HI> in me the Laws perfecti|on is to be obtain'd, thou mu&s;t entirely be deny'd to all things el&s;e; the middle &s;ort was called <HI>Beninim,</HI> Middle-way-men, Men of &s;incerity, that &s;hould go to eternal Life, either by a praeponderation of good, or repentance of evil: <Q REND="inline">Hence, &s;ay they, the Life of man in the Precepts is according to his intention, who performs one of the lea&s;t Precepts, for love of the Precept, &s;hall merit everla&s;ting life, <HI>Cant.</HI> 5.2. <HI>Open to me,
<PB N="10" REF="6">my Si&s;ter, my Love;</HI> i. e. Open to me one crevice of Repentance, and I will open to thee the wide gates of Glory, <HI>Zach.</HI> 9.1. The Land of <HI>Hadrach,</HI> i. e. <HI>Emanuel</HI>'s Land, who leads men to God by <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> the way of repentance. The gates of Prayer are &s;hut &s;ometimes, but never the gate of Repentance: If <HI>I&s;rael</HI> would repent one day, the world would be redeem'd, and the Me&s;&s;ias would come.</Q> But they did not think the&s;e <HI>Boninim</HI> went &s;traight to Heaven; No, <HI>Abraham,</HI> and all the Prophets went to Hell in their Opinion; though the be&s;t went thorough the fire like a <HI>Salamander,</HI> it's only the Me&s;&s;ias can deliver from that. Herein then &s;eems their Error to con&s;i&s;t, that the Me&s;&s;ias &s;uppli'd the want of perfection, &s;o no need of going to Hell for &s;incere ones; this the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Gal.</HI> 1. calls a perverting of the Go&s;pel, a compo&s;ing of another method of Salvation, a counterfeit Go&s;pel, a corrupting of the pure method of Grace with mixture and allay of works.</P>
<P N="4">4ly. It &s;uppo&s;es two Ju&s;tifications, <HI>Baxter</HI> again&s;t <HI>Cartwright,</HI> p. 11. <Q REND="inline">It is one thing to be accus'd of trea&s;on, and another thing to be accus'd of Non-performance of the condition on which remi&s;&s;ion for trea&s;on is promis'd; an ab&s;olution from the fir&s;t makes the one ju&s;tifi|cation and ab&s;olution, from the latter the Go&s;pel Ju&s;tification.</Q> <HI>Re&s;p.</HI> By this Doctrine the neglect of Faith and Repentance is not Trea&s;on. 2. That the ju&s;tification by Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;s is not com|pleat. 3. That we mu&s;t be ju&s;tifi'd, before we can have an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;o we have Faith and Repentance without an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, for antecedent to an intere&s;t in him; and we can|not be evangelically ju&s;tifi'd until our Faith and Repentance be &s;incere, and per&s;evere, &s;o no intere&s;t in him till death. The Schola&s;tick <HI>Pit|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">arne,</HI> Provo&s;t of the Old Colledge of St. <HI>Andrews,</HI> weeps over this Opi|nion, and its Reverend Author, thus, <HI>p.</HI> 285. <Q REND="inline">O Reverend <HI>Baxter,</HI> for what end, or to what good ha&s;t thou wrote &s;o many Volumes, for thy conditional ju&s;tification by Faith and Obedience? to how ma|ny contentions ha&s;t thou given occa&s;ion? how many precious hours ha&s;t thou lo&s;t to thy &s;elf and thy Reverend Brethren? into an Aby&s;s of how many Anti-Go&s;pel Errors are they now &s;unk, who glory in thee as their Guide and Patron? who after they have once left the way of Truth, &s;carce know where to &s;top, and yet thou &s;till telle&s;t the world, all thy di&s;putes are about the wool of a dog, for thou diffe|re&s;t only in words and names from thy Brethren.</Q></P>
<P N="5">5ly. The Context and Scope is the be&s;t rule of interpreting this text, whether righteous by one Law, and unrighteous by another, or not; for <HI>Chapter</HI> 3. tells us, he is a Non-worker as to all works, that any Ora|cles of the Old Te&s;tament did di&s;cover to be duty; for <HI>v.</HI> 2. this was
<PB N="11" REF="6">the <HI>Jews</HI> advantage, that unto them were committed the Oracles of God, about which the&s;e two things are certain, that the&s;e Oracles were the Old Te&s;tament, and that the Old Te&s;tament contain'd the &s;ame way of ju&s;tification the New doth; <HI>v.</HI> 19. He adds, <HI>whatever the Law &s;ays, it &s;ays to them that are under the Law:</HI> v. 10. The&s;e Oracles &s;ay, <HI>There is none righteous, No, not one:</HI> v. 19. <HI>All the World is guilty, before God every mouth &s;topp'd:</HI> The Argument runs thus, The Old Te&s;ta|ment contain'd all Laws, wherein a &s;inners ju&s;tification was concern'd; but as to all the&s;e Laws, all men were found Non-workers, and ungod|ly, therefore there is no place for di&s;tinction of Laws and Righteou&s;|ne&s;s in this place, that inheres in us. 2ly. <HI>Abraham</HI>'s Condition, antece|dent to his effectual call, in&s;tructs us, that the di&s;tinction of Righteou&s;|ne&s;s to be admitted in this place, is that of our own and anothers, made ours by imputation; not of our own, with re&s;pect to different Laws; for <HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 24. <HI>Abraham</HI> was an idolater, incon&s;i&s;tent with faith and re|pentance, or Go&s;pel-righteou&s;ne&s;s, and yet <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 41. He is call'd a <HI>righ|teous man,</HI> and <HI>the friend of God;</HI> this mu&s;t be thorough Chri&s;ts righte|ou&s;ne&s;s imputed, not his own: <HI>Who call'd the righteous man from the ea&s;t,</HI> he was righteous in <HI>Chaldea.</HI> 3ly. Rom. 5.9, 10. <HI>When we were enemies, we were reconcil'd to God by the death of his Son:</HI> The Argument is thus, If we are reconcil'd when enemies, we are ju&s;tifi'd when guilty, I mean actively and antecedently; but the Apo&s;tle affirms the former: The Connexion is evident, for they are but different Metaphors of the &s;ame ca&s;e, the one repre&s;enting it as the happy conclu&s;ion of a fair Tryal at Law, the other as a Quarrel more friendly and privately compos'd; the one repre&s;ents it as a publick crime pardon'd, on a &s;atisfaction and me|diation, the other as a mi&s;under&s;tanding, made up by an arbitration; the one expre&s;&s;es the remi&s;&s;ion of the guilt, but the other the removal of enmity, to a cordial renew'd Peace and Love on both &s;ides. Reconcili|ation comprehends Ju&s;tification and Sanctification too; <HI>Two cannot walk together, except they be agreed.</HI> This is further confirm'd from <HI>v.</HI> 9. where by Reconciliation is under&s;tood and expre&s;s'd Ju&s;tification, the former is de&s;crib'd by the latter, and this ju&s;tification, <HI>v.</HI> 1. &s;aid to be that which is by faith. Dr. <HI>Hammond</HI> to &s;hun the dint of this Argument, grants in this place a ju&s;tification on Chri&s;t's Death, but <HI>v.</HI> 8, and 9. the one is di&s;tingui&s;h'd from the other by <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> and <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">, <HI>yet</HI> and <HI>now, i. e.</HI> Then he dy'd for us, now we are ju&s;tifi'd. 4ly. We may take one &s;tep further into the Context, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.1, 2, 6, 7. where the Apo&s;tle propo&s;es an apparent Objection, but impertinent, if that were the ca&s;e, no ju&s;tification until &s;incerity, and per&s;everance in faith and repentance: <HI>Shall we continue in &s;in, that grace may abound?</HI> and
<PB N="12" REF="7">if their Mind and the Apo&s;tle's had been one, he had an&s;wer'd like them, tho' Legal Obedience is not nece&s;&s;ary to <HI>make</HI> us ve&s;&s;els of Grace, Go&s;pel Righteou&s;ne&s;s is; but his Solution is founded on the nece&s;&s;ary connexion between ju&s;tifying and &s;anctifying grace, being given at once both to|gether: <HI>How &s;hall we that are dead to &s;in live any longer therein,</HI> v. 2. This &s;uppo&s;es a mortal &s;troke given to the body of &s;in in the ungodly man when ju&s;tified, <HI>v.</HI> 7. <HI>He that is dead is ju&s;tifi'd from &s;in;</HI> &s;o is the word in the Original; and <HI>Gal.</HI> 5. <HI>They that are in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, have crucifi'd the fle&s;h with its affections and lu&s;ts.</HI> Thus Dr. <HI>Tuckney,</HI> God's ju&s;tifying act finds us ungodly, but doth not leave us &s;o; he ju&s;tifies the ungodly, but the ungodly are not ju&s;tified; and this obviates an Argument that is brought out of the text to confirm this Opinion; for, &s;ay they, how can he be ungodly that has faith? its true, he cannot, but Faith may be given to him that is &s;o.</P>
<P>The 3d. <HI>Objection</HI> is this, he may be a Non-worker as to true graci|ous works, the effects of a regenerate &s;tate, but not a Non-worker as to preparatory works, that may make us meet and fit for it: Or, accord|ing to the old terms, without meriting works, but not congruous works. It is nece&s;&s;ary to give &s;ome Characters of the&s;e, before any thing be &s;aid again&s;t them, or rather again&s;t their nece&s;&s;ary anteceden|cy to ju&s;tification; for I doubt not, pardoning grace finds many &s;o in|dued. The Original of the&s;e works is &s;uppos'd to be man's natural con|&s;cience, excited by &s;ome common influence of the Spirit, and may be a|waken'd by &s;ome extrordinary or afflicting providence, or &s;ome convin|cing truth. 2. The Properties of the Works are three, (1.) Good for matter and end. (2.) Done freely. (3.) When we are in the way for convictions, or &s;orrow in Hell, are not preparatory works. 3. The degrees they differ in from gracious or meriting works are two, (1.) The per&s;on is not in a &s;tate of Grace. (2.) God has made no promi&s;e that he will pardon or ju&s;tifie &s;uch; thus Bp. <HI>Abelly, edit</HI> 11. <HI>Medulla Theol.</HI></P>
<P>I an&s;wer, 1. The&s;e Characters make the&s;e Works more a counterfeit of Grace than preparation for Grace, they de&s;cribe a Phari&s;ee or Hypo|crite, that is further from the kingdom of Heaven than a Publican or Harlot; for, Chri&s;t tells them, the harlots went into the kingdom of Hea|ven before them; the Publican went home rather ju&s;tified than the Pha|ri&s;ee, with his formal thanks to God for his di&s;tingui&s;hing Godne&s;s: Mo&s;t of &s;uch deceive them&s;elves with that vain &s;hew of Godline&s;s, having a form of Godline&s;s, but denying the power thereof; when they are poor, mi&s;erable, wretched and naked, they think they need nothing, with the lukewarm Church of <HI>Laodicea:</HI> The&s;e are the fooli&s;h Virgins that have no Oil in their Lamps.</P>
<PB N="13" REF="7">
<P N="2">2ly. The foundations this Opinion are grounded on, are not very &s;ure: As, 1. They &s;ay <HI>John Bapti&s;t's</HI> Mini&s;try was to prepare the way to Chri&s;t, by the doctrine of Repentance. <HI>Re&s;pon.</HI> The <HI>Bapti&s;ts</HI> Mini|&s;try is to be con&s;ider'd either in general, with all Mini&s;ters, to prepare and make meet for the inheritance, <HI>Luke</HI> 17.6. <HI>To prepare his ways, to give knowledge of Salvation unto his people, by the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;ins, tho|rough the tender mercies of our God:</HI> His Work was to fit for Heaven, not to make Hypocrites, though he did make many. 2. His Mini|&s;try was to be con&s;ider'd, in relation to that peculiar di&s;pen&s;ation which was to rai&s;e and awaken peoples minds, in expectation of the Me&s;&s;ias, and fulfilment of the great promi&s;es about the incarnation of the Son of God, his Birth, Life, Death, Re&s;urrection and Con&s;titu|tion of his Church, which was peculiar to him&s;elf.</P>
<P>A Second Foundation of the&s;e preparatory Works is Chri&s;t's Ex|pre&s;&s;ions, preferring one People to another as &s;uch, with whom the means that others enjoy'd in vain, would have prevail'd for their true Repentance, <HI>Matth.</HI> 11. to this purpo&s;e Chri&s;t prefers the <HI>Tyrians</HI> and <HI>Sidonians</HI> to the People of <HI>Chorazin</HI> and <HI>Beth&s;aida.</HI> For An&s;wer, I &s;hall give <HI>Camero</HI>'s Sen&s;e of the&s;e Expre&s;&s;ions, who counts it a popular Hy|perbole to upbraid the Unbelief of the&s;e People, who had &s;een &s;o ma|ny of his Miracles; as if one &s;hould &s;ay, he is as bad or wor&s;e than the Devil, and the&s;e things &s;eem to confirm this &s;en&s;e. 1. It would &s;eem to reflect on the Bowels and Mercy of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that he would not walk two or three Miles to work a Miracle, among a People who wanted nothing el&s;e to &s;ecure their Salvation, and yet continue to Preach and work Miracles, where he knew the event would be only the Aggravation of their Sin and Puni&s;hment. 2. To attri|bute the Conver&s;ion of a People to any external means, and not the efficacy and energy of the Holy Gho&s;t, is contrary to the &s;en&s;e of the Holy Gho&s;t, for <HI>Paul may plant, and Apollo may water, but God gives the encrea&s;e;</HI> and yet the&s;e words taken litterally would imply this, if in <HI>Tyre</HI> and <HI>Sidon</HI> the Miracles had been done, which have been done in thee, they would have repented long ago. 3. The Letter of this Scripture would arrogate the power of Conver&s;ion to Miracles, which certainly is not the Sen&s;e of the Scripture, for <HI>Abram</HI> in the 16th. of <HI>Luke</HI> is brought in, &s;aying in that Conference with the rich man, <HI>that if they heard not Mo&s;es and the Prophets, they would not believe one that ro&s;e from the dead.</HI> 4. Such Hyperbolical Language Chri&s;t frequently us'd, as <HI>Matth.</HI> 18.8, 9. If thy Hand or thy Foot offend thee, cut it off; if any man &s;mite thee on the right Cheek, turn to him the other; when thou do&s;t Alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth:
<PB N="14" REF="8">And of this kind &s;eems <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his Wi&s;h to be, who pray'd that God would rather blot him out of the Book of Life, than de&s;troy that Peo|ple: The import of it, was only to expre&s;s the earne&s;tne&s;s of his de&s;ire.</P>
<P>A Third Foundation is Chri&s;t's commendation of the young Man, <HI>Matth.</HI> 19.15. <HI>Mark</HI> 10.21. <HI>Luke</HI> 18.18. where 'tis &s;aid, Je&s;us lov'd him, and that he lack'd but one thing of the Kingdom of Heaven. <HI>Re&s;p.</HI> (1.) The &s;ame Scripture gives no account of his coming there, but rather of the impo&s;&s;ibility of it, and that 'twas ea&s;ier for a Camel to go through the Eye of a Needle, than for &s;uch a Man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; and farther, that 'twas a thing only po&s;&s;i|ble to God: And in more plain terms, he de&s;cribes him to be one who tru&s;ted in his riches, and what can more unfit Man for Heaven? God and Mammon are at greate&s;t di&s;tance. As to that Expre&s;&s;ion of his loving him, I think it may be be&s;t explain'd by that di&s;tinction that is us'd about Chri&s;t's Tears, when he wept over a dead <HI>Lazarus,</HI> or &s;ympathiz'd with his Si&s;ters, that they were expre&s;&s;ions of his Huma|nity; and that tho' he had not the like Pa&s;&s;ions, yet the like Affecti|ons with us, and could love what's u&s;eful and in its kind beautiful a|mong&s;t men, and &s;uch are all the&s;e Moral Virtues, that renders a Man amiable and u&s;eful in the Society where he lives.</P>
