Imprimatur,  
H. London.   

Justification Evangelical: Or a Plain Impartial SCRIPTURE-Account OF GOD's Method in Justifying a SINNER.  
Written by Sir CHARLES WOLSELEY, Bart.  Hosea 14.9. 
Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.  
LONDON, Printed for Nath. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry near Cornhill, and in Chancery-lane near Fleetstreet, 1677.   

THE PREFACE TO THE READER.  
WHoever Treats upon this Weighty and most Important Subject of Justification, I acknowledge aught to do it with great Caution, with great Humility, and with great Sincerity. First, with great Caution, for 'tis a point, about which, not only the best Learned, but the most Holy and most Sincerely Religious have considerably differed, and in all such contests both Grace and Discretion will instruct a man not to rush in violently, or suddenly to declare against any one side; or yet easily to suppose the truth wholly appropriated to any one party: But in every advance to proceed with Moderation and Circumspection. Secondly, with great Humility, 'tis not a sit Subject for Proud and Disdainful Pens; the thing in its own nature is of a stupendious and humbling Consideration, and aught to be discoursed▪ of accordingly; that an Apostate creature in open Rebellion against the Great God, should not only be forgiven by an Act of Sovereignty; but that it should become a righteous thing with God to forgive him, and that he should be Justified in his sight, be brought to stand rectus in curia before his Tribunal, and at the Bar of his infinite Justice, and his discharge be an Act Judicial, and as much the effect of Justice as Favour, is that which nothing less than Divine Wisdom could have contrived or effected, and when we duly reflect upon it, we find no less cause for mortifying Adoration, then humble Thanksgiving, and Infinite for both. Thirdly, with great Integrity, the supreme interest of mankind (their Eternal condition hereafter) is so bound up herein, and the true notion of this point so inseparably necessary to it, that as men regard the souls of others, or have any value for their own; they ought with the utmost Sincerity, when they discuss this point to design themselves entirely to the service of Truth, and casting off all Bias of Interest and Party; and all respect to the Pleasures of men, Alone endeavour to arrive at a clear and full Discovery of what God has revealed to us in his Word about this matter: These Rules I proposed to myself when I first engaged in theste Meditations, and I hope the Reader will find nothing in the following Discourse that will occasion him to think I have wilfully transgressed any of them.  
Many Books I know there are extant upon this Subject, but to deal freely with my Reader, the consideration thereof has been so far from diverting the publication of this discourse, that it has rather been the occasion of it: 'Tis apparent to all that are conversant herein, how greatly this point has been obscured by multitude of words; and I considared that many who want leisure, or Inclination, or happily Ability to travail far into Polemic Intricacies, will yet think an hour or two not ill spent to read over a plain short Scripture account of this matter.  
I will no farther attempt to pre-engage my Reader, but only to assure him I have omitted no necessary diligence that I thought might capacitate me for this service: I have carefully and Impartially perused what the Popish Doctors have urged in defence of their Doctrine, and with what Exactness I could, have considered over all the eminent Protestant Writers upon this Subject; and although I highly value the Works of many of these latter both Dead and yet living, and have learned much from them, yet I have purposely forborn to mention their Names for the same reason I find given by Grotius, in the Preface to his Famous Annotations upon the Gospels: Peperci autem plerumque recitandis nominibus quod ea videam factioso hoc saeculo magis ad oblimandum quam ad defaecandum judicium valere.  
Should this endeavour succeed so well as to inform any that were before ignorant of this most essential part of Divinity, or to unite any good men who have differently conceived hereof, it will turn much to my satisfaction; if any that are Judicious and Learned shall express their dislike of any part of this Discourse, I shall upon all occasions endeavour by a just defence to render it more acceptable to them; but if I find myself at any time attacked by such as delight in Contention, and love to turn all Polemic Discourses into impertinent Squabble. I resolve not to be engaged by them, nor upon any terms be brought (to use the modern Expression, serram reciprocare; and indeed to all that sort of men, that sullen answer beforehand, may be proper enough and sufficient: What I have Written, I have Written.   

ERRATAS  
PAge 11 line 21 for By that read By Christ, p. 15 l. 27 for prevailing r. Prevalency, p. 29 l. 6. after were add not, p. 32 l. 19 after were add in, p. 48 l. 25 after saw add sit, p. 51 l. 26 after that add be, p. 52 l. 28 after high add what, p. 54 l. 4 for require r. repaired p. 58 l. 9 after Believer add of, p. 71 l. 23 for disobedience r. obedience, p. 79 l. 16 after mentions add were, p. 82 l. 23 after each add other, p. 86 l. 22. after truth add of, p. 86 l. 23 for employs r. implies, p. 87 l. 2 after works add as, p. 90 l. 28 for an r. any, p. 99 l. 24 for principle r. principal, p. 101 l. 12 after grace add the, p. 104 l. 8 for pregnant r. regnant, p. 107 l. 19 after go ad no, p. 109 l. 9 for carefully r. fully, p. 116 l. 26 for ache r. make, p. 121 l. 10 after righteousness add imputed, p. 129 l. 27 for men r. man.   

JUSTIFICATION Evangelical.  
IN discoursing the point of Justification, these three things shall be first and chief considered. First; What is meant in Scripture by Justification. Secondly, What is the material procuring Cause of Justification before God. Thirdly, How do we come to partake of the benefits of Justification, and arrive at a Justified state.  
Not to obscure the meaning of the word Justification by nice Distinctions, and hard and troublesome Terms: The word Justification comes immediately from the Latin Justificare, which is not a word of Ancient use amongst the best Latin Writers, but is of a Later Edition; has been introduced since by Divines, to express the sense of the Greek Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, so often used by the Septuagint in the Old Testament in rendering the Hebrew Verb Hitzdik, and so often in the New Testament, especially by St. Paul. The meaning of it, is, to Justify, and make, Just by way of Vindication, Defence or in Judgement. Not by infusing a habit, for it is evident, that both the Hebrew and the Greek Verbs, (from whence we must fetch the true sense of the Latin and English,) are Judicial and Forinsical words, and are scarce ever taken throughout the Bible to Juslify, by making inherently Just, or Just by Infusion. The natural and primitive signification of them both, is, to justify Legally and Judicially, to make just by Plea, and in Judgement. And in that original sense, or in a sense relative to it, and derivative from it, are the words generally taken in Scripture. When either God is said to Justify man, or man is said to justify God, or one man is said to justify another, or one and the same man to justify himself, (for all these ways we read of Justification in Scripture) 'tis still without any signification of infusing righteousness, or making just that way: But that which is intended by the word, is, to make just defensatively, declaratively, judicially, and not qualitively. To give some instance of many, Rom. 2. v. 13. Not the hearers of the Law but the doers of it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall be justified; That is, pronounced and declared Just in judgement. In the 11 Chap. of Job v. 2. Should a man full of talk be justified? that is, should he be defended and acquitted upon that account, because he is full of words? Shall that be a sufficient Plea for him? So when we are told Pro. 17. v. 15. that, To justify the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, 'tis meant to justify them by pleading for them, and defending them, or to justify them in judgement, while wicked. For, to justify them in the other sense, to make them inherently just and righteous, is no abomination to the Lord, but a thing he has every where declared himself to be well pleased with. In the 8 of the Rom. St. Paul puts this question, Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, It is God that justifieth: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Who shall condemn? where, by Gods justifying, is meant, his acquitting and clearing in judgement; 'Tis evident to be such a justifying as stands in opposition to charging and condemning. Of the same import are the words most generally wheresoever we find them used by the Holy Ghost either in the Old or New Testament. And this we have acknowledged by many of the Papists on the one hand, and some of the Socinians on the other, though both of them endeavour to prove that Gods justifying men, is not his pronouncing them just, and his declaring them so in a judicial way, but his infusing of habits and making them in themselves actually and habitually righteous.  