<P>A Fourth Foundation is, that an Appetite and de&s;ire is antecedent unto enjoying Chri&s;t or his Benefits, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 55.1. <HI>Ho every one that thir&s;t|eth, come ye to the Waters. Re&s;p.</HI> That is every one; there is a great difference between a de&s;ire, and the determination of it, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 4. ma|ny &s;ay, <HI>i. e.</HI> all, or all unconverted, <HI>Who will &s;hew us any good? but, Lord, lift thou up on me the light of thy countenance:</HI> It is the termination of their de&s;ires on Chri&s;t, on &s;table, la&s;ting, heavenly, &s;piritual good things the Prophet exhorts to, he blames them for terminating their de&s;ires on what did not profit. A (3.) Argument again&s;t preparato|ry Works &s;eems to be their incon&s;i&s;tence with the Nature of Conver|&s;ion; for Creation, Regeneration, Re&s;urrection and Victory, have no antecedent predi&s;po&s;itions; all the preparation in order to be con|quer'd and overcome, is to oppo&s;e with the greater force to prevent it; the others imply a Divine Omnipotency, working upon nothing, or what's unfit for the produc'd effect. (4.) It being granted that there's no nece&s;&s;ary Connection between preparatory Works and Par|don, I &s;ee no rea&s;on why &s;ome may not be pardon'd without it, as well as &s;ome have it, and not pardoned. (5.) The de&s;ign of the Go|&s;pel being to exalt pardoning Grace, <HI>Ver.</HI> 15, 16. <HI>It's of Faith, that it might be of Grace:</HI> The le&s;s the Preparation appear, the more Grace is exalted and manife&s;ted.</P>
<PB N="15" REF="8">
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> Should then a Man do nothing until he be ju&s;tified? <HI>Re&s;p.</HI> 1. Ma|ny are ju&s;tified who know it not. 2. Our Priviledges are not the Rule of our Duty, but God's Command. 3. That is, without doubt, we &s;hould do all we can, few if any do what they may, be always trying whether God gives ability or not. 4. To all under the means of Grace, at lea&s;t God gives common Grace, and by that they may live a &s;ober, ju&s;t and hone&s;t Life among men, and they may and ought to attend on Ordinances, <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.12. <HI>Work in and about your own Salvati|on,</HI> as <HI>Camero</HI> excellently tran&s;lates it, wait there until God works effectually, he doth it of his own good plea&s;ure, where and when he will. Let fear and trembling therefore accompany thy attendance, le&s;t thou mi&s;s the gale of that Wind that blows where it li&s;teth: Here is no room for Idlene&s;s to a Non converted and unpardoned Soul: <HI>Faith comes by hearing,</HI> be thou a diligent hearer. 5. God gives Life thorough the Command of the Law, he &s;peaks a Pardon thorough the Precept; it's that makes the Law evangelical, when he commands the dead to ari&s;e; <HI>Lazarus, come forth;</HI> Lame Cripple, ri&s;e and walk; Bed rid man, carry home thy bed, thy &s;ins are forgiven thee.</P>
<P>Having removed the&s;e Limitations, with the grounds of them, I &s;hall e&s;tabli&s;h the Doctrine more po&s;itively: And, (1.) By Te&s;timony: <HI>Scla|ter</HI> on this Ver&s;e reconciles it with <HI>Prov.</HI> 17.15. where it's &s;aid, <HI>He that ju&s;tifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the ju&s;t, even they both are abomination to the Lord:</HI> It were an abomination to ju&s;tifie a wicked Man, without a &s;atisfaction, but not where a &s;atisfaction to the Go|vernment is given, which is the Ca&s;e of the ungodly Man in the Text. <HI>Who's ju&s;tified thro' the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t,</HI> and this he quotes out of <HI>Pareus</HI> on the place: <HI>Wil&s;on,</HI> another <HI>Engli&s;h Commentator,</HI> with great plainne&s;s gives it thus, <HI>At their ju&s;tification he findeth them ungodly, and maketh them godly, and he doth it both by taking away the guilt and filth of their &s;in.</HI> The Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t is reckoned the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of that Per&s;on who doth by Faith embrace him. <HI>Pitcairn</HI> &s;ays, Ungod|ly here is taken in the &s;ame &s;en&s;e as when God rai&s;eth the dead, and calls that which is not, to be, it being the term of alienation from which they are remov'd, from whence he bids farewell to all antecedent Cau|&s;es, which &s;ome call inferiour, others in &s;ome manner or mea&s;ure, others admini&s;trating, others <HI>&s;ine quo non,</HI> others Cau&s;es of po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion tho' not of right, for all Holine&s;s comes in as a way to the Kingdom, not as Cau&s;es of Rule. <HI>Die&s;t</HI> thus, Ju&s;tifying Grace finds him &s;o in him&s;elf, but leaves him not &s;o; <HI>For whom he ju&s;tifies, them he &s;anctifies.</HI> God Ju&s;tifies us not as Holy in our &s;elves, but as wanting righteou&s;|ne&s;s he imputes a righteou&s;ne&s;s to us. The Anger of <HI>Abraham,</HI> Gen.
<PB N="16" REF="9">15. for want of Children, wanted a Pardon, even then before this de|claration about him, <HI>that his Faith was imputed to him for righteou&s;ne&s;s. Theodore Szuingerus,</HI> whom <HI>Hottinger</HI> commends, and notwithout rea&s;on, as the be&s;t Commentator on this Epi&s;tle, compares the Text with 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 8.2. condemning the wicked to bring his way on his Head, and ju&s;tifying the righteous to give him according to his righteou&s;|ne&s;s, and &s;olves the difficulty the&s;e two ways, 1. That the one is a Ju&s;tification of a man's Cau&s;e, and the other a Ju&s;tification of his Per&s;on, which is that in the Text. 2. This Ju&s;tification of the Un|godly is not again&s;t a Law, but according to a Law; not without a righteou&s;ne&s;s, but without his own only: Be&s;ides, &s;ays he, Tho' it finds him ungodly, it leaves him not in his ungodline&s;s. <HI>Bucer</HI> thus, If God &s;hould not ju&s;tifie the Wicked, none &s;hould be ju&s;tified, for the Lord find us all wicked before we are ju&s;tified. <HI>Greneus,</HI> Tho' Man may not ju&s;tifie the ungodly, God may, who has Power to for|give above Law. <HI>Pareus,</HI> Tho' they are ju&s;tified who are wicked in them&s;elves, yet not without Cau&s;e, and again&s;t Rule, &s;ince there is a &s;atisfaction in Chri&s;t. <HI>Marlorat</HI>'s <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Expo&s;ition</HI> is thus, The fir&s;t Ble&s;&s;ing of Salvation is Pardon, and our Pardon being a Ju&s;tifica|tion, it mu&s;t be a ju&s;tification of the Ungodly: What can they &s;ay to this, that are Slaves to their Belly, and yet brag of their Works? are they better than <HI>Abraham,</HI> who left his Countrey, redeem'd his Brother, and offered his Son, and Hop'd in his God again&s;t all Hope? but God in ju&s;tifying leaves us not ungodly: Such therefore ought rather to fear they are not ju&s;tify'd, becau&s;e they want the fruits of Ju&s;tification, than brag they have the Cau&s;es of it in them&s;elves. <HI>Cal|vin</HI> thus, It's ob&s;ervable, the Di&s;cour&s;e is not about the way of living, but about the Cau&s;es of Salvation: He argues from contraries, and as <HI>Bucer</HI> &s;ays, not from words but &s;entences. This Sentence is full of Energy, <HI>Believeth on him that ju&s;tifies the ungodly;</HI> wherein both the Na|ture of Faith and Righteou&s;ne&s;s are contain'd. In &s;hort, no body can come to the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Faith, but who is in him&s;elf Ungodly, for Faith adorns us with anothers Righteou&s;ne&s;s, which it beggs of God; hence God is &s;aid to ju&s;tifie, when he freely forgives, and vouch|&s;afes to love them with whom he may be ju&s;tly angry, <HI>Ver.</HI> 6. with|out Works they meerly cavil, who think all Works are not excluded, for he &s;ays not Works of the Law, but &s;imply and without re&s;tricti|on, Works of all kinds.</P>
<P><HI>Beda venerabilis, Anno</HI> 700. &s;ays on this Text, What can he be but ungodly, until he be ju&s;tified by Grace? for what Grace gives, it gives freely.&mdash;I dare not determine which of the two is the greater work,
<PB N="17" REF="9">to make a ju&s;t man, or to ju&s;tifie an ungodly man, both require equal power, but the latter greater grace or mercy: Boa&s;t not of thy works be|fore faith, for faith found thee a &s;inner: &mdash; Man works not righteou&s;|ne&s;s until he be ju&s;tified, and that begins with Faith.</P>
<P><HI>Tho. Aquinas,</HI> 1260. on this Text, To believe is the fir&s;t act of Righteou&s;ne&s;s which God works in us; by this man doth not merit righteou&s;ne&s;s, but &s;ubject him&s;elf to God's ju&s;tification, and &s;o thereby receives its effect: This <HI>(&s;ays he)</HI> the Apo&s;tle proves, (1.) From <HI>David</HI>'s &s;en&s;e, <HI>v.</HI> 6. He is a ble&s;&s;ed man to whom God gives a righteou&s;|ne&s;s without forgoing works. (2.) From <HI>David</HI>'s words, proving he had no righteou&s;ne&s;s, for he needed for Orignal, Actual and Venial &s;in, for the guilt of the Offence, Fact and Penalty of &s;in.</P>
<P><HI>Ambranat,</HI> a late Papi&s;t, 1665. <HI>Paris.</HI> The Apo&s;tle before acted an Orator by interrogations and frequent Que&s;tions, but now a Philo&s;o|pher, with clouds of Arguments; before he oppos'd Gift and Works, now he oppo&s;es a Believer and Worker, a believer in him that endues the ungodly with his own righteou&s;ne&s;s; <HI>Patiatur ergo &s;i non operatur,</HI> when he is not a doer, he is made a receiver, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">.</P>
<P><HI>Era&s;mus</HI> &s;ays, <Q REND="inline">Ungodly here comprehends all kind of Unrighteou&s;|ne&s;s, there is no kind that is excepted.</Q> But there is no end of humane te&s;timonies, for within my Cognizance I can reckon an hundred Inter|preters of this Epi&s;tle. I &s;hall add two more of greate&s;t Authority in <HI>England:</HI> 1. The <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> A&s;&s;embly, I &s;hall not quote the <HI>Annotations</HI> bearing their Name, but as I am inform'd on far le&s;s ground than <HI>An|thony Burge&s;s</HI> his book of Ju&s;tification, which was examin'd and ap|prov'd by them; one of his Titles is, That gracious works are not &s;o much as the condition or cau&s;e, <HI>&s;ine qua non,</HI> of ju&s;tification, and on this Text, <HI>p.</HI> 288. <HI>God doth account him as righteous, though a &s;inner in him&s;elf:</HI> p. 290. <HI>While looking into our &s;elves, we &s;ee nothing but matter of death and condemnation;</HI> and he has another Sermon, to prove that the Act of Faith is not imputed to ju&s;tification, which the <HI>A&s;&s;emblies Cata|chi&s;m</HI> expre&s;ly mentions. A Second Authority is the <HI>Articles</HI> and <HI>Homi|lies</HI> of the Church of <HI>England:</HI> But Dr. <HI>Wallis</HI> has done that in a Sermon <HI>ex prepo&s;ito.</HI> I &s;hall conclude with the&s;e two noted Fathers, <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> and <HI>Augu&s;tine,</HI> the former defines a worker to be not a tran&s;gre&s;&s;or of the Law, and a Non-worker a Tran&s;gre&s;&s;or; the latter in his Propo|&s;itions on this Epi&s;tle, <HI>Tom.</HI> 4. <HI>p.</HI> 1193. <HI>Qui ju&s;tificat impium de impio pi|um facit ju&s;tificatus e&s;t, ut ju&s;tus &s;it:</HI> Where I cannot omit, that the Fa|thers u&s;e the word ju&s;tifie, for making ju&s;t, though the u&s;ual Scripture &s;en&s;e is to acquit, ab&s;olve; and the rea&s;on is evident, from the &s;trict union between them, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.7. <HI>He that is freed from &s;in,</HI> &s;ays our tran|&s;lation;
<PB N="18" REF="10"><HI>ju&s;tified,</HI> &s;ays the Original; <HI>ab&s;olv'd,</HI> or <HI>purged,</HI> &s;ays <HI>Ba&s;il. M. deliver'd,</HI> &s;ays <HI>Theophilact.</HI> which &s;till confirms to me that the &s;ame grace which &s;anctifies, ju&s;tifies, though in different manners; the one by effi|ciency, the other relatively; the one by po&s;itive influence, the other by in&s;titution; and <HI>Aug.</HI> p. 1195. &s;hows this to be his &s;en&s;e, <HI>opus enim gratiae e&s;t,</HI> its the work of grace, <HI>i. e. Gratiae donantis et dimittentis,</HI> pardon|ing Grace; <HI>ut moriamur peccato,</HI> that we dye to &s;in; and indeed the Apo|&s;tle &s;uppo&s;es it, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.2. <HI>How can we that are dead to &s;in, live any longer therein?</HI> He had been &s;peaking of Ju&s;tification, not Mortification; the Apo&s;tle &s;uppo&s;es it to be one grace that did both, and that the&s;e two effects are twins of the &s;ame birth, though not both born one way, which may be for an argument to prove that ju&s;tifying grace finds us Ungodly and Non-workers, &s;ince &s;anctifying grace doth: And <HI>Augu&s;t. Tom.</HI> 6. in his Book <HI>de remi&s;&s;ione &amp; meritis,</HI> 'twas of Ju&s;tification, as that which comprehends in it Sanctification and Pardon both, for his Argu|ment is thus, <HI>p.</HI> 659. <HI>&amp;c. What way we are ju&s;tified in Chri&s;t, that way we are &s;inful in the fir&s;t Adam; but we are ju&s;tified in Chri&s;t thorough pardon and &s;anctification,</HI> Ergo, <HI>In</HI> Adam <HI>by guilt and pollution;</HI> and his Words thus we read, <Q REND="inline">They are ju&s;tified in Chri&s;t who believe in him, by rea&s;on of a &s;ecret communication and in&s;piration of &s;piritual grace, by which every one cleaves to the Lord, and is one &s;pirit with him, &mdash; <HI>Adam</HI> thorough his own &s;in begot guilty per&s;ons, and Chri&s;t by his grace begets pardon'd per&s;ons.</Q> This was wrote again&s;t <HI>Pelagius,</HI> who &s;aid, We &s;inn'd only in <HI>Adam</HI> by imitation: And the &s;ucce&s;s is ob&s;erv'd by <HI>Jan&s;enus</HI> in his <HI>Augu&s;tinus,</HI> p. 103. that he brought <HI>Pelagius</HI> to own pardoning grace to be free without conditions, but not &s;anctifying grace: <Q REND="inline">Great is the ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, &s;ays <HI>Pelagius,</HI> to obtain grace, <HI>i. e.</HI> (the grace of remi&s;&s;ion) without the works of the Law, and exerci&s;e of Repentance; for <HI>Rom.</HI> 11.29. <HI>The gifts of God are without repentance;</HI> He that believes in Chri&s;t in that day, becomes as he who has fulfill'd the whole Law:</Q> And the &s;ame Author, <HI>Tom.</HI> 3. <HI>p.</HI> 33. Who knew well <HI>Augu&s;tines</HI> mind, and &s;aid, without that owning of grace which <HI>Au&s;tins</HI> doctrine contains, Chri&s;tian Humility is not attainable, ha|ving read him all ten times, and &s;uch Books thirty times, &s;ays, that the grace of remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in belongs to the gift of habitual grace, not to af|ter actual helping grace; which, &s;ays he, my Author delights to call medicinal grace to nature, in its &s;ick, yea, dead &s;tate. Fewer words are about this grace, becau&s;e <HI>Pelagius</HI> owns nature guilty, but not hurt or wounded by &s;in, and &s;o needed pardon, but not grace to regenerate. But 2ly. A greater than <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> is here, the Spirit of God con&s;tantly unites them two, and who dare &s;eparate them, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 32.2. <HI>Who&s;e &s;in
<PB N="19" REF="10">is covered, and in who&s;e &s;pirit there is no guile:</HI> The Scriptures the Apo&s;tle quotes on the Text, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1. <HI>There is no condemnation to them that are in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, who walk not after the fle&s;h,</HI> 2 Tim. 1.14. Pardoning grace was abundant toward a per&s;ecuting <HI>Saul,</HI> together with Faith and Love, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.3. <HI>All things belonging to life eternal and godline&s;s,</HI> &mdash; He calls to Glory and Virtue at once, by that call are given precious promi&s;es, <HI>Tit.</HI> 3.5. <HI>By the wa&s;hing of Regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Gho&s;t, &mdash; being ju&s;tified by his grace,</HI> Gal. 5.24. <HI>They that are in Chri&s;t have crucified the fle&s;h, with its affections and lu&s;ts,</HI> 2 Cor. 5.27. <HI>If any man be in Chri&s;t, he is a New Creature,</HI> 2 Cor. 6.11. <HI>But ye are &s;anctified, but ye are ju|&s;tified,</HI> &amp;c. I cannot but take Notice of what gave birth and occa&s;ion to the Popi&s;h Errors, who make ju&s;tification and &s;anctification one and the &s;ame; or, that the one is the other, <HI>viz.</HI> The Fathers expre&s;&s;ions, who under&s;tood them &s;till of di&s;tinct natures, but given at once. A ring may enrich a Woman by its native value, and marry her by legal con&s;tituti|on; a King may arm a Man with a Sword, and &s;ignifie his royal favour by its gift. The Grace that doth <HI>ju&s;tum facere,</HI> doth <HI>gratum facere,</HI> makes him ju&s;t in him&s;elf, and &s;ignifies his guilt pardon'd, and his per&s;on accep|ted in favour.</P>
<P N="3">3ly. As Humane Te&s;timony and Divine, &s;o rea&s;on unites them, can a man have faith, that is, ju&s;tifying and &s;aving, and not be regenerate? faith and love being the two fir&s;t branches of the root of Grace, the Heart and Head of the New-Creature, and can a man be regenerate, and not ju&s;tified? can he have the greater priviledge, and not the le&s;&s;er? can he be a Son, and not a free Subject?</P>
<P>I might bring a 3d. Argument from the nature of the Subject, <HI>viz.</HI> That before Conver&s;ion and Regeneration man can do no &s;piritual good thing, there is no action of ours acceptable to God but thorough Chri&s;t, which &s;uppo&s;es an intere&s;t in him, and union with him; <HI>without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God;</HI> the &s;acrifice, the plowing, the praying of the wicked is &s;in; and the foundation of it is, <HI>We are dead in &s;ins and tre&s;pa&s;&s;es,</HI> until the minute that God quickens us, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.1. and what can come from &s;tinking Carca&s;&s;es in the graves, but &s;avour of death, a loath&s;om &s;mell. We cannot have faith, until God gives it, its the Gift of God, a faith of the operation of God, and he gives it thorough Chri&s;t, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.1. <HI>Chri&s;t is the author and fini&s;her of our faith:</HI> I know no Commentator that denies his merit to come in for its proper influence to the gift of Faith. Can an evil tree bring forth &s;uch fruits, or a branch not ingrafted in the true vine? when we have no &s;piritual di&s;cerning, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.14. and having our hearts alienated from the Life of God, thorough the ignorance that is in us, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.17. What good can we
<PB N="20" REF="11">do? Now no gi&s;t le&s;s then quickning, regenerating grace, can do this. The an&s;wer given to this u&s;ually by <HI>Arminians,</HI> and men tending that way, is, that Regeneration, Creation, Re&s;urrection, are but Meta|phorical Terms; and one thing they fail in likene&s;s is, that the one is wrought by degrees, the other in&s;tantaneous; the one is on pa&s;&s;ive mat|ter, that yields according to the power put forth on them, but this is on the will of Man that can re&s;i&s;t a &s;ufficient grace, to bring forth &s;uch effects. <HI>Re&s;p.</HI> This the Scripture favours not, for it &s;ays, <HI>God works to will as well as to be able;</HI> and it &s;ays, <HI>When we were dead he quicken'd us.</HI> 2. This was the <HI>Pelagian</HI> Error, that God gave grace to be able, but not to be willing
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Jan. Aug. To.</HI> 3. <HI>lib.</HI> 2. <HI>c.</HI> 9.</NOTE>. 3. It would be Grace re&s;toring to <HI>Adams</HI> condition, to be able to do good or evil: 4. This di&s;tinction of &s;ufficient and efficacious grace, <HI>Jan&s;enus</HI> &s;ays, <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> nor none of the <HI>Latin Fathers</HI> knew, nor any general Council ever did determine
<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><HI>To.</HI> 3. <HI>lib.</HI> 2. <HI>c</HI> 29.</NOTE>. About 5 for grace to have its efficacy from the corrupt will of Man, is enmity, to be the Author of Love from &s;ufficient grace, it is not; that brings not forth the effect, there is nothing el&s;e in the will of Man: If it be another addition of grace, the former was not &s;ufficient; and indeed where its not able to conquer the will of man, and bring forth its effect, to make man willing, it is not. But this were to leave the Que&s;tion about ju&s;ti|fying grace, and to di&s;pute about &s;anctifying grace.</P>
<P>A 4th. Argument, is from the nature and the kind of ju&s;tifying acts: As to its Original, it's gracious, as to its Obiect, it's pardon, put the&s;e two together, a gracious pardon, and it &s;uppo&s;es the Object under great guilt and mi&s;ery: For, (1.) Grace is goodne&s;s in all its variety and ful|ne&s;s; when the Lord proclaims his own graciou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>Exod.</HI> 34.6. He de&s;cribes it by abundance of Goodne&s;s and Truth, tenderne&s;s of mercy, and longne&s;s of &s;uffering, and this as the &s;pring of pardoning grace; <HI>Keeping mercy for thou&s;ands, forgiving iniquity, and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and &s;in.</HI> Where the per&s;on is ju&s;t by a con&s;tituted Law, there is no need of &s;uch amplifications of Goodne&s;s; for if it be an ea&s;ie Law, the grace was in ma|king law, and not in ju&s;tifying by the Law. (2.) Grace is goodne&s;s flowing from the Heart of the Giver; its called <HI>gratia gratum faciens,</HI> be|cau&s;e it renders the per&s;on acceptable and lovely in the &s;ight of God; hence it bears the name of Love, thorough the Book of <HI>Canticles,</HI> Chap. 8.6. <HI>Set me as a &s;eal on thy heart, as a &s;eal upon thine arm:</HI> So is every object of Free-grace, his Love is fixed on them, and hence the arm of his Power protects them: But this Love of Grace is incomparable, its &s;tronger than Death, for at once it delivers from a legal and &s;piritual Death, the guilt and the power of &s;in, and him that hath the power of
<PB N="21" REF="11">Death, that is the Devil; as <HI>cruel as the Grave,</HI> that devours all before it; <HI>The Coals thereof are coals of fire, no waters can quench it, nor floods drown it:</HI> And as its full, &s;o its free; <HI>If a man would give all the &s;ub&s;tance of his hou&s;e for love, it would be utterly contemn'd.</HI> A (3.) Ingredient of grace, is mercy, pardoning grace and mercy are but different names of the &s;ame thing, and &s;uppo&s;e the Object in a mi&s;erable condition, <HI>Rom.</HI> 11.32. <HI>God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy on all:</HI> And this mercy is preventing mercy, for the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking to the very &s;ame purpo&s;e, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.20. &s;ays, <HI>I was found of them that &s;ought me not, I was made manife&s;t in them that askt not for me:</HI> And yet farther, <HI>Rom.</HI> 9.11. He &s;hews, that all the cau&s;es, conditions and motives of Mercy, are to be &s;ought for in the di&s;po&s;ition of the Author, and not the di&s;po&s;ition of the &s;ubject: <HI>That the purpo&s;e of God according to election might &s;tand, not of Works, but of him that calleth.</HI> But the Name grace &s;eems to import &s;omewhat higher than all this, it &s;peaks exclu&s;ivene&s;s of conditions, <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.24. <HI>Being ju&s;tified freely by his grace;</HI> that is, &s;aith the <HI>Neat Wit&s;ius,</HI> without any cau&s;e or condition. (2.) It &s;peaks ful|ne&s;s, <HI>John</HI> 1.16. <HI>Of his fulne&s;s we have received grace for grace:</HI> Colo&s;. 2.10. <HI>In him dwelleth all the fulne&s;s of the Godhead bodily, and ye are compleat in him:</HI> And it &s;peaks per&s;everance, for the Covenant of Grace con|tains the &s;ure mercies of <HI>David,</HI> P&s;alm 89.33. <HI>Though I vi&s;it their iniqui|ties with &s;tripes, neverthele&s;s my loving-kindne&s;s will I not utterly take from them.</HI> It &s;peaks the Object in a mo&s;t wretched condition, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 57.1, 7. <HI>I won't contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth;</HI> though my an|ger hath an end, my mercy hasn't; <HI>for the &s;pirit would fail before me, and the &s;ouls which I have made;</HI> as they cannot convert them&s;elves, &s;o they can't bear my endle&s;s wrath: <HI>For the iniquity of his Covetuou&s;ne&s;s was I wroth, and &s;mote him, I hid me, and was worth, and he went on fro|wardly in the way of his heart:</HI> A mo&s;t de&s;perate Condition; the ea&s;ie&s;t law in the world could &s;peak no comfort to him, but grace can: <HI>I have &s;een his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him, and re&s;tore comforts to him:</HI> Tho' there be no matter in the &s;ubject to bring Comfort out of, my grace hath a creative power; <HI>I create the fruit of the lips, peace to him that is far off,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>(La&s;tly,)</HI> Soveraignity is an ingredient in grace: We read of grace upon the Throne, a Throne of Grace, all pure grace: Where the Tran&s;actions and Dipen&s;ations are according to Law, there is no place for over-ruling Soveraignity, but this ju&s;tification is a di&s;pen&s;ati|on from a Throne of Grace, and the very end of it is to glorifie that grace, <HI>ver&s;es</HI> 16, 17. <HI>It is of faith, that it might be by grace:</HI> All Laws, and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions of Laws, all Di&s;pen&s;ations of Providence, and Per|mi&s;&s;ions, all Manife&s;tations of other Attributes, are for the di&s;covery of
<PB N="22" REF="12">the height of this Throne: <HI>All is for the prai&s;e of the glory of his Grace:</HI> And the whole of this grace receives a lu&s;tre in its fir&s;t preventive act towards a &s;inner; for as he is God of all Grace, he calls us into his eter|nal glory. If all the other &s;treams of grace finds us in our &s;in and guilt, elective grace, redeeming grace, calling and converting grace, why &s;hould it be &s;uppo&s;ed or conjectured, that pardoning grace doth not find us &s;o to? when the very formality of the object is &s;infulne&s;s: The Text tells us, tis a covering of &s;in, a not imputing of &s;in, a forgiving of Iniquity, a blotting out our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, a removing of them from us as far as the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> is from the <HI>We&s;t;</HI> an act that renders God a Peerle&s;s God, and therefore &s;uppo&s;es our condition wor&s;t; <HI>Who is a God like unto thee?</HI> Micah 7.18. <HI>that pardoneth iniquity, and pa&s;&s;eth by the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the remnant rf his Heritage, he retaineth not his anger for ever, becau&s;e he delighteth in mercy; he will turn again, he will have compa&s;&s;ion upon us, he will &s;ubdue our iniquities, and ca&s;t all their &s;ins in|to the depth of the Sea.</HI></P>
<P>The only U&s;e that I &s;hall make of this is to linners, who are in their Ungodline&s;s, and without Works, and who&s;e Con&s;ciences tells them &s;o; the doctrine &s;peaks this to you, that you have as great rea&s;on, and as great encouragement to come to this throne of Grace, and to &s;ue out for a pardon in the Name of Chri&s;t, as any others. There was an univer&s;al command to the Apo&s;tles, to preach the Go&s;pel to every creature, <HI>Mark</HI> 16.15. And that commi&s;&s;ion &s;tands a Directory to every one, that is a Servant of Chri&s;t in the Office of the Go&s;pel; and as Chri&s;t invites, &s;o the Church of Chri&s;t invites al&s;o; the Language of a &s;anctified Soul over a Brother or Si&s;ter, according to the fle&s;h, is like that of the Spou&s;e, <HI>We have a little Si&s;ter, and &s;he hath no brea&s;ts, what &s;hall we do for our Si|&s;ter in the day &s;he &s;hall be &s;poken for? The Bride &s;aith come, and the Spirit &s;aith come,</HI> Rev. 22.17. And their joint voice is, <HI>Who&s;oever will, let him come.</HI> Beware of being guilty of quenching or provoking the Spirit; may be your Con&s;ciences bear witne&s;s, that there is a higher Me&s;&s;enger &s;ent to offer you a pardon this day than the voice of any clay Trum|pet; but, whether you find any &s;uch quickner and enabler, rendring you willing and de&s;irous to &s;ay, <HI>Whether &s;hall we go? for thou ha&s;t the words of eternal life; in thee have we righteou&s;ne&s;s and &s;trength, by thee only will we make mention of thy Name: Thy face Lord we will &s;eek; Ca&s;t the skirts of thy Garments over us:</HI> I &s;ay, whether you feel this influence or not, it is this external offer, that both gives you right to come to a pardon|ing God, for forgivene&s;s of &s;ins, thorough the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t only, and makes it your duty, however torn the Garments of your own Righteou&s;ne&s;s are; or your con&s;ciences thereby, to depend upon
<PB N="23" REF="12">our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t and his Righteou&s;ne&s;s, by which the Law gains its end, and the Government full &s;atisfaction, and in this tru&s;t and de|pendance to come to the Throne of Grace, and &s;ue in his name for the forgivene&s;s of your &s;in, and ju&s;tification of your per&s;ons: I &s;ay, the offer gives you a right. In other tran&s;actions with men, there are the&s;e three ways of conveyance of a right, (1.) The Offer of his E&s;tate, or Goods, or Priviledge. (2.) The price that I pay him for it. (3.) The Writings that contain its Extent and Title. (4.) The Ceremo|nies of &s;eizing, or taking po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; all the&s;e go to compleat the right, but if we had to do with an Unchangeable Per&s;on, full of goodne&s;s and kind de&s;igns towards us, he would never go back from his fir&s;t Offer, that would bring him on to compleat the Title in all the re&s;t. Now here you have the offer of a Pardon, and the offer of a Son&s;hip, and In|heritance with it; the God that cannot lye nor change has made it: Here you have the tenour and extent of the ble&s;&s;ing in the Covenant of Grace, the Spirit of God has penn'd it, and you may &s;ee the ble&s;&s;ing is great, and the tenour &s;o ordered, that it may reach you &s;inners: He tells you, the price is paid already, it is 1600 years &s;ince 'twas laid down; the invitation is, <HI>All things are ready, come unto the fea&s;t:</HI> The Que&s;tion is only, Whether the World or this is worth your Choice? Is not a Pardon de&s;irable? Have we no longings to come out of this pri&s;on, where there's no water? will we adventure the paying the ut|mo&s;t farthing our &s;elves, rather than to be obliged to Chri&s;t for a full payment? but this offer comprehends a Command in its bo&s;ome; if our Unworthine&s;s renders us a&s;ham'd, and our Guiltine&s;s afraid, and makes us apt to &s;ay, <HI>Depart from me, for I am a &s;inful man;</HI> Let con&s;ci|ence of duty oblige us to draw nigh, for <HI>this is his Commandment, that we &s;hould believe on the name of his Son Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> And none of us can &s;ay, but this command reaches us, el&s;e unbelief would not be the condemnation of the World. Chri&s;t was griev'd for the hardne&s;s of their hearts that be|liev'd not, and wept over an ob&s;tinate <HI>jeru&s;alem,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Oh if thou had&s;t known at lea&s;t in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace!</HI> Now which of the&s;e two doth your Hearts conclude will be the i&s;&s;ue of this offer, either <HI>They would not come to me that they might have life;</HI> or, <HI>Thine they are, and thou gave&s;t them me, and they have kept thy Word: I have given to them the words which thou gave&s;t me, and they have received them; Holy Father, keep thro' thine own Name tho&s;e whom thou ha&s;t given me.</HI> The grand Offence that we &s;tumble at commonly, if our Con&s;ciences an&s;wer one another, is the particular circum&s;tances and aggravati|ons of our particular &s;ins: And yet 'tis a very unrea&s;onable Objecti|on, it &s;avours rather of the darkne&s;s of Hell than the light of Hea|ven