Justification in general may be considered as it may relate to two sorts of men: First, to righteous and innocent men, and Secondly to Offenders. Justification in both cases supposeth Charge, and Accusation, and stands in opposition to Condemnation. A Righteous person when he is accused and found faultless, that is, inherently Righteous, and Just, he is, by his righteousness made evident, thereby justified, that is, declared and approved to be just, acquitted and cleared both from accusation and condemnation. David hath an expression to this purpose of God, Psal. the 51. That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest: That is, be justified by being manifested to be really righteous and just. So Good men are sometimes said to be justified by their works, that is, defended and vindicated against false accusation and charge, approved and declared to be just thereby. A person so qualified, is justified, because he appears to be in himself righteous and just, not righteous and just because justified. Secondly, an Offender when he is accused, he can be no other way justified, that is, defended against accusation, and acquitted in judgement, but by pleading ample and proportionable satisfaction made for an offence, and an acceptance of that satisfaction as such, and procuring a remission of the offence thereupon. 'Tis not possible to contrive any other way of Justification in that Case; For free and absolute remission of an offence cannot well be called Justification. The more freely a man is pardoned without any sort of satisfaction, the less he can be properly said to be justified. Such a man now is not justified, because he is found to be inherently just, and without fault, but he becomes Just, is brought into the state of a just man, because he arrives at a Legal Justification, and upon satisfaction made, obtains an acquitment in judgement. Justification in scripture, as 'tis an act of God relating to Men, is ever spoken of in this later way. 'Tis never meant to excuse or justify a Sinner from being a sinner, but to justify a sinner, supposing him a sinner to the utmost: All Gospel-justification being founded upon Satisfaction as the grand fundamental of it.  
But to come more nearly to the Scripture-sense, and meaning of Justification, by which we are generally told, that all Sinners unpardoned are under Divine Wrath, and stand Condemned at God's Bar: and that such whom God is pleased in the method of his Grace judicially to pardon, and receive into favour, he is thereby said to justify. To be justified therefore in Scripture sensee, is, to be Cleared and Discharged before the Tribunal of God from the Gild of sin, resulting from the breach of his Laws, and Absolved from the Punishment due from Divine Justice thereunto. This, without any obscuring Speculation about the nature of Justification in general, is that practical account we find the Scripture to give us of it suitable to its nature, as it relates to sinful offending Man, (for it must still be remembered, that Gods justifying in Scripture, is, his giving sentence with the Guilty party, and so we can only be righteous, because justified, and justified by being pardoned,) and according to what it Operates and effects upon the subject, by which also 'tis best understood, and becomes most accountable to every Capacity. I include not herein the Cause of Justification, nor the Condition of it, but speak of it in its own proper form, and simply in itself considered: For, had I so done, I would after this manner have expressed myself. Justification is an act of God whereby he does, for the sake of Christ's Satisfaction to his Justice; upon men's sincere Belief of the Gospel, account their faith for righteousness, pardon their sins, and Acquit them in Judgement.  
That this Description I have given of Justification, and our being justified, is that which ought to be given, and the direct account we have of it in Scripture, will evidently appear from these four considerations.  
Fist, Sin being a transgression of God's Law, and so an Offence accountable for to Him, nothing less can justify a sinner then the Supreme judgement of God Himself, as the Sovereign Lord and Judge of all the Earth. The Apostle tells us that in few words, It is God that justifies. And He does it as an act and exercise of his Supreme Justice; according to that passage Rom. 3. v. 26. That God might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.  
Secondly, Gods justifying men, stands in opposition to Accusation and Condemnation, which we have plainly expressed in the forementioned 8th. to the Rom. where the Apostle opposeth Gods justifying, to Charging and Condemning. Who shall lay any thing to the Charge of Gods elect? It is God that justifieth, Who is he that condemneth? So that if you know what it is to Charge and Condemn, you will know what it is to justify, it being naturally evidenced by its Contraries. And as Condemnation is the result of a Law, so is Justification. We stand Condemned by the Law of works, and are justified by the Law of faith. Now, what is it that Mankind is publicly accused of, and charged with in Scripture? 'Tis Sin. What is it that men stand condemned for at God's Bar? 'Tis Sin. And therefore their Justification must needs be a Clearing and Discharging some way or other from it. And that which the Scripture every where intends by Justification, is the Remission of Sin, and Gods acquitting us in Judgement from the Charge, Gild, Condemnation and Punishment of it. This is judiciously observed by Grotius, Justificatio ut notum est passim in sacris literis sed maxim in Paulinis Epistolis, Absolutionem significat, quae presupposito peccat● consistit in peccatorum remissione, ipso Paul semet clare explicante pr s●rtim, Rom. 4. Pe Satis. Chris chap. 1. pa 38. And this I shall endeavour to prove these several ways. First, by producing divers Texts, wherein the Folly Ghost speaks expressly of Justification, and Forgiveness of sin in the Gospel way, as one and the same thing. Secondly, by showing that the whole Advantage of that satisfaction, upon which (as the Ground of it) we are justified, is generally issued in Scripture into the Forgiveness of sin. Thirdly, by showing that whatever other expressions the Scripture at any time makes use of to signify and Explain Justification to us by, they all tend to give us this sense and signification of it, and to express it to us as consisting in the forgiveness of sin. And fourthly, by showing that the Grand Blessing that God still promised the world should partake of by the Covenant to his Grace, and the sending of his Son, (from whence our Justification has its rise,) was the Pardon and forgiveness of sin. And when I have done this, there will be no need I hope to say more for the satisfaction of any, under this Consideration.  
For the first. In the 4. chap. to the Rom. where St Paul treats more fully and more Critically of Justification than he does in any other place, he there describes it in a Quotation out of the Psalms by the forgiveness of sin, and the non imputation of iniquity. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness: Even as David describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sin is covered: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? Where 'tis not to be fairly denied, but that he describes the blessedness of a Justified person by the blessedness of a Pardoned person, as being one and the same. In the 9 ver. Cometh this blessedness (says the Apostle) upon the Circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? What blessedness? Why, the Blessedness he is treating of, the Blessedness of being justified before God: which he proves, descends both upon Jew and Gentile in the Gospel way of faith, and believing. And what is that blessedness of being justified before God? Wherein lies it? Why, 'tis the Blessedness he tells us that David describes, of having our iniquities forgiven, and our sins covered, the Blessedness of having God not to impute sin to us. 'Tis plain, the Apostles whole scope and drift, is, to prove that Abraham's justification was his pardon; upon which account the Gentiles, though great sinners, might be justified, as well as he: and that Justification before God, is not by works, and so not from the merit of any inherent righteousness of our own, but by God's gracious Imputing righteousness without works, which he makes to consist in the Pardon of sin, and Not imputing of iniquity, and to be the same thing with it. In the 13th. of the Acts the 38 and 39 verses, we find the Apostle again expressing himself to the same purpose, Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses. Where he speaks of remission of sins, and Justification Equivolently, as terms importing the same thing. In the 18th. of Luke, where the Publican is said to smite upon his breast, and seek for pardon and forgiveness, in that expression, God be merciful to me a sinner; our Saviour says, He went home to his house Justified, (that is, Pardoned) rather than the proud Pharisee. The one justified himself, and asked no forgiveness, the other condemned himself, and sought for the pardon of his sins: And by our Saviour's own determination, took the right method of attaining Justification thereby. In the 5th of the Rom. v. 16. The Apostle treating of the difference between Adam's sin, and the condemnation introduced thereby, and the Salvation we have by that, tells us, And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift, for the judgement was by one to condemnation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but the free gift, is, of many offences unto justification. By the free gift of many offences, is meant the pardon of them, and the pardon of them is unto Justification, that is, pardon of sin amounts to Justification, and upon pardon we are actually justified. We are often said in Scripture to have pardon and remission of sins by Christ's blood: And in the 5th. of the Rom. and the 9 vers. we are there said to be justified by his blood: Much more now being justified by his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him. By all which we are told, that the scripture generally intends by justification and pardon, one and the same thing.  