<PB N="24" REF="13">above, or Faith below. Should we delay the looking after a Par|don, becau&s;e we are very guilty? &s;hould &s;inners not accept of the Son of God, Je&s;us Chri&s;t, becau&s;e God &s;ent him to ble&s;s us, in turn|ing us from our Iniquities? did we ever read of any that Chri&s;t threw off as incurable, becau&s;e his Satisfaction or the Tenour of the Go&s;pel could not reach them? is our Condition wor&s;e than <HI>Mana&s;&s;e</HI>'s or <HI>Saul</HI>'s? has our delay been longer than the Thief on the Cro&s;s, or our filthi|ne&s;s viler than <HI>Mary Magdalen</HI>'s? There are the&s;e four Conditions that Chri&s;t has &s;pecified in his Go&s;pel to prevent Exceptions. (1.) Prophane Per&s;ons, <HI>Mat.</HI> 21.32. <HI>The Publicans and the Har|lots believ'd in him.</HI> (2.) Secure Per&s;ons, like lukewarm <HI>Laodicea,</HI> that was in&s;en&s;ible of her own mi&s;ery, yet he &s;tands knocking at their door, and offering, that if any of them, the wor&s;t of them, would open, he would come into them, and &s;up with them: His fullne&s;s &s;hould have a fea&s;t of Glory and Honour, and their emptine&s;s &s;hould &s;up on his fullne&s;s. (3.) The Hypocrites: Of all Conditions that &s;eems to be the mo&s;t dangerous; &s;uch were the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, <HI>Mat.</HI> 23. <HI>Hypocrites;</HI> yet how often would Chri&s;t have gathered the&s;e under the Wings of his Righteou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>Ver.</HI> 37. Yet the&s;e Invitations were not altogether fruitle&s;s. <HI>Saul</HI> was a Phari&s;ee, <HI>Nichodemus</HI> was a Phari&s;ee: The Balm of <HI>Gilead</HI> is a Medicine can cure this de&s;perate di&s;temper, and the Blood of Chri&s;t can cover the guilt of it. Another gauling circum&s;tance to a tender, or a wounded con&s;cience, is back&s;li|ding, falling away from fir&s;t Love, and walking un&s;uitably to preg|nant, preventive mercies; but in <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 1. <HI>Jer.</HI> 3. How many invi|tations to a back&s;liding-Church, back&s;lidden from the greate&s;t Priviledg|es ever Church received in the World, back&s;lidden into the vile&s;t abomi|nations that ever people were guilty of, Idolatry, wor&s;hipping a Stock or Stone for their God, and yet with what earne&s;t intreaties, and what per|&s;wa&s;ive arguments does he plead with them: <HI>How &s;hall I give thee up E|phraim, I remember thee &s;till! the love of thy e&s;pou&s;al was plea&s;ant to me: O I&s;rael! I am married to thee, why &s;hould there be a divorce? Come, and let us rea&s;on together, though thy Iniquities were as crim&s;on, and thy tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions as &s;carlet, I will heal thy back&s;lidings, I will love thee freely, and receive thee gra|ciou&s;ly.</HI> To expect to come any other way, or upon our delay to come on better terms, were to pervert the very Nature of the Go&s;pel, and &s;ay, we would not be &s;aved in God's method, but our own; <HI>Not by works of righteou&s;ne&s;s which we have done, but according to his mercy hath he &s;aved us.</HI> Will we reject the way and method that all the cloud of wit|ne&s;&s;es were &s;av'd in, and will we be &s;aved in that way never one was &s;av'd in? they attain not unto the Law of righteou&s;ne&s;s, becau&s;e they
<PB N="25" REF="13">&s;ought it, or as it were by the works of the Law. Chri&s;t is the true and living way; is there any fault we can find in him? is he not able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t? is there any righteou&s;ne&s;s like his? it's ever|la&s;ting: Can we give any &s;atisfaction to divine Government like what he hath given? Can we bear the Cur&s;e and drink the Cup that he did? is he not altogether lovely in him&s;elf, and altogether fit for us? infinite Wi&s;dom and infinite Goodne&s;s, fitted and prepared him and is he not willing that we &s;hould &s;hare of his righteou&s;ne&s;s? doth not his offer &s;peak it? <HI>Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden;</HI> doth not his tears and his &s;orrows over them that refu&s;e and defer &s;peak it? doth not that e|ternal Chearfulne&s;s he undertook his Work with &s;peak it? <HI>Lo, I come, in the volume of thy Book 'tis written of me;</HI> thy Law is within my Heart, the bent of my Heart is to do thy will; and that de&s;ire left him not, nor ever was abated under the heat of the day, and heavie&s;t of the cur&s;e: <HI>I have a bapti&s;m to be baptized with, and how am I &s;traightned till it be accompli&s;ht? with de&s;ire have I de&s;ired to eat this pa&s;&s;over; having lov'd his own, he lov'd them to the end:</HI> And will not all this Love towards us kindle &s;ome &s;parks of de&s;ire in our frozen brea&s;ts? don't we think they de&s;erve an <HI>Anathema Maranatha,</HI> that love not this Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t? The depth and height, the breadth and length of his Love pa&s;&s;eth all know|ledge, he was full of Love, as he was a man; he lov'd <HI>Lazarus</HI> &s;o, and he lov'd the young man in the Go&s;pel &s;o; he was full of love, as he was a Mediator: Such was that love, who&s;e dimen&s;ions our narrow minds can|not &s;pan, but he was more full of love as he was God: God is love, and God &s;o lov'd the World to give his Son; is not this <HI>Emanuel</HI> worthy of our acceptation? Gods infinite Wi&s;dom found him, can we find a bet|ter, or do without him? have we no &s;elf-love for our &s;ouls? what will become of us without a pardon? can we bear the cur&s;e of the Law, or wrath of God? is it not worthy acceptance on any terms? but what terms can be better, it's come to God and beg Repentance; the Almighty makes the heart &s;oft; <HI>I will pour down the &s;pirit of Grace and &s;upplication, and they &s;hall look on him whom they have pierced, and mourn: Obj.</HI> But com|ing to God is believing, and I cannot believe until he gives me faith, which is not yet? <HI>Re&s;p.</HI> Put that to Tryal, what if the Spirit of God be now directing and quickning thy con&s;cience to this Work? and the Language of thy heart is, &s;tay until time for Prayer at night, or to morrow; you will think of it; Alas, Alas, this is the common an&s;wer to Gods Spirit him&s;elf, what wonder the Prophets cry, <HI>To whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed?</HI> Lord ble&s;s this for better fruits.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="26" REF="14">
<HEAD>SERMON II.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>ROM. IV. 5, 6.</HI></BIBL>
<P>&mdash; His Faith is counted for Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P>Even as David al&s;o de&s;cribeth the ble&s;&s;edne&s;s of the Man unto whom God imputeth righteou&s;ne&s;s without works.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IN the Former Di&s;cour&s;e you have an account of the condition and di&s;po&s;ition of the &s;ubject of Ju&s;tification, in this I propo&s;e an account of the Go&s;pel-method, how God ju&s;tifies the ungodly; it is a different Que&s;tion from that of the convicted <HI>Jews,</HI> Acts 2. <HI>Men and Brethren what &s;hall we do to be &s;aved?</HI> This is, What doth God do to &s;ave a &s;inner that has contemn'd his Authority, brought di&s;order into his Government, violated his holy, ju&s;t and good Laws, and goes on frowardly without repenting of what he has done? the Rebel doth not, will not yield, &s;hall the Governour yield? doth God need us? how is it po&s;&s;ible to reconcile God's ju&s;tice and Man's enmity? how can a ju&s;t God ju&s;tifie an ungodly per&s;on? The Apo&s;tle makes but two &s;entences of the An&s;wer: 1. He imputes his Faith to Righteou&s;|ne&s;s. 2. He &s;ays, that Righteou&s;ne&s;s is imputed to Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s. The nature of the Di&s;cour&s;e is didactick, in&s;tructive, and there are the&s;e three <HI>Que&s;tions</HI> that are matters of no &s;mall Moment nor mean Contra|ver&s;ies: 1. Who&s;e this Righteou&s;ne&s;s is: 2. What is the importance of the imputation of righteou&s;ne&s;s to a man for ble&s;&s;edne&s;s: 3. What is the meaning of Faiths being imputed to righteou&s;ne&s;s. I &s;hall only pro|po&s;e what I am mo&s;t per&s;waded of to be the true &s;en&s;e of them, and what per&s;wades me to be of that mind, without u&s;ing means to confute others: I &s;hall leave them to the &s;ame liberty I pre&s;ume on. As to the fir&s;t there are but two general Opinions, <HI>viz.</HI> Either Chri&s;ts or our own, though each are &s;ubdivided, in what righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;ts it is, or of ours. My Bu&s;ine&s;s is to confirm and e&s;tabli&s;h this truth, that this Righteou&s;ne&s;s in the Text imputed for ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, is the righteou&s;ne&s;s inherent in our ble&s;&s;ed Mediator, and if this one Character of being without works were to be under&s;tood ab&s;tracted from the Apo&s;tles de&s;ign, which is not to exclude works from righteou&s;ne&s;s, but our works and our righteou&s;|ne&s;s, I &s;hould think it a di&s;tingui&s;hing Mark between Chri&s;t's righteou&s;|ne&s;s
<PB N="27" REF="14">and any mans el&s;e; for the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Works con&s;i&s;ts in a con|formity to the preceptive part of the Law, but Chri&s;ts Righteou&s;ne&s;s con&s;i&s;ts al&s;o in a conformity to the &s;anction of the Law: He was made a cur&s;e for us, and that is not to work in the Scripture phra&s;e, but to &s;uf|fer, though in it &s;elf hard work, even Soul-travel; but doubting the &s;o|lidity of this, I &s;hall propo&s;e others of greater &s;tability. (1.) That Righteou&s;ne&s;s that is the cau&s;e of Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, and who&s;e fruit is the re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;in, is the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, for there is no other name given under Heaven, and therefore no other righteou&s;ne&s;s by which a Man can be &s;aved; but the righteou&s;ne&s;s in the Text is the cau&s;e of ble&s;|&s;edne&s;s and pardon, there mu&s;t be &s;ome near connexion between par|don and imputation of righteou&s;ne&s;s, el&s;e the Apo&s;tle did mi&s;take the Prophets &s;ence, &s;aying, he meant imputation of righteou&s;ne&s;s unto ble&s;|&s;edne&s;s, when he &s;aid, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they who&s;e iniquities are forgiven;</HI> the connexion is either pretended to be that of the cau&s;e to the effect, or &s;ome kind of requi&s;ite condition. They who &s;ay, this is our own righ|teou&s;ne&s;s, are for the latter, who &s;ay, its Chri&s;t's, are for the former, and with rea&s;on; for our own righteou&s;ne&s;s wants not works, our ju|&s;tifying faith is not without works, but this is. 2ly. The righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t and our pardon are more nece&s;&s;arily united than our faith, for pardon is as &s;oon given as it: The&s;e are more likely &s;ences, when <HI>Da|vid</HI> &s;aid, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is he who&s;e &s;in is forgiven,</HI> to mean, ble&s;&s;ed is he who has an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, and his &s;atisfaction, than to mean ble&s;&s;ed is he who repents: Nay, the Prophet adds that as another thing, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is he in who&s;e &s;pirit there is no guile, i. e.</HI> Ble&s;&s;ed is the pardon'd man, and the &s;incere man. 3ly. He is ungodly when forgiven, therefore his righte|ou&s;ne&s;s is not the condition of it. 4ly. <HI>C.</HI> 3. <HI>v.</HI> 25. To declare his righ|teou&s;ne&s;s for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins that are pa&s;t, why &s;hould we think the Terms connexed, other than what before he unites as cau&s;e and ef|fect? this is to unite what the Apo&s;tle &s;eparates, our Works and Ju&s;ti|fication, and &s;eparate what he unites, Chri&s;t righteou&s;ne&s;s and remi&s;|&s;ion. (2.) It is not &s;uppo&s;able to think, that Chri&s;t's righteou&s;ne&s;s or &s;atisfaction &s;hould be no where mention'd in this di&s;pute about the cau|&s;es of Ju&s;tification, when its confe&s;t that that is the grand and only me|riting cau&s;e: It is &s;trange, that he &s;hould di&s;pute about the cau&s;e of pardon, and yet never mention the true cau&s;e; but in&s;tead of it, always a little petty requi&s;ite without any cau&s;ality at all, and the more &s;trange, that he &s;hould &s;o frequently mention that cau&s;e under the name of Chri&s;t's blood, and his being deliver'd for our offences, the matter of his righteou&s;ne&s;s in the context, and &s;eldom ever the effect without it; but when he calls it by the name of righteou&s;ne&s;s, the proper name by
<PB N="28" REF="15">which it &s;aves us, for his blood &s;aves us as it is a righteou&s;ne&s;s, a con|formity to the law of Redemption, that wherein the Law obtain'd its end, then it &s;hould not be e&s;teem'd his, but our own: (3.) We may learn who&s;e righteou&s;ne&s;s it is that is mention'd in the di&s;pute, by what was propos'd in the The&s;e or Doctrine to be di&s;puted, which he propo&s;es both negatively and affirmatively, <HI>viz.</HI> Ju&s;tified not by our righteou&s;ne&s;s or works, but God's; we are ju&s;tified by Gods righteou&s;|ne&s;s, this he propo&s;es <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.17. as the grand end of the Go&s;pel; <HI>There|in is the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God revealed from faith;</HI> &s;urely God's Righteou&s;|ne&s;s and Faith by which its receiv'd, are di&s;tinct things, from thence to <HI>v.</HI> 21. <HI>c.</HI> 3. he proves, that all our own righteou&s;ne&s;s is entirely rejected from any intere&s;t in this affair, and again <HI>v.</HI> 21. propo&s;es thus, the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God to be that, which he now undertakes to prove to be the only righteou&s;ne&s;s we are ju&s;tified by: <HI>But now the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God without the law is manife&s;ted;</HI> and that by God he means Chri&s;t, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.3, 4. may be ea&s;ily learn'd from his words, <HI>&V;nto the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God, for Chri&s;t is the end of the Law for righteou&s;ne&s;s;</HI> and that it is not call'd the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God becau&s;e his gift, we may learn from <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.8. <HI>Your faith is &s;poken of thoroughout the world:</HI> Faith is a work, this is the work of God to believe on his name, and faith is a righteou&s;ne&s;s, for there is a conformity to the Law in it, but it is ours, <HI>your faith;</HI> faith differs from this righteou&s;ne&s;s as the act and object, <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God reveal'd from faith to faith:</HI> What unprejudic'd man would call that righ|teou&s;ne&s;s and faith the &s;ame? faith differs from it as the effect from the cau&s;e, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.1. <HI>Have obtain'd the like precious faith with us, thorough the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God and our Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> Who would wi&s;h for a plainer expre&s;&s;ion to prove that the gift of Faith is the fruit of Chri&s;t's merit? and therefore this righteou&s;ne&s;s mu&s;t be imputed to us, before that gift be po&s;&s;e&s;s'd by us. (4.) The Epithets of this righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;peaks it to be Chri&s;ts, <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.21, 22, 24. 1. Its the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God; God was Author, Owner, Contriver, Acter, Giver, Subject of this righteou&s;ne&s;s, it de&s;erves the name by way of Eminence; who could contrive it but his Wi&s;dom, give it but his Grace, bear it but his Patience, work it but his Power, po&s;&s;e&s;s it but his Fulne&s;s? 2. <HI>Without the Law,</HI> on two accounts, both as to the per&s;on, and as to the righteou&s;|ne&s;s. (1.) The per&s;on, <HI>Gal.</HI> 4. <HI>Was made under the law;</HI> he came un|der it by his own voluntary choice, not natural nece&s;&s;ity, as we are, hence without the Law. (2.) The Righteou&s;ne&s;s was, that no precept of the Law requir'd to dye or &s;uffer, that was none of its duties or righte|ou&s;ne&s;s; it was its penalty in ca&s;e of Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s. (3.) Its a righteou&s;ne&s;s <HI>now manife&s;ted;</HI> faith and repentance has &s;hin'd in the pra|ctice
<PB N="29" REF="15">of the Patriarchs and Prophets ever &s;ince <HI>Adam,</HI> Heb. 11. <HI>Abel, Noah, Enoch</HI> believ'd; indeed Chri&s;t's was a new kind the World never &s;aw before. (4.) <HI>It was witne&s;s'd by the Law and the Prophets;</HI> if we take the Law for the books of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> they bear witne&s;s to it. <HI>Abraham</HI> be|liev'd, and it was imputed to him for righteou&s;ne&s;s; the brui&s;ing his heel, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. witne&s;&s;es his &s;uffering the principal matter of his righte|ou&s;ne&s;s: If we take it for the Typical Law, that witne&s;&s;ed to it, for all the &s;acrifices were Types, and Types are vi&s;ible Prophecies, and all the Language is, the Me&s;&s;ias was to &s;uffer in the room of others, to obey a Law for others; and the Prophets witne&s;s, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 45. <HI>Surely &s;hall one &s;ay, in the Lord have I righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> Jer. 23.6. <HI>The Lord our righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> Dan. 9. <HI>To bring in everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> There are the Te&s;timonies of three Prophets, &mdash; <HI>To him gave all the Prophets witne&s;s.</HI> (5.) It was a righteou&s;ne&s;s convey'd thorough faith, put on them that believe, <HI>v.</HI> 22. <HI>which is by faith of Je&s;us Chri&s;t unto all, and upon all them that believe.</HI> (6.) A righteou&s;ne&s;s that con&s;i&s;t in a conformity to a Law, which to us is a Law of Faith, not Works. We are bound to believe his Obedience to all the Law in the Covenant of Redemption, but not to work one bit of it: Hence we being ju&s;tified by that righteou&s;ne&s;s, our boa&s;ting is excluded, <HI>v.</HI> 27. (7.) A faith that con&s;i&s;ts in &s;hedding of blood, in &s;uffering, <HI>v.</HI> 25. The&s;e two are to the &s;ame effect; <HI>Thorough faith in his blood, and righteou&s;ne&s;s by faith.</HI> (8.) A righteou&s;ne&s;s who&s;e fruit is remi&s;|&s;ion of &s;in, <HI>v.</HI> 24. <HI>To declare his righteou&s;ne&s;s for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins that are pa&s;s'd;</HI> the &s;ame Coherence that is in the Text between imputation of righteou&s;ne&s;s and pardon. (9) <HI>Rom.</HI> 9.4. A righteou&s;ne&s;s wherein the Law attain'd its full end, the Subject Life and Happine&s;s, and the Law-giver honour and glory. (10.) A righteou&s;ne&s;s, the gift whereof glorifies grace to the uttermo&s;t, the righteou&s;ne&s;s of an Angel is not &s;uch a gift as this is. (5.) Its a righteou&s;ne&s;s that is made ours: As <HI>Adam</HI>'s fir&s;t offence or un|righteou&s;ne&s;s was made ours, that never inher'd in us, but death came on us by it, then it has &s;ome relation to us, and we to it; this is at large in <HI>C.</HI> 5. where the Author of this righteou&s;ne&s;s is plainly call'd the &s;econd <HI>Adam,</HI> and if that be not plain enough, <HI>v.</HI> 21. he is call'd <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord:</HI> And that its made ours, 1. By a gracious gift; <HI>abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> 2. It &s;till remain'd inherent in him alone, for <HI>ju&s;tification of life came upon all men, by the righteou&s;ne&s;s of one:</HI> If it were ours, there mu&s;t be as many righteou&s;ne&s;es as ju&s;tifications; but here, <HI>by the obedience of one many are made righteous.</HI> 3. Its convey'd thorough a Law: The word <HI>made</HI> imports a legal con&s;titution, and the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI>'s ca&s;e &s;hews it; <HI>until the Law &s;in was in the world; &s;in is not imputed when there is no law;</HI> wherever imputation is there is a Law; the Ho&s;tage
<PB N="30" REF="16">cannot &s;uffer for his King or Country but by &s;ome Law; Chri&s;t was made &s;in for us only by Law, and we the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in him by law. The Debtor is reliev'd thorough the Sureties di&s;charge by a Law, and this Law is the Law of Faith, that we ought daily to &s;tudy; the Law was, <HI>If thou as &s;pon&s;or wilt dye for them, they &s;hall live; if thou wilt go under the cur&s;e of their Law, take their Law-place, for thy &s;ake they &s;hall have the place of Sons.</HI> Its much harder to me to comprehend how <HI>Adam</HI>'s fir&s;t offence &s;hould be imputed to us for death, then Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;s for life; and it &s;eems worthy ob&s;ervation, that the one imputation is never very clearly reveal'd, until the other be &s;et over a|gain&s;t it. The Apo&s;tle thereby tells us we are no lo&s;ers, but gainers by it; an imputed righteou&s;ne&s;s may well free from an imputed guilt, and commends that righteou&s;ne&s;s imputed, for it frees from more than that, <HI>viz.</HI> from all guilt. This 5th. <HI>C.</HI> gives account of the Original of im|putation, how it comes that one &s;hould be ju&s;tified by anothers righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, or condem'd by anothers &s;in. <HI>Solomon, Eccle&s;.</HI> 7.24. among his many learned Enquiries in his latter days, enquires after the origi|nal of &s;in, how a righteous man &s;hould become a &s;inner: <HI>One thing have I found, that God made man upright, but we have found out many inventions.</HI> The Apo&s;tles enquiry is of a greater depth, how one mans guilt or righ|teou&s;ne&s;s &s;hould be convey'd to another? <HI>Adam</HI>'s &s;in or Chri&s;t's righte|ou&s;ne&s;s. (6.) Its a righteou&s;ne&s;s made ours, as he was &s;in, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.21. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53. which did never inhere in him. (7.) From the very Title of imputed, but that will be made clear in the 2d. general head, to which I now come, and whether I refer a con&s;iderable Que&s;tion belong|ing to this, <HI>viz. What righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t is it that is imputed?</HI></P>
<P N="2">II. As to the &s;econd Que&s;tion, <HI>What is meant by Imputation of righte|ou&s;ne&s;s?</HI> I &s;hall begin with the &s;ignification of the word, which as others is tran&s;lated from humane u&s;e to &s;ignifie by &s;imilitude &s;ome divine thing. Putation, thinking belongs to the Art of Logic, and in the Greek the words are Conjugates, branches of the &s;ame root, and in Hebrew <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> is u&s;ed for thoughts too; <HI>The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vanity,</HI> P&s;al. 94.11. (2.) Computation belongs to Arithmetick, and Greek Authors explain this word by <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> and <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">, to cal|culate, number or reckon, and as the Art of Logick has the name from the Greek, the Art of Arithmetick, Accompting, in Hebrew, has its Name from <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">, &s;ee <HI>Mun&s;ter</HI>'s Lexicon; and &s;o the Scripture u&s;es the word, <HI>Lev.</HI> 25.27. <HI>Let him count the years of the &s;ale thereof:</HI> Eccl. 7.26. <HI>Counting one by one, to find out the accompt.</HI> (3.) Imputation is an applying of Accompts, and the things valued and e&s;teemed thereby; it is accompt, a&s;&s;ign or a&s;cribe, by way of counting and reckoning to &s;ome
<PB N="31" REF="16">particular per&s;ons. We have here then the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t as a rich trea&s;ure of Grace in the bank of God; it's one individual Jewel given of God for the redemption of &s;laves, and its value is &s;o great, and the way it's communicated being by Accompts, it may be di&s;tri|buted to pay for the redemption of Millions, all at various times and places. We have God repre&s;ented as a great Merchant, with his rich Fund, and his Books of Accompts, the Merchandize <HI>Prov.</HI> 3. <HI>Is better than that of &s;ilver or gold:</HI> Rev. 3. the Naked may buy garments of Righteou&s;ne&s;s; and <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 55. they may buy without Money or Price. Among the&s;e Books <HI>Rev.</HI> 20.12. <HI>The books were open'd, and another book was open'd:</HI> There is one Book that is call'd <HI>The Lambs Book,</HI> Rev. 13.8. <HI>Who&s;e Names are not written in the book of Life of the Lamb &s;lain from the foundation of the World.</HI> There are two Books of Life, one for Angels by their own inherent righteou&s;ne&s;s, another for fallen Man, who obtain it thorough the Death of the Lamb, his pa&s;&s;ive righteou&s;|ne&s;s: In this book Chri&s;t has Credit for the redemption of all, agreed for between the Father and Son, and when a per&s;ons Name is put in that Book, Chri&s;t's righteou&s;ne&s;s is transferr'd to him for Life, for a &s;alvation from all evil, <HI>Dan.</HI> 12.1. <HI>Thy People &s;hall be deliver'd, every one that &s;hall be found written in the Book:</HI> Luk. 10.20. <HI>Rejoice that your Names are written in Heaven:</HI> We may then &s;ee what the Imputation of Chri&s;t's righteou&s;ne&s;s to us is, it was the putting our Names in among the Number for whom Chri&s;t dy'd, it's having all Chri&s;t did and &s;uffer'd put &s;o to our accompt, that we may actually partake of all the Ble&s;&s;ings God's goodne&s;s and grace de&s;ign'd for us, but the tran&s;|gre&s;s'd Law render'd it incon&s;i&s;tent with the Governour's Authority, Honour and Wi&s;dom to confer it upon us; the way this impediment and bar was remov'd, was by the &s;ufferings of <HI>Immanuel.</HI> Imputati|on is either the application of that benefit from Eternity in the Ele|ctive Decree of God, or the actual inve&s;ting the Per&s;on with it in time: It's my pre&s;ent Light, that the Imputation of Righteou&s;ne&s;s to Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s was the eternal act, and the imputation of Faith to Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s the temporal; the former was 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.9. a purpo&s;e of conferring this grace and gift of Righteou&s;ne&s;s upon us in Chri&s;t, be|fore the World began. There was a double Gift &s;et down in that Book by him that is God of all grace, &s;overeign Proprietor. 1. We were given to Chri&s;t; <HI>Thine they were, and thou gave&s;t them me.</HI> 2. Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s was given to us by his Con&s;ent, he became &s;ure|ty, his Name was put in our Book of Debt and Death, and ours in his of Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Life.</P>
<P>Two things need proof here: 1. That Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s is
<PB N="32" REF="17">transferr'd in its Value and Virtue to us in way of accompt. 2. That that was from Eternity. The fir&s;t is manife&s;t from the Text, for one cannot be ju&s;tified without an antecedent righteou&s;ne&s;s; the Non|worker and Ungodly per&s;on has no righteou&s;ne&s;s of his own, it mu&s;t then be anothers transferr'd, tho' it &s;till inhere in him only, yet its value may be transferr'd to us: Thus Money may &s;till lye in its old Che&s;ts, and yet be transferr'd in accompts thorough twenty &s;everal Men, as in <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> and now in <HI>London</HI>'s Bank of <HI>England.</HI> Land is never remov'd from its place, and yet thoro' how many hands is it transferr'd, and its value is propos'd to be made as Current as Mo|ney by ingenious men, and imputation is made u&s;e of to denote the way. The &s;econd I &s;hall not treat on, but I de&s;ire that I may not be mi&s;under&s;tood, for it's not my Opinion that we are ju&s;tified from Eternity, no, not until Faith. Ju&s;tification pre&s;uppo&s;es a righteou&s;|ne&s;s, and a righteou&s;ne&s;s that we have &s;ome relation in, which is by imputation made or founded.</P>
<P N="2">2. This is the common u&s;e of the word in Scripture, <HI>Philem.</HI> 18. <HI>If he hath wrong'd thee, or oweth thee, put that:</HI> The relative compre|hends the antecedent, that Debt, that Injury, that Theft, <HI>on my ac|count,</HI> impute it to me: The <HI>Levites</HI> are put in the room of the fir&s;t|born, and the Heave-offering for the Corn of the Thre&s;hing-floor. The three famous Imputations in Scripture are <HI>Adam</HI>'s &s;in to us, our &s;in to Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t's righteou&s;ne&s;s to us: Our Faith and Religion are founded on them, and who denys one believes not aright any of them. The Imputation of our &s;in to Chri&s;t is fairly &s;et out in <HI>Lev.</HI> 16.21. <HI>Aaron</HI> &s;hall put all the Iniquities, &s;ins and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions of the People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> upon the head of the live Goat.</P>
<P>I &s;hall propo&s;e it thus, <HI>If our &s;in be imputed to Chri&s;t, his righteou&s;ne&s;s is to us; but our &s;in is imputed to Chri&s;t,</HI> Ergo.</P>
<P>The Propo&s;ition is <HI>a Majore,</HI> for it's more credible that Priviledges be imputed than Penalties, a man may give of his own at plea&s;ure, but cannot puni&s;h another &s;o: The a&s;&s;umption is expre&s;s'd in Scripture, <HI>The Lord hath laid on him the Iniquity of us all,</HI> I&s;a. 53. 1 Pet. 2.24. Heb. 9. <HI>la&s;t.</HI> P&s;al. 31.10. 40.12. 69.5. as he groan'd under our &s;in, we may rejoice in his righteou&s;ne&s;s. In 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.21. we have both Pro|po&s;itions, <HI>He hath made him to be &s;in for us who knew no &s;in, that we might be made the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in him:</HI> The Que&s;tion is, Whether <HI>&s;in</HI> or <HI>made</HI> be the words that are to bear the Interpretation? if <HI>&s;in</HI> for <HI>&s;acrifice,</HI> or <HI>made</HI> for <HI>imputed?</HI> I am for the latter: 1. El&s;e &s;in would be u&s;ed equivocally in different &s;en&s;es, and the Apo&s;tle would bring a So phi&s;m in&s;tead of an Argument; <HI>He knew no &s;in properly,</HI> Ergo, <HI>made