Secondly, The whole advantage and benefit of that satisfaction upon which we come to be justified before God, is often issued into the pardon of sin, and by the Scripture comprised therein. If we look to the Types and Prefigurations of that satisfaction under the Law, the grand end and signification of them, was the removing and purging of sin. This the Apostle tells us, Heb. 9.22. Without shedding of blood is no remission. And in the 26 ver. (he says,) Christ had once appeared in the end of the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. That was the grand thing typified and intended by the sacrifices to be done, and that which our Saviour by his coming actually did do, as we are told in the 1st. chap. of the same book, in that expression, When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. That is, When he had fully accomplished that great End for which he came into the world, which was to procure pardon of sins, he then ascended to his Mediatory Throne, and the exercise of that Authority. If we look into the Gospel, in the 26 of St. Matt. where our blessed Saviour first instituted, and solemnly himself administered that Sacrament, wherein Himself, and all the saving Advantages appurtenant to him, are represented, and conveyed, He there calls his Blood the blood of the New Testament shed for many for the remission of sins. Declaring that to be the grand Effect of his purchase, and the great attainment of the Gospel, from whence all our happiness is derived. In the 1st. of the Ephes v. 7. the Redemption we have by Christ, is called the forgiveness of sin: In whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins. In the 2d. of the Acts vers. 38. St. Peter there persuades the Jews to embrace the Christian-religion in these words, Repent and be baptised for the remission of sins, as the great End attainable by the Gospel and all the Institutions of it. St. John in the 1st. chap. of his 1st. Epist. tells us that, If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son Cleanseth us from all sin: That being the great End of all Gospel faith and obedience (to be cleansed from all sin) and the inlet to all happiness. And 'tis that which all the Saints, the whole Church unitedly do, una voce, adore the Mediator for, as the grand Effect of his undertaking, That he has washed them from their sins in his own blood, and thereby made them Kings and Priests unto God, and entitled them to all happiness, and Glory. In a word, our Saviour himself sums up and Epitomizeth all those blessings he came to purchase for, and confer upon the world, and seems to be in the Supremest exercise of his Mediatory Authority, in pronouncing that Benediction, Thy sins are forgiven thee.  
Thirdly, Whatever other expressions the Scripture makes use of to signify and represent Justification to us by, they all relate to the pardon of sin, and give us this sense and signification of it. The Scripture expresseth our Justification by three other Terms; Sometimes 'tis called Redemption, sometimes Remission, and sometimes Reconciliation: And all these have a reference to sin and its forgiveness. 'Tis called Redemption with respect to that captivity and bondage that is in sin. Remission, with respect to that guilt and obligation to punishment that is in sin. And 'tis called Reconciliation with respect to that enmity and opposition to God that is in sin. All which we are freed from by the pardon of sin, as the great privilege of a justified state, and that wherein it consisteth.  
Fourthly, The great Blessing that the Scripture foretold, and held forth to the world in the coming of the Messiah, and that Covenant of Grace, that God would graciously enter into with Mankind, was the Remission of sin, and blotting out of iniquity. Instances of this kind the Scripture abounds with. The great effect of Christ's coming, we are told, should be, To save his people from their sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity: And in divers of the Prophet's God declares the Grace of his Covenant to lie per eminentiam in this, The pardoning of our iniquities, and the remembering our sins no more. So St. Peter declares, Act. 10.43. To Him give all the Prophet's witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive Remission of sins. And when God was pleased to make the Attributes of his Mercy and Goodness in an especial manner to pass before Moses, and to reveal it to him, as it relates to Mankind, 'tis expressed by That, as the Grand and Transcendent Effect of it, the pardoning iniquity, transgression and sin.  
A third consideration to clear up the truth of this Definition I have given of Justification, (and which is of great prevailing in the case) is this; That whenever God pardons any man's sin, He looks upon him as a Righteous person, does cerstitute him so thereby, and deal with him accordingly. Where he sees no iniquity, there his Countenance is as upon the righteous. This I shall make out. First, from the Reasons of the Thing in itself abstractedly considered, that it ought so to be. Secondly from plain and positive Scriptures in the case, whereby it appears to be God's ordination that so it should be. And thirdly, from the Method God is pleased in his wisdom to take in the pardoning and justifying Offenders, and the manner of his procedure therein, whereby his Righteousness and his Justice become very evident in so doing.  