<PB N="33" REF="17">&s;in;</HI> &s;o he never knew any of his own, ours he knew. 2. Sin is in op|po&s;ition to righteou&s;ne&s;s; it is not meant the effects of righteou&s;ne&s;s, a pardon; a pardon and righteou&s;ne&s;s are not u&s;ually put for one ano|ther. 3. That righteou&s;ne&s;s is &s;till imply'd to inhere in him: <HI>Of God in him;</HI> and indeed made a pardon is not good &s;en&s;e. 4. <HI>Made</HI> is u&s;ed for <HI>imputed,</HI> Rom. 5.19. <HI>By one mans di&s;obedience many were made &s;inners, and by ones obedience many were made righteous.</HI> 5. <HI>Criticks</HI> di&s;tingui&s;h be|tween <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> and <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">, and &s;ay, the latter is u&s;ed for a Sacrifice, not the former; and I find this di&s;tinction made <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.2, 3, 4. <HI>Con&s;cience of &s;in, remembrance of &s;in, take away &s;in,</HI> there is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">; but <HI>v.</HI> 6. <HI>Burnt-offering and &s;acrifice for &s;in,</HI> there is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">; and I find it often in the &s;eventy: Indeed the <HI>Hebrew</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> &s;ignifieth to &s;in, and to expiate or purifie from &s;in, but that is by an u&s;ual rule in that language, for the &s;ame word to &s;ignifie contraries in different conjugations: I have ob|&s;erv'd nigh twenty In&s;tances in the Bible, the <HI>Greek</HI> doth not &s;o. I &s;hall add to this Argument this explication of it: (1.) Chri&s;t took on him the &s;tate and condition of a guilty &s;inner, he was in <HI>albo reorum,</HI> he was taken from pri&s;on and judgment, he was in their &s;ordid form, and dead in Law, &s;o the Believers are put in the condition and &s;tate of righteous per&s;ons, &s;o treated. 2. He had on him the guilt of a Votee, that is, by his own con&s;ent undertook to &s;uffer; <HI>Lo I come,</HI> P&s;al. 40. 3. Al&s;o the guilt of a Surety for his Votee's guilt, <HI>i. e.</HI> his own con&s;ent put him in our place; a Votee's confinement and humiliation is for them&s;elves, not others; the Covenant of Redemption put him under the Covenant of Works, his own con&s;ent brought him under the cur&s;e, and our &s;in brought us under; we enter by different doors, but come to the &s;ame place, the primitive Law. In oppo&s;ition to this &s;tands our freedom from that &s;anction; the &s;anction of that Law cannot touch a Believer, nor debar him from life, or any ble&s;&s;ing God de&s;ign'd him: Now all this guilt inheres in Chri&s;t, and this immunity and happy condition inheres in us: But, 4. <HI>Imputed</HI> &s;peaks a relation to what inheres not; there may be a ju&s;t foundation of imputation in the imputers Goodne&s;s and Grace, a man may give to another in his book of Accompts as well as in his Will, and make the Title as &s;ure. 2. There may be an imputation when the ground of it is neither in the Imputer nor Imputee, as in the ca&s;e of Bail, Surety or Ho&s;tages, who is may be kill'd, tormented for the treachery of his King, Countrey, or General; of this kind is the imputation of our &s;in to Chri&s;t, and his righteou&s;ne&s;s to us, it &s;uppo&s;es them not to inhere; thus our &s;ins and iniquities are laid on him, impu|ted to him, and his Blood, his Death is imputed to us, his righteou&s;|ne&s;s; this Dr. <HI>Tuckney</HI> calls cogitative imputation.</P>
<PB N="34" REF="18">
<P N="3">3ly. The foundation this Tran&s;lation is founded on is a proof for it, and that is threefold: (1.) A contract between the Father and Son about it. (2.) An union. And, (3.) An office by vertue of that contract. In the contract the&s;e three &s;teps &s;eems di&s;tingui&s;hable: <HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Chri&s;ts per|&s;on as God-man; it is not acording to the rules of Wi&s;dom, that the means &s;hould be more noble than the end, and that this glorious per&s;on that is more excellent than Angels and Men, put them altogether, &s;hould be meerly a mean, or a tool, (to &s;peak with reverence) to deliver us from mi&s;ery, and to make us happy; he would not in all things have the preheminence, if he were Mediator and the Means only, and we the end; the end is the mo&s;t noble, the end is fir&s;t de&s;ign'd; he would not be the fir&s;t born of every creature in the Womb of divine decrees, if his exi&s;tence was only thought on to &s;ave us: Nor could we be cho&s;en in him, <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.5. If he had not &s;ome antecedent foundation in the thoughts of God, [compar'd with a con&s;ulting deliberating man:] in order antecedent to our Election; the ground is pre&s;uppos'd to the building: Let us then with the School-men conceive of &s;uch a per&s;on, de&s;ign'd of God as the la&s;t mo&s;t perfect and glorious of all the Creation of God, one in whom God glorifies the fulne&s;s of his &s;ufficiency and bounty of his goodne&s;s to the uttermo&s;t, and he both by due and fitne&s;s becomes Lord and Governour of all the creatures. <HI>Secondly,</HI> To pa&s;s the Oeco|nomy of Angels above us, let us &s;uppo&s;e by the conjunct Coun&s;el of God the Father, and this now &s;uppos'd <HI>Immanuel,</HI> [exi&s;ting only in the divine nature, but a relative dignity and honour belonging to him as &s;uch a per&s;on, and in &s;uch an office, which was a glory, <HI>John</HI> 17. <HI>Glorifie me with that glory which I had with thee, before the foundation of the World: viz.</HI> To be Lord and end of the Creatures is a great glory, all others being made for him, <HI>Col.</HI> 1.16. <HI>All things were created for him;</HI> but now as Mediator, and in a &s;tate of humiliation, he is made a mean, and they the end] out of the &s;pecies of men, &s;ome de&s;ign'd and cho&s;en to be the more immediate train and fellows of this great Lord, and end of all, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 45.7. They are called Fellows; <HI>With the oyl of gladne&s;s a|bove all thy Fellows:</HI> We may read the de&s;igns and contrivance in Chri&s;ts interce&s;&s;ion for the compleat execution, <HI>John</HI> 17.24. <HI>Father, I will that they al&s;o whom thou ha&s;t given me be with me, where I am, that they may be|hold my glory which thou ha&s;t given me:</HI> How they do it, we may read <HI>Rev.</HI> 5.11, 12. &amp;c. There being elect Angels as well as Men, renders this very con&s;i&s;tent antecedent to the fall. But <HI>Thirdly,</HI> The&s;e being in the loyns of <HI>Adam,</HI> and under the common Lot of Man as to their Creature &s;tate, are permitted to fall with the whole ma&s;s of humane nature: Elective Grace and Love &s;how'd it &s;elf in their redemption,
<PB N="35" REF="18">but to Angels prevention, and their fall gives occa&s;ion to a New Work and Office to this <HI>Immanuel,</HI> and New Di&s;coveries of his Love and Grace to the&s;e elected fellows, <HI>John</HI> 12.24. <HI>Except a corn of wheat fall in|to the ground and dye, it abideth alone, but if it dye, it bringeth forth much fruit.</HI> He compares his death to &s;eed; &s;ays he, if I dye not, I &s;hall lo&s;e all my fellows de&s;ign'd; my Company and Train in heaven will not only be fewer, but I &s;hall loo&s;e one whole kind of them, and that of next kindred to my own nature; I will never &s;uffer it, I have power over my own Life to lay it down, and take it up, I am re&s;olv'd to take their burden on my &s;houlders, the cur&s;e they are under &s;hall &s;trike thorough my Soul, but I will redeem them; I will give them a &s;ingular evidence of the goodne&s;s of their Lord and Ma&s;ter they are to &s;erve. On the other hand, God the Father, with whom I &s;hould have begun, the God of all Grace, that he might manife&s;t it in all its variety, and render the difference between the Creature and Creator more lu&s;trious, and the degrees and &s;teps of Happine&s;s more numerous and ta&s;teful, &s;uf|fered them, permitted them to fall, but knew of one among the num|ber, a noble elect ve&s;&s;el, that could not fall; yea, that could give &s;a|tisfaction for their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion; to glorifie his &s;overaignity, in &s;how|ing what a &s;ubject was in his dominion, he commands him, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 40. <HI>I come to do thy will; thy Law is within my heart;</HI> And to glorifie his good|ne&s;s, he gives this Lord of all to be their Prie&s;t, Sacrifice, Redeemer and Surety; the whole tran&s;action we may read in the Covenant of <HI>Re|demption,</HI> I&s;a. 50.20. <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 89.3, 19, 20, 27. <HI>The Redeemer &s;hall come to Zion, &mdash; This is my Covenant with them, my &s;pirit that is upon thee,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>&s;hall not depart from thy &s;eed:</HI> It's a Covenant with him concerning them; <HI>I have made a covenant with my cho&s;en, &mdash; one cho&s;en out of the people, &mdash; I have laid help on one that is mighty: Zach.</HI> 6.13. A Coun&s;el of peace be|tween the Lord of Ho&s;ts, and the man the branch. By vertue of this Covenant the Creditor may pur&s;ue him for his voluntary undertaking, and Chri&s;t may &s;ue out deliverance for his performance, therefore it becomes us to carry our petitions fir&s;t to him, that in his right we may be delivered. 2. By vertue of this Covenant, and that relation that gave foundation to it, their ari&s;es a mo&s;t &s;trict union between Chri&s;t and us: Now the more they are one, the more rea&s;on for his righteou&s;ne&s;s to be imputed to us; they are one &s;eed, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.16, 29. <HI>and to thy &s;eed,</HI> which is Chri&s;t: You may pur&s;ue any of the Brothers that &s;hare of the Fathers e&s;tate; any of the Members of the body may be puni&s;h'd for what another has done: We are all Members of one body. When a Society would give &s;ufficient ground of Credit, they put it in their con&s;titution, that you may pur&s;ue one for all; here tho|rough
<PB N="36" REF="19">the onene&s;s of nature all became Bankerupt thorough <HI>Adam;</HI> but much more united is that Society, one in Chri&s;t. <Q REND="inline"><HI>Ruther, par.</HI> 2. <HI>p.</HI> 251. (1.) One and the &s;ame legal party, the &s;ame object of ju&s;tice; he that pur&s;ues the &s;urety, pur&s;ues the Debtor: (2.) The Debt is one; It's but one Debt that Chri&s;t &s;uffer'd for, and &s;inners &s;uffer for. (3.) The &s;atisfaction or payment is one; it cannot be required of the prin|cipal debtor, what the &s;urety has paid. (4.) The acceptation is one, if he accept of payment from the Surety, he cannot pur&s;ue the Debtor; and the Di&s;charge is one, as Chri&s;t was deliver'd for our Of|fences, he ro&s;e again for our Ju&s;tification.</Q> If a &s;inner was a&s;&s;ur'd that he were an elect ve&s;&s;el, he might &s;ay, I have paid all in my &s;urety; but as we have the priviledge of minors, &s;o have we the folly, and therefore are treated as them, who have not wi&s;dom to manage their own E&s;tate. 3. The Office that Chri&s;t was put in thorough this Covenant for us, is a ju&s;t foundation for imputation, <HI>Heb.</HI> 7.22. <HI>He was made &s;urety of a better covenant:</HI> Whatever the word &s;ignifies there, it is for us as a Prie&s;t towards God, that he exerts it, as to the &s;ignification of the word tho' its but this once in the New-Te&s;tament, yet &s;everal times the &s;eventy u&s;e it as the proper tran&s;lation of <HI>Gharab,</HI> which <HI>Prov.</HI> 6.1. and 17.19. &s;ig|nifieth &s;urety, &s;o <HI>Gen.</HI> 43.9. <HI>I will be &s;urety for him, let me bear the blame for ever:</HI> 44.32. <HI>Thy &s;ervant became &s;urety for the lad:</HI> The end of &s;urety|&s;hip is to be a ground of Tru&s;t; <HI>Dum curant homines ut diligentius &s;ibi cau|tum &s;it, I have laid help on one that is mighty.</HI> (2.) One becomes &s;o for ano|ther by contract, if in his own power, <HI>Fideju&s;&s;or fit per &s;tipulationem;</HI> be not thou one of them that &s;trike hands, or that are &s;ureties for Debts. (3.) It legally unites the per&s;ons, <HI>Fideju&s;&s;or, propri&egrave; dicitur debitor:</HI> He was made under the Law; <HI>Singuli in &s;olidum tenentur;</HI> each are bound for the whole; <HI>He was made &s;in, that knew no &s;in.</HI> (4.) Tis of &s;everal kinds; either it may preceed or follow the Obligation, it may either be for debt or for per&s;ons indemnity, or good behaviour, or for performance of con|dition, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 36.8. <HI>Give pledges, I pray thee, to my Ma&s;ter, the King of A&s;&s;yria:</HI> There is &s;omething of each of the&s;e in Chri&s;ts Sureti&s;hip; <HI>The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all: Tho&s;e that thou gave&s;t me I have kept: All that the Father giveth me, &s;hall come to me:</HI> His Surety&s;hip is that of &s;atisfaction for guilt pa&s;t, in the Covenant of Works, and that of caution in the Covenant of Grace: Thus <HI>Brin&s;ley,</HI> <Q REND="inline">Where there is a Surety&s;hip, there is ju&s;t ground for legal imputation, but Chri&s;ts Mediatorial Office is a Surety&s;hip, therefore it founds a ju&s;t ground of imputation to them for whom 'twas undertaken.</Q></P>
<P>There are two Que&s;tions, the &s;olution whereof might contribute a con&s;iberable light in this affair, one is, What kind of righteou&s;ne&s;s that is
<PB N="37" REF="19">which is imputed, and the &s;econd is, how far it is made ours by impu|tation, and the one contributes light to the other, as to the (1.) There is righteou&s;ne&s;s in Chri&s;t as he is God, his e&s;&s;ential Holine&s;s. (2.) A Righteou&s;ne&s;s as he is God-man, ab&s;tractledy taken from the work of Redemption for us. (3.) There is a Righteou&s;ne&s;s in his now pre|&s;ent glorified e&s;tate, wherein he applies what he did for us to us, which carries a conformity to the Covenant of Redemption, and there|fore is a righteou&s;ne&s;s. (4.) There is a twofold righteou&s;ne&s;s in his performance of the mediatorial office for us here below, one by rea&s;on of its conformity to the Mediatorial Law, which requir'd the faithful di&s;charge of a King, Prie&s;t and Prophet, at his hand, the other in a con|formity to the Law that we were under, into which place that under|taking put him. As there are four kinds of righteou&s;ne&s;s to be di&s;tin|gui&s;ht in Chri&s;t, &s;o there are three degrees of imputation; One is only for a per&s;ons good Profit or Honour, and thus all in Chri&s;t is; 'tis an honour to mankind that there is &s;uch a glorious per&s;on come of the fa|mily, he is the light that enlightneth every one that comes into the world, he came to re&s;tore all things; that fir&s;t relation I have before men|tioned as head and end of all the Creatures, which fitted him, and ren|der'd it proper and becoming that he &s;hould become our redeemer, was much for man's profit and good: A 2d. Degree of imputation is for our &s;ake; <HI>for their &s;akes do I &s;anctifie my &s;elf;</HI> when we become the end, and he the means, and thus the whole Mediatorial Office was undertaken by him, the whole of that work was the delivery of Mankind, e&s;pecially the elect, although we are not made Prie&s;t, Prophet and King, we reap the benefit of the&s;e offices, all their cau&s;ality combined in our &s;al|vation, and &s;o doth his interce&s;&s;ion unto this day: 3d. There is a near|er degree of imputation, when what's done is done in our name, room and place, which <HI>Brin&s;ley</HI> calls the office of an Attorney: I &s;hall give my thought of it by the&s;e two properties; When Chri&s;t doth for us what he was not obliged to do for him&s;elf as God-man. 2. When we who were oblig'd to do it, are freed from the obligation by his doing of't, and under this Chri&s;ts pa&s;&s;ive righteou&s;ne&s;s is comprehended; but pa&s;&s;ive righte|ou&s;ne&s;s may ju&s;tly comprehend the whole &s;tate of his humiliation, from his Conception to his Re&s;urrection: He <HI>grew up as a root out of a dry ground, without form or comeline&s;s;</HI> he made him&s;elf of no reputation, and his fir&s;t likene&s;s to man was in the form of a Servant, and in that fa&s;hi|on he became obedient unto death: Great glory and dignity was the due of the humane nature from the fir&s;t minute of union. If a King &s;hould marry the poore&s;t Beggar, &s;he is Queen from that minute, and has a right to &s;hare with her Husband in his plenty and honour, but a
<PB N="38" REF="20">deniedne&s;s to this, a being emptied of it, as 'tis in the 2d. of <HI>Phil.</HI> was a great part of Humiliation, and a birth of this kind was merito|rious; the throwing &s;uch a thick veil over his proper glory, the ob&s;cur|ing of his brightne&s;s by &s;uch a thick cloud. All righteou&s;ne&s;s has nece&s;&s;arily an active obedience accompanying it, or rather is it, for a pa&s;&s;ive &s;uffering without it is not righteou&s;ne&s;s; for all righteou&s;|ne&s;s con&s;i&s;ts in action and habit, and has a relation to the preceptive part of the Law, &s;o what had been to us meerly a cur&s;e, was to him obedience and righteou&s;ne&s;s, becau&s;e he came under a Law to perform it; for what was the penalty of the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI>'s Law, was obedience to the Mediatorial Law, &s;atisfaction to one, righteou&s;ne&s;s to the other: (3.) Though Chri&s;t as man was bound to obey the Moral Law, <HI>viz.</HI> Not to bear fal&s;e witne&s;s, not to &s;teal or kill, yet his obedience was in &s;uch circum&s;tances that rendered it meritorious; all his Sermons and his Death too was a bearing witne&s;s to the truth, and &s;o an obedience to the ninth Command, yet not &s;uch obedience as he was antecedently o|blig'd to, his re&s;toring that which he took not away, his being denied to that which was his due, was obedience he perform'd to the eighth Com|mandment: His prai&s;ing God in the Church here below, his prayers and faith, with &s;trong cries and tears, was an obedience to the fir&s;t table, that he was not oblig'd to as God-man: He might have been man without being the &s;eed of <HI>Abraham,</HI> and therefore he was not obliged to be circum|cis'd, which was a great part of &s;uffering, for 'twas a great di&s;honour, an acknowledgment and publick confe&s;&s;ion of Original Sin. And if our Original Sin thus on him, why not his Original Righteou&s;ne&s;s, not as man, but as man in our likene&s;s, born of a Woman, conceiv'd in a Womb, and <HI>Beza</HI> &s;o expounds, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1, 2. <HI>Now there is no condemnation to them that are in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, &mdash; For the law of the &s;pirit of Life in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> the Ho|line&s;s, the un&s;potted Purity and habitural righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t as man, being imputed to the Believer, <HI>hath made me free from the Law of &s;in and death:</HI> That convinces of the one, and binds over to the other, <HI>viz.</HI> Death; thus <HI>Beza, Hemingius, Elton, Parr, Stre&s;o, Downham:</HI> As he was the &s;eed of the Woman, and our Brother, he was bound to obey the mo|ral Law as &s;uited to this e&s;tate, but there was not a nece&s;&s;ity of being born of a Woman, he might have become man in a more glorious manner, he might have a&s;&s;umed &s;uch a Manhood as he now wears; there is a great difference to be made between the dues of Chri&s;t as <HI>Emanuel,</HI> and as Mediator: The Originals are different, the one flows from his Acti|ons and Sufferings, Function and Inve&s;titure, the other nakedly from the Union, which la&s;t remains, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. when the former is laid down. (4.) Though the Scriptures point at Chri&s;t's Death and Blood
<PB N="39" REF="20">principally as the price and &s;atisfaction, <HI>Acts</HI> 20.28. <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.12. <HI>Rev.</HI> 1.5. &amp; 5.9. <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.7. yet that may well be under&s;tood by way of emi|nence, it being the pinnacle of the penalty, and doth in&s;truct us that the nece&s;&s;ity of the &s;atisfaction was founded in a holy, ju&s;t and good Law, and not in the nature of God: The &s;atisfaction did not make any change in the divine nature, to turn him out of an angry temper into a gracious, kind and merciful one, for the gift of the Son flow'd from the unchangeablene&s;s of his Love, but God as Supream King and Gover|nour by a ju&s;t Law, well and wi&s;ely e&s;tabli&s;h'd, could not in Honour ad|mit Rebels to the Priviledges he de&s;ign'd for them, without a &s;atisfacti|on made to the Government, which mu&s;t be what the Law required, and that required Death; and as our Death begins with a mortal nature, and encrea&s;es thorough &s;ickne&s;s and weakne&s;s, until it be compleated in a Death-&s;troke, or &s;ome violence prevent the gradualne&s;s, &s;o Chri&s;t be|came like us in all things, excepting &s;in; one drop of Chri&s;t's Blood, one day of his humility, had dignity enough in in it, but he was to pay what the Law required, and the Law obtained all its ends in him. This may help us to under&s;tand the&s;e Phra&s;es u&s;ed very rudely, that God loves the elect when &s;inning as well as when praying: Its true as he is God, for there is no change in him, but not true as our God or Governour, and the Language of Scripture is in this latter &s;en&s;e, as he manife&s;ts him&s;elf thorough Law or Go&s;pel, the&s;e being Rules of his di&s;pen&s;ations, and gla&s;&s;es of our knowledge. (5.) On the other hand, though we obey the Law in &s;ome mea&s;ure, and have a mea&s;ure of &s;uffering, which is ac|ceptable to God thorough Chri&s;t, if we have faith in him, yet this comes in as no &s;atisfaction to that primitive Law, for we are not oblig'd to do what he did for us; it comes in as a preparing us for a po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion in a holy Society, where no unclean thing can enter, &s;o the imputation of Chri&s;t's obedience takes not away the nece&s;&s;ity of our obedience, more than his pa&s;&s;ive takes away the nece&s;&s;ity of our &s;uffering or dying; <HI>It's appoint|ed for all once to dye,</HI> though Chri&s;t died, and its appointed for all to obey, though Chri&s;t obey'd; neither our &s;uffering nor our obedience comes in as a part of that righteou&s;ne&s;s that fir&s;t Law requir'd of us, as belonging to the covenant of Works; the breaking of this clay ve&s;&s;el ei|ther by Death, or what's equivalent, is nece&s;&s;ary for our habitation in another Sphere, where this cannot enter; ble&s;&s;ings of that would be a torment to this con&s;titution: Sufferings are nece&s;&s;ary to make us &s;en&s;ible what we de&s;erve, and what our Saviour &s;uffer'd for us; Holine&s;s and Righteou&s;ne&s;s is nece&s;&s;ary by precept, and as a means to fit and prepare for that po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. (3.) Thorough a congruity, as a fruit and an effect of that image of God begun to be drawn in us, by rea&s;on of which when
<PB N="40" REF="21">in its perfection, it may be &s;aid, <HI>The Law is not made for a righteous man;</HI> and we read of no Law given to <HI>Adam,</HI> but Ceremonial Laws; the na|ture of God is the fir&s;t Law; the Moral Law reveal'd is but a Copy of that divine temper, and when its perfectly writ in a Man's Heart with|out any blot, mi&s;take or defect, to live holily is to live as he li&s;t, and by rea&s;on of this di&s;po&s;ition of Soul a Saint can never be &s;aid to be with|out law, yet if we take law for an external Command, &s;waying by the force of its &s;anction again&s;t the &s;tream of Inclination, a man is neither of the Law, nor under the Law. The 2d. and la&s;t Head propos'd, was about the &s;en&s;e of the&s;e words, <HI>Faith imputed to Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> about which there are the&s;e three Opinions: Some &s;ay that Faith is taken objectively, Faith comprehending Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s is put for it, or Faith in ju&s;tification is always valued as comprehending Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s. 2. Others &s;ay that God out of his Gracious Acceptation takes faith for the Righteou&s;ne&s;s Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s is due to; we &s;ay Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s comes in the room of that, they that Chri&s;t merited, that faith &s;hould be taken for it. The 3d. Which my judge|ment embraces, is, that faith is reckon'd of God the mean of Applicati|on, or In&s;trument of conveyance of Chri&s;t's Righteou&s;ne&s;s to us: Impu|tation applied to Faith is a note of Di&s;tinction, implying a double u&s;e of Faith, the one is by inhe&s;ion, and &s;o it &s;anctifies us, the other is by im|putation, and &s;o it ju&s;tifies us, becau&s;e it is the ceremony of Sei&s;in, by which we are inve&s;ted with, and entitled to the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t; this &s;uits be&s;t with the former Metaphor of imputation in Books of ac|compts, for 'tis not only u&s;ual and nece&s;&s;ary to transfer and impute E&s;tates in Books of Accompts, where great Funds and Banks are, but there is given to the per&s;on who is made Creditor a Bank-bill or Tal|ly, bearing the value of the transferr'd &s;umm, &s;o that bit of Stick or Pa|per thorough imputation, if we compare it with the&s;e Bank-Books, makes the Man worth &s;o much money as the transfer'd &s;umm is; &s;o in the Lamb's Book of Life there's not only a transferring of his righteou&s;|ne&s;s to us, but there is given out this Bill or Tally of Faith to us, by which we are entitled to it: There are many Arguments which may both prove and explain this. (1.) It is without doubt that all our priviledg|es are convey'd one way, Faith bears the &s;ame relation to them all, <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.16. It's &s;aid the inheritance <HI>is of Faith, that it might be by grace;</HI> now <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.1. <HI>Faith's</HI> call'd <HI>the &s;ub&s;tance of things hop'd for;</HI> Sub&s;tance, &s;aith <HI>Tho. Aquin.</HI> is the beginning of a thing that nece&s;&s;arily at la&s;t infers the whole, that's in our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> an Earne&s;t; now if Faith be an earne&s;t of Heaven, it bears the like relation to other priviledges, as <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.17. We read of a white &s;tone, and in the &s;tone a New Name; that was the
<PB N="41" REF="21">&s;tone of ab&s;olution, the Judge anciently in&s;tead of &s;peaking his Sentence convey'd it, by the giving of a white or black &s;tone; &s;o if Faith be the earne&s;t of our hopes, it's the &s;tone of our pardon, it's the Ring of our Marriage with Chri&s;t, it's the Winte Raiment, Fea&s;t and New Name of our Manumi&s;&s;ion by ju&s;tification; out of Slaves we are made Freemen, and Faith is the mean and in&s;trument of Inve&s;titure with it. (2.) This &s;ence of it removes a con&s;iderable difficulty among Divines, the Que|&s;tion is, &s;ince Ju&s;tification is a tran&s;itory act of God, and terminates upon the Creature, what it is that he doth when he ju&s;tifies, or what bears the room of the ju&s;tifying &s;entence? mo&s;t &s;ay, the Word of God, the Go&s;pel, but there's a great di&s;tinction between the voice of the Law and the voice of the Judge; the Law &s;ays, <HI>Who&s;oever believes &s;hall be ju&s;tified,</HI> but the voice of the Judge is, thou <HI>John</HI> or <HI>Thomas</HI> art ab&s;olv'd, its a par|ticular, po&s;itive and authorative Application of the Law. Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> thinks, that God proclaims &s;ome publick Sentence among the Angels, but that's a groundle&s;s Notion; this &s;eems to me mo&s;t rea&s;onable, that the gift of Faith being &s;uch a fruit of his &s;pecial grace, that he gives to no &s;inner but whom he ju&s;tifies, its relative Language &s;hould be, I ju&s;ti|fie thee, I pardon or ab&s;olve thee, for the &s;ame Gift may have two U&s;es, as a Ring in Marriage, it enriches and it marries, the one by its own In|herent value, the other by con&s;titution; &s;o Faith &s;anctifies by its own inherent vertue, and ju&s;tifies by impuration. (3.) It &s;hews us what in|fluence the Holy Gho&s;t has in our ju&s;tification; all the three Per&s;on con|cur in all tran&s;ient and external Acts, and in particular, this act is a&s;|crib'd to the Spirit, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.11. <HI>But ye are wa&s;h'd, but you are &s;ancti|fi'd, but you are ju&s;tifi'd in the name of the Lord Je&s;us, and by the Spirit of our God:</HI> There's no more rea&s;on for derogating ju&s;tification from the Spirit of God, then from derogating &s;anctification from the Name of the Lord Je&s;us: The ver&s;e contains two Ble&s;&s;ings, Sanctification and Ju&s;tification; two Authors of them, the Lord Je&s;us and the Spirit; two ways of Application of their vertue, the Merit of the one, and the Spi|ritual Efficiency of the other, in name of the Lord Je&s;us and by the Spi|rit of God: Some think the Spirits Efficiency in Ju&s;tification is to give the comfort and the knowledge of it, but that's no cau&s;ality that may come forty years after the effect, but this gives an ea&s;ie &s;olution to the Text; the Spirit of God works Faith, which entitles to Chri&s;t's Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s, therefore we are ju&s;tifi'd by the Spirit, and may be is called the Spirit of Adoption upon the &s;ame account, for the Spirit of Faith and Spirit of Prayer are one, and the Spirit of Adoption; <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.15. is that whereby we call <HI>Abba,</HI> Father; &s;o he may be al&s;o call'd the Spi|rit of Ju&s;tification by his working, ju&s;tifying faith, and this &s;eems to