There be these five Reasons result from the Thing in itself abstractedly considered for the proof of this point. First, Man in his primary Make, was righteous, and just, that was his Original constitution; Sin is but an Accidental Deprivation: And therefore when all Sin and Gild contracted, is Legally removed, and wholly obliterated, 'tis but reasonable he should be judge d of by his first state, and it falls in naturally so to be. Sublata privatione ponitur habitus, is a firm Axiom in Logic. Not that I am here about to prove that a man is restored barely to the state of Adam's Original innocency by the Redemption and Forgiveness of the Gospel, for by God's gracious Ordination we are instated in much more; I urge this only to evidence thus much, That man being made Righteous, and having made himself a Sinner, his sin being pardoned and obliterated, were there nothing else in the case, 'twere Just with God to account of him according to what at first he made him. Nor can we, with any good Reason, abstractedly considering him so circumstanced, judge of him otherwise, then as in a righteous, and so happy condition. Secondly, Remission of all sin is in its own nature constructively, and properly enough so called, a Righteousness, According to that noted saying among the Ancient Christians, Hominis justicia est Dei Indulgentia; He that is chargeable with no offence at God's Tribunal, as he is not that has all his sins both of omission and commission judicially and authoritatively forgiven, must needs be Reputed upon even terms with an Observer of the whole Law, and have a right to all the advantages appurtenant to an innocent person. To want any of them were paena damni, and a part of punishment, which can have no place where there is no Sin nor Transgression. Thirdly, Man is a Subject in which righteousness, or unrighteousness do necessarily inhere, and to which by virtue of his Constitution and Relation they are inseparably appertaining: Just as light and darkness necessarily relate to Air, health and sickness to our bodies: And they are contraries that expel each other, and from a necessity in their own Natures succeed each other in their Existence in such Subjects. Air perfectly free from all darkness, must of necessity be supposed to be light. If a body be free from all sort of sickness, it must needs be supposed in perfect health: So if a Man be freed wholly from all sort of unrighteousness, he ought not, nor cannot be otherwise judged of then as a Just and a Righteous person; there being no third state imaginable in such cases. Fourthly, If Gods Pardon of all a man's sin should not ipso facto, instate him in a Righteous condition, and render him perfectly a Righteous person, one of these two things would unavoidably ensue; Either that there must be some third state of a man that is neither Righteous nor Unrighteous, which is in the nature of the thing utterly Impossible to be, or else that God might fully pardon an unrighteous man, that is, a man after his pardon Continuing still so to be, and that a man might remain unrighteous, and so obnoxious to Punishment, miserable and unhappy, (contrary to what the Psalmist so often says, That he is blessed that has his sins forgiven,) after all his sins are Pardoned, and he has reaped the whole benefit of God's Forgiveness: To imagine either of which, were either extremely Impious, or Foolish, or Both. Fifthly, The Apostle tells us, that All unrighteousness is sin, (the Scripture carries us no farther) and all sin is some way or other a breach and transgression of some Law. Now where all sort of sin is Forgiven, both of Omission and Commission, a man is in the same state as if he had never offended, and if so, capable of no charge of sin, and so of no charge of unrighteousness, and so cannot by strict rules of Justice, be otherwise adjudged and accounted of then as a Righteous person. Freedom from all unrighteousness (which Pardon of all sin necessarily includes) does ipso facto constitute a man Righteous, and denominate him from the Reason of the thing, so to be. And the truth is, a person whose Fault is remitted, and he judicially acquitted upon plenary satisfaction made, is (in point of true and legal Justification, and being accounted Righteous thereupon) upon even terms with him that is Accused, and Justified by being found innocent; Because the Rule of Righteousness and Justification is the Law and the Judgement resulting from thence; Most especially when we are acquitted at the infallible Tribunal of God according to His righteous Laws. The Apostles Question (so pregnant Negative) may very well be asked, If God justify, who shall either Charge or Condemn?  
Secondly, It appears by several Texts, that whomsoever God pardons, he reckons as Righteous, and is in the Scripture-acceptation said to justify thereby. In the 4th. of the Rom. where the Apostle is proving, that Righteousness and Justification is not by works and merit, but by free forgiveness in the Gospel way of Believing: he says in the 6. ver. Even as David also describeth the blessdness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works. Here the Apostle: gives you David's sense in his own words, and then quotes David's words, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity. By which it is plain past all denial, that imputing righteousness without works, and free forgiveness of sin, and not imputing iniquity, are the same, if this be but admitted, that St. Paul know how to interpret the words of David. In the 2d. Epist. to the Corinth. chap. 5th. the Apostle there tells us, that God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses. God, upon not imputing sin, is reconciled. Now it upon Not imputing sin, He did not account of us as Righteous, 'twere impossible he should be so Reconciled: God cannot be reconciled to any man continuing unrighteous, and under the notion of a Sinner. In truth, Throughout the Scripture, all the characters of a righteous person, of a Happy and Blessed person, are still given to a Pardoned person. As all misery was introduced by sin, to manifest Gods extreme hatred of it. So all happiness is attained by the forgiveness of it; to tell us of what value God's forgiveness is, and what an inestimable price it cost. In the sense of the Gospel (which is a Law Enacted that peculiarly provides for the Justification of an Offender) a righteous person is a pardoned person, to Calvin observes. Cum veniam peccatorum fuerimus consecuti Justi habemur coram Deo. Instit. lib. 3. ch. 17. And a pardoned person is a justified person, and a justified person is blessed person. Pardon, Justification, Righteousness, Blessedness, are inseparably Conjoined: The 4th. of the Rom. and other Texts are a sufficient Proof of it.  
Thirdly, From a due consideration of that Order and Method God is pleased to use in the Pardoning of Sinners: ' This truth will be farther manifest, and appear to be immovably fised upon these two foundations. First, Every sinner is pardoned upon the sore of such a Satisfaction made as honour, and satisfies the Law as much as if it had never been broken; or as if being broken, the utmost penalty had been inflicted: Now such satisfaction is in itself virtually Righteousness, and when accepted in judgement, is Actually so. Secondly, Every sinner is in fact pardoned (and not before) upon the performance of such a Condition as God is pleased by the Covenant of his Grace to account for righteousness, and so to accept: And that is Believing, and being possessed of Gospel-faith; Which Faith we are often told is imputed for righteousness. Whoever believes, is Righteous in the Judgement of the Gospel- Law; for it is performing the condition required by it on our part to be performed, and is our Covenant-Keeping. Now, whosoever is so Circumstanced in a judicial pardon obtained from the Great and Infallible Judge of all the Earth, upon such a satisfaction made, and such a Condition performed, is certainly well entitled to a Righteous state and condition.  
A Fourth consideration to make good the Definition I have given shall be this. God's Justifying a sinner is as has been said, his giving Sentence with the guilty party. Now God, whose Judgement is ever according to Truth, cannot give Sentence with a Guilty person upon the score of Innocency; His Justification therefore of such a one, (consider it which way you will) must needs be included in his Forgiveness of him. He must of necessity be restored to a righteous condition in a way of pardon, and cannot be so upon any other account. That which some say [That Justifying, and bare and absolute Forgiving, are, in themselves considered, two distinct things: One being a voluntary act of Grace, the other a necessary effect of Justice] will not at all reach this case, supposing it to be true: For a sinner's Justification results not from free and absolute Pardon, nor consists in it; but a sinner is pardoned and justified in a way judicial, in pursuance of a Law, by pleading an ample satisfaction made: The greatest exercise of favour in such a case seems to lie in the acceptance of the satisfaction. Now God, who is the Party offended, and the Judge, declaring himself to be abundantly satisfied concerning the sins of the world, by what Christ has suffered and done, (and it being perhaps highly requisite, the Nature of Christ's satisfaction considered in point of Justice too, that he should so be) the Pardon and Justification of a sinner are eminent effects of his Justice, as well as of his Grace and Mercy: And it becomes a Righteous thing now with God to pardon and justify an offender, so qualified in Judgement. For, it must be considered, that although the Ground and Foundation of our Salvation, and the whole of it in its contriving and effecting, is nothing else but free and absolute grace and Divine goodness, yet in such a Method, and after such a Manner is Grace dispensed, that in every Step that is taken toward the Salvation of a sinner, God appears Righteous as well as Gracious, and Justice and Mercy do kiss each other. But still the Justification of such a one must exist in his Pardon, by which he obtains a Legal Discharge from all obligation to Punishment, stands rectus in Curia, no charge from the Law can be brought against him, and he is upon even terms in the eye of the Law, with those who never offended. Nor can it be otherwise: For no satisfaction, be it never so Great, can put an Offender out of need of forgiveness, nor can it operate farther than to obtain forgiveness, and so free him from condemnation, and constitute him judicially righteous. 'Tis true, that this is not such a Justification as an innocent person obtains in Judgement: But 'tis such a one as an offender is only capable of, and has all in the effects and advantages that the other has, and may be as truly and properly termed Justification: And whoever denies it, makes the Justification of an offender utterly Impracticable, and Impossible.   

SECT. II.  