<PB N="42" REF="22">be pointed at 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.14. <HI>The grace of our Lord was exceeding abun|dant, with faith and love:</HI> There are two Ble&s;&s;ings mention'd, and both Preventive, <HI>exceeding grace, with faith and love:</HI> It is not &s;aid, and Faith, and Love, to import barely the contemporarine&s;s of the Gift of Pardon and Faith, but the way of conveyance; thus God gave me Faith and Love, when I was a Bla&s;phemer, and a Per&s;ecutor, and with Faith, or thorough Faith I obtain'd mercy, the Grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant in this ble&s;&s;ing, in giving faith, and a pardon thorough faith. (4.) Chri&s;t's ju&s;tification is a pattern of ours, <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.24. <HI>He ro&s;e again for our ju&s;tification:</HI> 1 Tim. 3.16. He was <HI>ju&s;tifi'd in the Spirit;</HI> the work of the Spirit in rai&s;ing him from the Dead was a ju&s;tifying act upon him; in the World he was condemn'd as a meer man, and thereby a deceiver, &s;aying, he was God, but <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.3. <HI>He was declar'd to be the Son of God with power, by the &s;pirit of holine&s;s in his re&s;urrection:</HI> His &s;tate of Humili|ation was <HI>&s;tatus reorum,</HI> he was in the condition of a guilty man, <HI>in pri|&s;onand judgment,</HI> I&s;a. 53. He was condemn'd, that he might condemn &s;in in the fle&s;h, and that there might be no condemnation to them that are in him; he could not be puni&s;h'd under God's Government without &s;in inherent or imputed, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 50.8. <HI>He is near that ju&s;tifieth me;</HI> he ju&s;tified him in his rai&s;ing him from the dead, and &s;etting him at his right hand, &s;o condemn'd him in humbling him; at the re&s;urrection his ju&s;tification and vivification was one and the &s;ame thing in different relations, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.18. He was put to death in the fle&s;h, but quicken'd by the Spi|rit; when the Spirit quicken'd him, he ju&s;tified him; his death was con&s;equently a condemnation, not only by man but God, as by his deter|minate coun&s;el under his Government. <HI>Sydenham</HI> and <HI>Brin&s;ley</HI> &s;ay, in his re|&s;urrection, as Attorney he took up the bond of the old Covenant in Court for his Clients, <HI>John</HI> 16. The &s;pirit now in the Go&s;pel bears witne&s;s to his righteou&s;ne&s;s as our Head and Surety, becau&s;e he goes to his Father, <HI>i. e.</HI> witne&s;&s;es he was ju&s;tified as our Surety, and therefore his re&s;ur|rection is our acquittance or &s;olution, he had never gone to Heaven el&s;e. (5.) No puni&s;hment can be ju&s;tly removed before the Per&s;on be ju&s;tifi'd or ab&s;olv'd; the removal of our Spiritual Death by the gift of his Spi|rit, is a removal of our greate&s;t puni&s;hment, therefore it carries ab&s;o|lution in its bo&s;ome, and by it we may ea&s;ily an&s;wer the <HI>Papi&s;ts,</HI> who argue our ju&s;tification and &s;anctification to be one, becau&s;e the Scripture mentions a relation certainly above a bare connexion of time, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1, &amp; 2. in <HI>v.</HI> 1. a connexion, but in <HI>v.</HI> 2. &s;ome cau&s;ality. This place, &s;ays <HI>Stapleton, Ant.</HI> p. 625. is a torment to <HI>Beza</HI> and <HI>Calvin,</HI> but <HI>Calvin</HI>'s Comment frees him&s;elf, for though he yields inherent holine&s;s to be the &s;en&s;e of the 2d. <HI>v.</HI> the <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> or for the influence it has on, no condemna|tion
<PB N="43" REF="22">in the <HI>v.</HI> 1. is thus, <HI>Non a&s;&s;ignari caa&s;am &agrave; paulo, &s;ed modum quo &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|vimur &agrave; reatu,</HI> Sanctification contains a way of our being freed from guilt as well as filth of &s;in. I argue again&s;t the <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> thus, there could be no Argument to prove the one from the other, if both were one. 2ly. This interprets the relation, &s;uch texts as this, and more evidently <HI>Tit.</HI> 3. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. implys between the&s;e two twins, <HI>viz.</HI> the &s;ame grace &s;anctifies as a principle of efficiency in the Believer, and ju&s;tifies as a foundation of relation it rai&s;es between the Believer and God, now let the <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> find one Scripture to torment a Prote&s;tant Interpreter with this key in his hand, or any advantage to their &s;ide who &s;ay ju&s;tifi|cation is, ju&s;tification is the ornamental or enriching value of the Ring, its marriage vertue? or the relation between man and wife? (6.) The being put in Covenant is al&s;o a relative ble&s;&s;ing, and we are brought thereinto by God's pouring out his &s;pirit on us; <HI>This is my covenant,</HI> Heb. 8. There is a very obvious objection again&s;t this, <HI>viz.</HI> The Scripture commonly attributes Ju&s;tification and Pardon to the exerci&s;e of Faith, <HI>Abraham believ'd in God, and 'twas counted to him for righteou&s;ne&s;s;</HI> but this Doctrine about it lays the &s;tre&s;s of its ju&s;tifying vertue on the gift of it, and the &s;ame objection may be otherways propos'd, the Scripture lays the ju&s;tifying vertue of faith on the object of it, it is not a miraculous faith, believing I &s;hall be cur'd, nor an Hi&s;torical Faith, believing the truth of a particular relation in the Scripture, but a <HI>Believing on him that ju&s;tifies the ungodly for ju&s;tification, a believing on him that rais'd up Je&s;us our Lord from the dead; thorough the belief of his being deliver'd for our offences, and rais'd again for our ju&s;tification.</HI> And (3.) The like objections may be rais'd again&s;t the&s;e, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.8. <HI>That we are &s;av'd by grace thorough faith, and that not of our &s;elves,</HI> but as <HI>the gift of God: For we are his Workman&s;hip,</HI> Tit. 3.5. <HI>Not by works of righteou&s;ne&s;s which we have done, but according to his mercy he &s;av'd us by the wa&s;hing of regeneration, that being ju&s;tified by his grace:</HI> Thus we &s;ee the Scripture lays an <HI>Empha&s;is</HI> on each of them, the gift of Faith, the nature of Faith, the object of Faith, and indeed this Bill would be but a counterfeit one, if it wanted any of the&s;e Properties or Relations. 1. It mu&s;t be receiv'd from him that hath the power, or el&s;e it is not valid; <HI>By his knowledge &s;hall my righteous &s;ervant ju&s;tifie many.</HI> 2. It mu&s;t be in true form, rightly dictated, that is its nature, or not valid. 3. The divine con&s;titution, the Law of Heaven has made it have &s;uch a relation to Chri&s;t's righteou&s;ne&s;s, the riches of his Grace, and the Wi&s;dom of the con&s;titution &s;hines in the fitne&s;s of the in&s;tru|ment, for our Souls are an open begging hand, a va&s;t Appetite, <HI>It crys dai|ly, who will &s;hew us any good?</HI> &s;ome good things I want, &s;ome more good, and this Faith cla&s;ps the hand on Chri&s;t offer'd, determines and cen|ters
<PB N="44" REF="23">the de&s;ire, as on an Object that has all fullne&s;s in him, full &s;ati&s;|fact<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">on, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o build a relation and union of right upon an union of nature; a Communion upon a cement of Union honours the Wi&s;dom of the contriver: So we &s;ee all the&s;e three mu&s;t be in a valid Bank-bill; it is not worth a Farthing in it &s;elf, a bit of Paper ink'd, but rela|tively to &s;uch a Summe, &s;uppo&s;e 1000 <HI>l.</HI> it's worth &s;o much, its very form con&s;i&s;ts in relation to that &s;umme, that's its Object, it &s;ignally bears it, and if rightly drawn, and receiv'd from the right owner, their Con&s;titution and the Law will make me Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or in due time: If any of the&s;e qualifications be wanting, it is not worth a Farthing: 1. Drawn in true forms. 2. Bearing relation to its proper Object. 3. Receiv'd from him who has the riches in his power to give: And I find our Catechim and Confe&s;&s;ion in&s;i&s;ts as much on this as any; <HI>Conf. c.</HI> 11. &mdash; <Q REND="inline">Nor by imputing it &s;elf the act of believing, or any other Evangelical Obedience, but by imputing the Obedience and Sati&s;fa|ction of Chri&s;t unto them, they receiving it by Faith, which is the Gift of God. 11. Thus its the alone In&s;trument of Ju&s;tification, <HI>i. e.</HI> they are not ju&s;tified until the Holy Spirit doth in due time actually ap|ply Chri&s;t unto them. <HI>Our le&s;&s;er Catech. Q.</HI> How are we made partakers of the Redemption purcha&s;ed by Chri&s;t? <HI>R.</HI> By the effe|ctual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit; for which they quote <HI>Tit.</HI> 3.5, 6, 7. <HI>Q.</HI> How doth the Spirit apply the Redemp|tion, <HI>&amp;c? R.</HI> By working Faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Chri&s;t in our effectual calling.</Q> I may from thence form this Argu|ment, Maj. <HI>When Chri&s;t and his benefits are applyed to us, we are ju&s;tified.</HI> Min. <HI>But when God effectually calls, Chri&s;t and his benefits are applyed to us.</HI> Erg. <HI>When effectually call'd, we are ju&s;tified.</HI> It is granted, that Faith is the fruit of effectual Calling, and it cannot be deny'd that relations, <HI>viz.</HI> Ju&s;tification, Adoption, flow as &s;uddenly from their Foundations as effects can from their efficients. Or thus, Maj. <HI>The imputing Faith to Righteou&s;ne&s;s is an application of Chri&s;t and his benefits:</HI> Min. <HI>But the Spirit by working Faith applys Chri&s;t and his benefits:</HI> Erg. <HI>The Spirit by working Faith imputes Faith to Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> But I need no o|ther Te&s;timony but Scripture, that way the Faith of Miracles tempo|rally &s;av'd, that way &s;aving Faith ju&s;tifies; but by the Spirits work|ing the Faith of Miracles, <HI>when he &s;aw their Faith,</HI> it was certainly a miraculous Gift, di&s;tingui&s;hing and characterizing the per&s;ons to be heal'd; to give him that Faith, was to &s;ay, thou art to live to be cured, there was no cooperation of the creature to a Miracle. Further, compare <HI>C.</HI> 4, &amp; 5. and we find imputing Faith to Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and giving a Righteou&s;ne&s;s, are the &s;ame; but Objections are not to be an&s;wer'd
<PB N="45" REF="23">as Bullets in war, with the like, but explication and di&s;tinction: For the 1. The rea&s;on, the nature or exerci&s;e of faith is in&s;i&s;ted on in Scrip|ture &s;o much, is for our in&s;truction; if the faith that God has given be that which entitles to Heaven and Happine&s;s. 2. The rea&s;on the ob|ject is &s;o much intimated, is to prevent a mo&s;t dangerous error that the World is mo&s;t liable to, <HI>viz</HI> Leaning on our own righteou&s;ne&s;s; &s;uch fools, to take the Bill for the Summ: But its certain the owner and pro|prietor mu&s;t be the conveyer, I challenge to &s;how what he doth el&s;e that looks like it. For the 2d. I propo&s;e the&s;e two Di&s;tinctions: 1. Between the &s;tate of ju&s;tification and particular acts of pardon, or between the &s;tate of adoption, and particular ble&s;&s;ings in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; the former is convey'd thorough the gift of faith, the latter thorough the exerci&s;e of faith; a man gets right by the receiving of a Bill from the Proprietor, but when he comes for &s;uch a part of it, he brings his Bill and &s;hows it, and writes a receipt on the back of it. Tho' we are but once ju&s;tified, we daily pray, <HI>Lord forgive my debts;</HI> and once adopted, we daily pray for more enjoyment of what is due to that title. 2ly. With Mr. <HI>Fro&s;t,</HI> I propo&s;e a double in&s;trumentality of Faith, one on the givers part, ano|ther on the receivers; &s;o it is with Bills too; the Proprietor conveys his right, and the Receiver afterward pleads his right; &s;o it is with faith, God conveys Chri&s;t and his Righteou&s;ne&s;s thorough it, and we plead for the benefit and u&s;e of it, as we need daily. But this I &s;hall re|tain, that from the fir&s;t gift of &s;aving Faith, which turns us from un|godly to godly, we are ju&s;tified and adopted per&s;ons, which entirely throws out that legal conditionality that among <HI>Socinians</HI> has thrown out Chri&s;t's &s;atisfaction, and among <HI>Arminians</HI> has impair'd and delay'd its vertue toward &s;inners, until they come with &s;omething in them&s;elves, a conformity to a new Law: And al&s;o <HI>Antinomiani&s;m,</HI> which is a de|nomination that comprehends all Errors, di&s;honourable to the Law or Law giver, and whatever Doctrine is again&s;t the nece&s;&s;ity, &s;tability and perfection of the Law of God, is of this kind; whatever Doctrine re|moves the nece&s;&s;ity of the Law, removes the nece&s;&s;ity of Chri&s;t's &s;atis|faction, and what Doctrine removes perfection from the Law of God, removes the Glory from God's Holine&s;s; but to &s;uppo&s;e one under the Law &s;av'd, and that Law neither fulfill'd nor &s;atisfied by the per&s;onor his Surety, is to &s;uppo&s;e the Law changeable, not nece&s;&s;ary; if Chri&s;t only fulfill'd the mediatorial Law, and not that we were under, then that Law and Government bult on it was remov'd and chang'd without &s;a|tisfaction. If the grand influence of Chri&s;t's righteou&s;ne&s;s by the Media|torial Law was to get it chang'd for an ea&s;ier and le&s;s perfect, we mu&s;t either &s;ay, the influence of Chri&s;t's &s;atisfaction did terminate on the na|ture
<PB N="46" REF="24">of God, and make a change in his temper from anger to mercy, and perfection of holine&s;s to indulgence in carnality or &s;ay; that the Fa|ther and Son were of two different minds, but the latter thorough his obedience gain'd him to his mind; for what has influence on God, as Govenrour, has influence on the Law, (Admini&s;trations of Government mu&s;t be rul'd by the Law) and what has influence on the Law for our good, mu&s;t fulfill its precepts or &s;atisfie its &s;anction. The Law has no o|ther Language, and if Chri&s;t did neither, the influence mu&s;t not ter|minate on the Government, but on the nature God, or Fathers per&s;on in the Godhead. But the Scripture informs us, <HI>That God &s;ent his Son in the likene&s;s of &s;inful fle&s;h, that the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Law might be fulfill'd in us:</HI> In us, &s;ays <HI>Va&s;tius,</HI> by application, but in Chri&s;t by inhe&s;ion; in us by im|putation, but in Chri&s;t per&s;onally, &s;ays <HI>Calvin, Mu&s;cus, Beza, Rollock, Fulke, Cartwright, Elton;</HI> &s;ays Dr. <HI>Jacomb,</HI> all Prote&s;tants; he adds, his active and has pa&s;&s;ive as if they had obey'd it in their own Per&s;ons, the Law is wholly fulfill'd in him, and that very righteou&s;ne&s;s is ours in a Law &s;en&s;e, and &s;o fulfill'd in us. 3ly. It overthrows Libertini&s;m, for if the &s;ame grace &s;anctifies that ju&s;tifies, they can never pretend to the one that want the other. 4ly. Popery, that makes ju&s;tification and &s;an|ctification one, that differ as far as the Category of Quality and Rela|tion. I have no place for futher u&s;e, than to intreat every one as they love their own &s;ouls, and long for pardon of &s;in, not to quench or pro|voke the Holy Spirit of God, for that is his Errand as well as &s;anctifi|cation. 2. As ever they would enjoy this free &s;pirit, be diligent and con&s;cientious in all Ordinances, that are mini&s;trations of the Spirit; he is to be reciev'd in the bearing of Faith. 3. Study this imputed righte|ou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, until thou experience mo&s;t deep humility and mo&s;t &s;weet comfort from it, <HI>Rom.</HI> 11.19. <HI>Thou &s;tande&s;t by faith, be not high minded, but fear;</HI> thou depends entirely for faith and righteou&s;ne&s;s on another, thou wa&s;t prevented in thy ungodline&s;s, when thou receiv'd that gift. 2. How much will God do for thee, when thou art his Son and Servant, if he did &s;o much for thee when an eremy, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.9. <HI>Much more then being now ju&s;tified by his blood, we &s;hall be &s;av'd;</HI> thou ha&s;t now gi|ven to thee at once a perfect and an everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;s, a total forgivene&s;s of all thy &s;ins, a work of holine&s;s God has engaged to per|fect.</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>Vale.</SALUTE></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><P>Grant me this, there was never any thing &s;o well done by man, wherein there is not room for further indu&s;try,</P> <BIBL><HI>Calv.</HI></BIBL></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
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