ANd thus I have gone through the first Promise I obliged myself to, which was, to give an account of what is meant in Scripture by Justification. We are not Justified as righteous and innocent persons, by having Christ's righteousness personally imputed to us as our own, and we accounted in Judgement to have done what He did, and acquitted as sinless thereupon: Such apprehensions are vain, and have no bottom in Scripture. But we are Justified (as in indeed and in truth we are) as Sinners, that is, By pleading ample Satisfaction made for our sins in Christ, and our own performance of that Gospel-condition which God has made necessary to our participation of the Benefits of it: Upon which Plea God is graciously pleased judicially to pardon our sins, to account of us as Righteous thereupon, and to deal with us accordingly; that is, Legally to entitle us to all the grace and glory promised in the Gospel.  
Divers Objections are raised against these Conceptions of Justification, the value whereof seems to me to result rather from the Authors of them, (sundry Learned and Worthy men) then from any weight in themselves. The most Material are these three.  
First, It is Objected, That when the Scripture describes Justification by Forgiveness of sin, it speaks Synecdochically, and expresseth the Whole by a Part. So in the 4th. to the Rom. and other Texts. And that Text Rom. 4. v. 25. is much insisted on to prove that Justification implies more than Forgivenness of sin.  
This Objection, it will be acknowledged, can be of no force, unless it be proved that the Scripture does in other places ascribe some other distinct parts to Justification. There can he but one more with any colour pretended, and that is [Adjudging Righteous upon the score of some righteousness.] Now it has been before proved, That Pardoning of sin upon Christ's satisfaction contains in it imputing righteousness without works, and that in the Apostles sense they are all one. When we are told in some Texts that we are justified by Christ: in others, That we obtain forgiveness of sin by Christ: and in others, That we are made righteous by Christ: By an impartial comparing the Scripture with it self, it appears that one and the same thing is intended: For whoever, upon the performance of the Gospel-condition, is legally Interested in Christ's satisfaction, and thereupon actually Pardoned, is also thereby Justified and adjudged to be Righteous by the order and appointment of God in that case; and in this the Scripture is every where very positive and plain. That when the Scripture describes Justification by Forgiveness of sin, it describes it Synecdochically, expressing the whole by a part, there is no good reason at all to believe, but quite the contrary, That it describes it comprehensively. For it appears by Scripture-evidence, that the whole form of Justification is comprised therein; and the Scripture describes it most generally by pardon of sin, and most fully in those places where it treats most largely and expressly of it. In the forementioned 4th. chap. to the Rom. 'twill appear very plain to any impartial Reader, That the Apostle there without any Synecdoche, describes Justification in its full latitude, if we consider these things. First, that he there fully and completely sets out the Justification of Abraham, who in the manner of his Justification, was to be the great pattern of Justification to all succeeding ages; and the whole business of Gospel-Justification was comprised in the way and manner of his Justification. Secondly, he there states and determines the Grand and Deepest point about Justification, whether it be by faith or works. Now if he had not described it in its full extent and latitude, and taken in the whole of Justification in that Quotation out of David, by which he proves 'tis not by works but by free forgiveness, his Reasoning had not been Cogent: For the Jews might well have replied, you speak but of one part of Justification, and so conclude not about the whole: That part indeed you prove to consist in the forgiveness of sin in the way of saith, but it appears not but that there may be other parts also in Justification, and they may result from works: And so a man may be in part justified by free forgiveness and grace, and in part by works. Thirdly, the Apostle very plainly makes the blessedness that David describes (which in the blessedness of pardon and not imputing iniquity) to be the blessedness of Justification: For in the 9th. ver. Cometh this blessedness upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? that is, the blessedness of Justification by faith, which is David's blessedness of pardon. Now 'twere absurd to imagine that the Apostle should tell us that the Blessedness of Justification (which must needs relate to the whole of it) does consist in imputing righteousness without works, which he makes to be all one with the pardon of sin, and not imputing iniquity, unless Justification were fully comprised therein, and if it were so the form of it, that it did as we say, dare esse to it: For nothing else can properly contain the Blessedness of it.  
If it be meant by those that thus Object, That by Pardon of sin the Scripture does not express the whole Effects that accrue by Justification: That will be readily granted; for our Pardon and Justification is but our Title in Law to the Grace and Glory of the Gospel, is not the very things themselves, though they are all virtually contained therein, and inseparably conjoined to it by the institution of God: For, Whom he justifies, them he sanctifies, and whom he sanctifies, he glorifies. And the Apostle in the 26 of the Acts, conjoins, as inseparable, forgiveness of sin, and having an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified. But if the meaning be, That the whole form of a sinner's Justification properly taken, and as we find it spoken of in Scripture, be not comprised in the Forgiveness of sin, 'twill appear to be a Mistake. Those that thus Object, tell us our Justification consists of two distinct parts. First, Remission of sin, Secondly, Adjudging to be Righteous: Each standing upon a distinct bottom, the first upon Christ's passive obedience, and the other upon his Active (though in the Scripture we read not one Syllable of any such thing.) These two I have proved before are in the Scripture-method conjoined: Whoever is by God, upon the belief of the Gospel, for the sake of Christ, judicially pardoned, is thereby Justified and accounted as Righteous, and the satisfaction of Christ is reckoned and imputed by God to all Believers, in those effects, and for those ends and purposes; nor can it be rationally supposed to be otherwise imputed: For no other persons Righteousness performed, or Satisfaction made on my behalf, can come to be any other way justly accounted mine, then in the effects and advantages of it. It can never be a Just Judgement to adjudge me to have Personally performed myself, what was actually done by another, though it was done on my behalf, and be reckoned to my account. There is no other possible way by which any man can come to be accounted Righteous in Judgement, but either by a righteousness inherent in ourselves, (which does constitute us innocent,) or by the Righteousness of Christ made ours in a way of personal imputation (which must make us also to be justified as innocents', and not as offenders.) The first is affirmed by the Papists, and the later by many Learned Protestants; The Overthrow of both which opinions, I shall hereafter endeavour in this Discourse, and thereby fully return Answer to this and all other Objections of this nature.  
That Text Rom. 4. v. 25. is much pressed and insisted on; But upon great Mistake, as will easily be made to appear. The words are, Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our Justification. Which words are not to be taken as if there were two distinct ends in Christ's Death and Resurrection, the one to obtain pardon of sin, and the other to justify, (And so to divide between them two, whereas in truth the Apostle makes them one and the same thing) But the natural meaning and intendment of the Holy Ghost in that text is this, That, All that Christ did, and suffered, was upon our account: He was delivered to death upon the account of our sins, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for our greatest sins and utmost Apostasy, (for that sense is included in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉) and risen again upon the same account, to justify us from the condemning power of them. By being delivered for our offences, and rising again for our Justification, the Apostle intends the same thing, which is, to justify and save us from our sins: And the latter expression is exegetical of the former. 'Tis to instruct us that Christ's Death and Resurrection, the whole that he transacted, had one tendency, and was all in order to one and the same end. For in some Texts we are said to be justified by his Death, and by his Blood; so that he Died for our justification, as well as rose again for it. The Scripture no where affords us the least warrant to assign one distinct end to Christ's death, and another to his resurrection. Nay, the Apostle himself upon another occasion, Rom. 14. ver. 9 positively conjoins them as inseparable in their ends; For this end (says he) Christ both died and risen again. Whatever Christ died for, he risen again for. His Rising again did not induce any farther, or other ends, than were his Death, but only complete and perfect the whole Design and Intendment thereof. For although Christ died for our sins, yet if he had not Risen again, we could not have reaped the Fruit and Effect of his Death. His own Justification, as Mediator, and so ours, depending upon his Resurrection as the supreme and Glorious Effect of his Deity, and that whereby he was declared to be the Son of God mightily from heaven.  
Secondly, 'Tis Objected, That Remission of sin doth only take away the guilt, or ordination to punishment, but doth not remove the Sin itself; and therefore Justification cannot consist in it. Although pardon of sin do make as if sin had never been in respect of the guilt of it, yet not in respect of the denomination of the Subject. Although David was pardoned, yet his pardon did not make him a Just man in those acts of his Murder and Adultery: He was truly a Murderer and an Adulterer notwithstanding. Justification doth not denominate a man to be Just, and a righteousness is requisite unto it. A man is not Justified, and therefore Just; but must be Just, and therefore Justified, in the order of Justification.  
To this I Answer in these three things. First, by God's forgiving of sin in a Judicial way, as much is done to obliterate and extinguish it in its proper denomination as is possible; and nothing but God's forgiveness could have done so much. For he forgiveth as the Supreme Sovereign and Lord of all: And his forgiveness is not only the effect of his mercy, but the result of all his infinite Attributes. He is pleased with a redundancy of Grace to express himself in Scripture to us about this matter, that we might have a strong consolation therein. As first, That he will turn his face from our sins, Psal. 51. Secondly, That he will remember them no more, Isa. 42. Thirdly, That he will not impute them, Psal. 32. Fourthly, That he will cast them into the depths of the sea, Mica. 7. And fifthly, that he will cast them behind his back, Isa. 38. Now I say, Where God hath so forgiven sin, all the effects and consequences of it as such an Action are utterly extinguished; and so itself ceaseth after a sort to be. And he that hath committed Acts of sin, when he is Legally pardoned, is no more a Sinner, nor ought he in Justice so to be accounted: For, 'twas the judgement of the Law by which he is Acquitted, that ●●●de him so to be. 'Tis true, those sinful Acts do not naturally cease to be, but all that was in those Acts obnoxious to the Law, from whence their sinfulness arose, upon Judicial pardon, legally ceaseth to be; and that is sufficient in this case: For we are not, in the discourse of this point, making inquiries into a natural, or metaphysical existence of things, but only into a judicial and legal.  
Secondly, Let it be thus farther considered, that nothing can more extinguish the denomination of sin and sinner, then Legal and Judicial pardon. As, take it in the present instance of David, in those sinful Acts of his: The Acts, 'tis true, were the same, naturally considered, after his pardon that they were before: but legally and forensically considered, they were not: And how is it possible to be otherwise, but that the very acts must be still naturally the same? For suppose the righteousness of Christ to be personally imputed to David, (as those that thus Object would have it to be,) to denominate him a Righteous person, and so render him a fit subject for Justification; such Imputation will not make the Actions of his own sin to be naturally otherwise then indeed they are, nor the Obliquity of them more cease to be then it does by Forgiveness. There being no other possible way to bring an offender in the judgement of the Law into a righteous estate and condition, but by Judicial pardon. And if after such pardon, what is here objected be true, that the denomination of sin and sinner as such, notwithstanding remain; it will unavoidably follow, by the strict Doctrine or personal imputation, that a man may be under the proper denomination of a righteous man and a sinner at one and the same time, (which implies a loud Contradiction:) For a man may be accounted righteous in respect of Christ's righteousness, personally made his own by imputation, and yet he may be justly denominated a sinner however: For although his sins be pardoned and cease to be, in respect of the guilt of them, yet not in respect of the denomination of the subject, as 'tis here Objected. Whoever that was once an offender, comes to be justly accounted righteous, must first be fully cleared from the denomination of an offender, for those two are visibly inconsistent in one subject. And nothing else can more Effect that, than forgiveness.  
Thirdly, To the latter part of the Objection, [That Justification doth denominate a man to be just, and a righteousness is requisite to it: A man is not justified, and therefore just; but just, and therefore justified, in the order of Justification.] I Answer, The first thing affirmed herein; That Justification doth denominate a man to be just, and a righteousness is requisite to it, is thus true: That Justification necessarily supposeth a man to be just, and it includeth the notion of his being so one of these two ways, either inherently, or legally and judicially; the one relates to an innocent persons Justification, the other to an offenders: And when justified, they are both alike just in Law-sense, though differently to be considered in the manner of their Justification, and in their antecedent condition to it. He that is not justified upon inherent righteousness, but is an offender, he can only arrive at the state of a just man by Legal acquitment in judgement, and by having a sentence in law pass for him: For whatever satisfaction he makes, (though it be true, that there is virtually contained a righteousness in satisfaction,) yet being actually an offender in the judgement of the Law, till the Plea of his satisfaction be accepted, and he thereupon judicially acquitted, he can never be accounted of as righteous, and so can never be righteous previously to his Justification. To speak of a previous righteousness, properly so called, requisite to an offender's Justification, such as will justify and defend him in Judgement, has no tolerable sense in it: For it supposeth a man to come under the notion of an offender, and a righteous person at the same time. This only is true in that case, that a sufficient reason must be pleaded for the pardon and Justification of an offender before a righteous Tribunal: And that alone can be plenary satisfaction, and cannot be any thing else. And that, upon acceptance, must needs produce Pardon. And the natural End both of satisfaction and pardon, is to reinstate an offender into a righteous condition.  
The second thing affirmed, That a man is not justified, and therefore just; but just, and therefore justified, is a great Mistake: For it relates Justification solely and singly to innocents', and renders the Justification of offenders (about which the Scripture is only conversant) utterly impracticable and impossible. Persons inherently righteous are justified because found so, and their Justification is but affirmative and declarative of such inherent righteousness; But offenders are brought into the state of Just men upon legal pardon and discharge: Nor can any Satisfaction in its nature operate farther.  
Thirdly, 'Tis Objected, That God requires a positive righteousness of us, conformable unto his Law in the perfect obligation of it: And therefore it follows, that mere remission of sin, under what distinction soever, cannot be our righteousness. Remission of sin frees from punishment, but 'tis perfect obedience that entitles us to eternal happiness.  
To this I answer, Legal sinless-righteousness which the Law requires, God accepts satisfaction for in Christ: 'Tis Gospel-righteousness we are now to inquire after. If God had not accepted Christ in our stead, and his satisfaction to answer for all our obligements to the law, as a Law of works, and super-induced a better covenant thereupon; this Argument had been good: But seeing he has, 'tis of no force at all. The Apostle tells us, Rom. 10.4. that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth. To understand which expression of the Apostle aright, we must consider, Finem alicujus rei (as the Schoolmen speak) dici dupliciter, in quem tendit res vel naturaliter, vel ex ordinatione Agentis. The End to which the Law naturally tended, was such a particular personal sinless-righteousness in each man as he might justify himself upon, and claim the reward promised as a debt due. This end the Jews pursued and sought after, and the Apostle rejects, as appears in the 3d ver. But the end to which the Law tended by the ordination of God, was Christ's righteousness to make satisfaction for our disobedience, and thereby to introduce another method of Justification in a way of saith and believing, that we might no longer be under a Law of works, but under a Law of grace. The Law could not attain its natural end, by reason of man's impotency; and so 'twas a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Nor did it in Christ, for the Law required an unsinning righteousness from every particular person, and not from Christ to satisfy for all others: That depends purely upon God's ordination. To all unbelievers the Law remains still in force as it was first given, and the wrath of God abides upon them thereby: but to those that believe, and so are within the Kingdom of the Mediator, the Law is not in force, as a Law of works, but reestablished by Him as part of the New Law, and upon the same gracious terms that all other gospel-precepts are: For the Apostle tells us, we are not under the Law, but under grace; and yet tells us also, the law is established by the Gospel. All that discuss this point, ought still to consider, that our Justification is not Legal but Evangelical: For we are justified with respect to the Law that is interested in Christ's satisfaction, upon performance of the Gospel-Condition, and not otherwise. 'Tis not by the Law of Works, any way considered, that we are Actually and Personally justified. The Apostle so concludes, Rom. 3.38. A man is justified without the deeds of the law: But 'tis by the law of faith. Whatever the Law of works requires, God has accepted of satisfaction for our non-performance of it, in our Surety and Representative, and has impowered him to offer salvation upon the terms of a better covenant. And the righteousness of God (the Apostle tells us) is now manifested without the law. Our Justification is now upon the terms of a new recovering law of grace: And 'tis the righteousness of that we are now only obliged to perform. When we are impleaded at the Bar of the Law, we plead satisfaction in Christ for our Non-performance; when we are impleaded at the Bar of the Gospel, and put to prove our personal interest and propriety in that satisfaction, than we are obliged to manifest our performance of the Gospel-condition, and evidence the truth of our faith, by which we are entitled to it: Our Plea must then lie there. So that with reference to the Law we are Justified, that is, Judicially pardoned and acquitted in judgement, upon satisfaction made; with reference to the Gospel, upon performance of the condition. And faith looks both ways, respects both the Law and the Gospel, and compriseth all that is requisite to our Justification, with reference to both. All the Charge of the Law it Answers, ratione Objecti, in respect of its Object, which is Christ: And all that is required by the Gospel, ratione sui, as being itself the performance of the Condition annexed thereunto. To suppose that every Justified person, as necessarily requisite to his Justification, must be actually and personally possessed of all that unsinning obedience, the strict rules of the Law required, is a great mistake; for none was ever so but Christ himself, who became a Public Satisfaction and Ransom for the whole. Should any man now be Justified under the law of faith, upon a strict performance of the law of works, any way considered, the Law would not then be relaxed, but still strictly executed. Now the truth is, the Law is neither executed nor abrogated, but relaxed and dispensed with. Executed it is not, for who then could be saved? And the Apostle tells us, Rom. 8. There is no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. And abrogated it is not: For 'tis in full force (a dreadful consideration to the wicked unbelieving part of the world!) with all its rigour against all those that do not believe and obey the Gospel; and under the Gospel itself, though we are freed from the curse of the Law, yet we are still under the government of the Law in the sense before mentioned: The condemning power is only taken off, the commanding power is still continued: And, as some say, (though I think such aught well to consider what the Apostle says, 1 Cor. ch. 3. v. 22.) not all the condemning power neither in matters temporal, for the best men are still subjected to death natural and many sorrows. And besides, either a man must be possessed of such Legal Righteousness inherently, or imputatively; Inherently he cannot, for the Scripture tells us, that by the works of the Law no man living can be justified: Nor can he be by way of imputation personally possessed of it: For Christ himself did not, nor could not, in person, perform all those individual acts the Law requires from every person that is Justified by it: For, when Christ is said to fulfil all righteousness, 'tis meant all made necessary by the law of his Mediatorship for himself to perform, and not what every individual man was bound to perform. And therefore no such imputation can ever be supposed, unless we will suppose God to account me, to have done that in Christ, which Christ never did himself, and in the Nature of the thing 'twas impossible he should do: Or else to account me to have done in mine own person, all that Christ himself did in his person, and so to be righteous in the very same spotless way, and to the same transcendent degree that Christ was. The only difference between those that assert the form of Justification to consist in the pardon of sin, and those that say 'tis requisite besides forgiveness of sin, farther to take in the righteousness of Christ by imputation, and that we should be pronounced righteous in judgement therein, is this, Whether Christ's righteousness shall be reckoned and imputed to us in a way of Satisfaction made for our sins and disobedience, upon a sincere belief of the Gospel, and we reckoned righteous upon that account, or whether it shall be so imputed, as to be personally reckoned our own, and to be adjudged righteous by God, not for, but in that very righteousness: In both cases, our Justification is bottomed upon Christ's alone righteousness, and the imputation of it to us. If the first be true, then 'tis undeniable (contrary to what is objected) that our Justification is our pardon; and our pardon upon satisfaction made and accepted, and the condition performed, is that upon which we are constituted personally righteous: For satisfaction made for an offender naturally and necessarily operates that way, and cannot operate any other in judgement: the virtue of it must needs be issued in pardon. Now that the first is much likelier to be true, and has much more of rational probability in it, (besides Scripture-testimony, where we are said to be Ransomed, Redeemed, Purchased, Bought with a price, which all relate to satisfaction) than the Later, does from hence appear; by that we are Justified as Sinners, upon compensation made for our sins, and are brought into a Righteous state by the pardon of them, which is plainly the truth of our case, and a thing easy to be understood. By the other, we are made to be justified as Innocents', which is not the truth of our case, unless we will suppose God to account us to have done all that Christ did, that is, to have performed all righteousness without sin, which in fact was not so.  
This Objection therefore is wholly grounded upon a Mistake. We obtain not Heaven as the reward of the Law, but upon the promises of the Gospel. Our concern is not upon what Terms the Law does justify, but how the Gospel does justify: Our own sins have rendered impracticable the justifying power of the Law, and Christ's righteousness and satisfaction has superseded the condemning power of. it.   

SECT. III  
I Come, in the second place, to consider, What is the material procuring Cause of Justification before God? And the Answer to it in general, is this, 'tis a Satisfaction made, suitable to his Justice, for the breach of his Law. And this satisfaction consists in the whole Active and Passive obedience of our Saviour, entirely taken together, and the infinite merit thereof, with which God declares himself so abundantly satisfied and well pleased, that he Relaxeth the Law of Works thereupon, dispenseth with the rigour of it, and superinduceth another Covenant, upon the terms of which we are justified and saved. God does not, upon satisfaction made for the breach of the Covenant of Works, thereupon immediately pardon and save us by that: But he relieves and releaseth us from the obligation we lay under to it, and proclaims a new Law, and enters into another Covenant; And 'tis upon the terms of that we are actually pardoned and justified. The Righteousness and Satisfaction of Christ fully answers for us, in respect of the Law: We stand no more obliged to it, a 'tis a Law of Works; and 'tis the procuring Cause and formal Reason of the new Law of the saving Covenant, upon the terms of which, we are pardoned and justified, and which is in its nature but a method of forgiveness, and that place the Righteousness of Christ bears in point of Justification: So that the whole is Originated in our Redeemers Satisfaction, and purchased thereby; the inestimable value and merit whereof, results from these four things, the dignity of his Person, the freeness and spontaniety of his undertaking, the undertaking itself, and the ordination of God in the case; had there not been a concurrence of all these, the satisfaction had been defective and ineffectual, the Gospel had never been published, Death and Condemnation had still reigned, and the Law had continued still in its full force and virtue.  
First, What a stupendious dignity was there in Christ's Person, in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwelled bodily? 'Tis no wonder we should be redeemed by his blood, when it was the blood of God, and that the righteousness of this one should redound to All, for the Justification of life, as 'tis expressed Rom. 5 18. when in him dwelled all fullness. The Actions and Sufferings of such a person must needs be of unspeakable value, because of his own transcendent Eminency above all creatures, yea even Angels, for he is God's Fellow, and was in the form of God. Whatever was done and suffered by a person so qualified, in whom concentred all the perfection both of the Humane and Divine nature, must needs be of infinite value, and of desert and merit beyond all bounds of imagination: 'Tis no wonder we should be bought with such a price: and yet nothing less than this can we suppose (without impeaching the wisdom of God, who saw to bring it about this way) could have answered for man's disobedience, have stopped the current of Divine Justice, and made a satisfaction for that Eternity of punishment that became due to us.  
Secondly, How free and voluntary, what a mere act of Choice was Christ's sufeeption of his Mediatory work! How far was he exalted beyond the reach of all obligation, or possibility of any Addition! No Creature could oblige him that was God, nor could the Divine nature lay a Constraint upon itself; 'tis an essential property of the Godhead to act freely. 'Tis true, when he was man he was obliged as a man; but he was under no engagement to become man. A Servants work and a Creatures homage was due from him indeed, when a Creature and a Servant; but 'twas his own free choice that brought him into the state of either. Nothing but the workings of his own infinite bowels of Compassion over the fallen posterity of Apostate Adam, could bring him to Tabernaclo in flesh, and take up his abode with the children of Men. In a word, he freely and out of choice became man, and lived a life Natural: And as freely resigned up his life unto death, and became a free-will-offering to God: So himself declares, Joh. 10. ver. 17. I lay down my life, no man taketh it from me. And Mark. 10.25. he tells us, He came to Give his life a ransom for many. And had not this been so, God who is infinitely just, could not have punished him in whom there was found no guilt: Nor had it been Equal with God to accept him on our behalf, unless he had freely espoused our interest.  
Thirdly, How admirable is the undertaking of Christ in itself. First, to assume humane nature, from the very first moment of which assumption began the state of his humiliation, and in that nature to yield a perfect obedience to all the Laws of God, to which mankind were obliged, and in the same to undergo the penalty due upon their breach, submit himself to become a Curse for us! What an amazing consideration is it, that the Lord of all, should become man, in the form of a servant, and subject himself to an obedience to all his own Laws, yea even of those that were but the shadow (as were the Ceremonial) of which he, as man incarnate, was the substance: And that he that was without all sin, should submit to those Institutions that were grounded upon the supposition of sin, and whose End and Tendency had a direct relation to it; such was Baptism and Circumcision. And yet so he was pleased to fulfil all righteousness, to do all the Law required, and yet to suffer what it threatened. Now considering that he lay under no obligation, with respect to himself for the doing of any of this, what a vast stock of Merit must needs be treasured up for those to whom He and the Father shall please to impute it! 'Tis this undertaking of Christ, that could alone face divine Justice, and at the dreadful Tribunal of the great and eternal Jehovah, be admitted as a sufficient Plea and Satisfaction for an open Rebellion from dust and ashes against Him. His obedience to the Law qualified with such infinite perfections, and representing us in our nature, being both the Son of God and the Son of man, redintigrated the honour of the Law to as great a degree, as if it had never been broken: And his voluntary subjecting himself to the Curse and penalty of it, made as great and honourable a satisfaction to it, as if, being broken, the utmost penalty had been insticted upon every particular Offender.  
Fourthly, That which completed, perfected, and crowned this satisfaction, was God's ordination: A Statute made in Heaven, that so Christ being himself freely willing, should do, and that should be accepted in so doing, obtain his End, and see the travel of his soul, and be satisfied. In the 10th. of the Heb. we find this fully expressed by a Quotation out of the Psalms, where David speaks in the person of Christ: Then said I, lo I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me to do they will O God. And in the 10th. ver. the Apostle tells us, By that Will we are sanctified, by the offering up of the body of Christ. In the 3d. of St. Mat. upon Christ's being baptised, a voice came from Heaven and declared, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: Not only with his Person, but his Office, with his mediatory work and employment, as being of mine own ordination and appointment. Upon Christ's voluntary undertaking to assume our nature, and in that nature to represent us, and to subject himself to a Law of Mediatorship, such a Law, as the performance whereof, would contain a complete satisfaction to Divine Justice, God was pleased to ordain it so to be, and that all that he Did and Suffered in that Nature, should be accepted on our behalf and reckoned and accounted to our advantage, and that Mankind should obtain salvation thereby. This Ordination of God was the Broad Seal of Heaven affixed to all Christ did. This ratified on high, was done here below, and made all the transaction of Christ on Earth to pass currant in Heaven: Had not this been coincident, nothing could have prevailed: Had not God determined above, that what Christ did and suffered on earth, should be that satisfaction to his Justice for the sins of the world, in which he would acquiesee and be well pleased, and upon which he would ordain the Blessing, even Life for evermore, No pardon had been proclaimed, we had been yet in our sins, and the state of all mankind had been no better than that of the fallen Angels, and final Impenitents, even a fearful looking for of Judgement.  
Two great Mistakes have arisen in the minds of many, and of many Worthy and Good men, about this matter, the rectifying of which is of great and necessary importance. First, Some have supposed, that The whole of Christ's satisfaction for our sins consists in his Passive obedience: And that his Active obedience is imputed to us, to constitute us Personally righteous in God account—. And so Disjoin the Active and Passive righteousness of Christ, and apply them to Distinct ends and purposes.  
This will appear in itself no way Reasonable, and without the least warrant from Scripture. First, Each of these have their proper Interest in, and do respectively contribute to the repairing the honour of Gods injured and violated Law, and do jointly complete Christ's satisfaction. The honour of the Law is in a twofold respect to be required; in the preceptive part, and in the threatening part. To what a degree is the Law honoured in the first respect, by the perfect obedience of God-man! How is the Justice, Holiness and Goodness of it proclaimed and solemnised thereby, when he disdained not to become obedient to it! And to no less a degree is it honoured in the other respect; for by his dying and suffering, 'tis eminently declared what sin deserved! And the Justice of the Law is highly evidenced in its threatening and penalty: So that these two are by no means to be severed, for they contribute inseparably by their Effects, to the great work of making one entire satisfaction for the sins of the world, and procuring our Pardon. Secondly, They are in their own nature conjoined, and mutually participate of the qualities each of other: For Christ's active righteousness was all passive: His coming from Heaven in the form of a Servant, and yielding obedience to the Law here upon Earth had all vast humiliation and suffering in it: And he himself was active also in all he suffered, to the highest degree, for 'twas an act of his own free choice, without the least constraint so to do. No man could have taken his life, had not himself made choice of death. Thirdly, To disjoin these two, and ascribe to them Distinct and Different ends; to say, (that Christ's passive obedience is imputed to us, to procure pardon of all sin; and his active obedience is imputed to us, to constitute us righteous,) seems dangerous in its consequence, and tends to make one of them appear altogether useless: For if all sin, original and actual, of omission and commission were fully answered for and pardoned, what need we more? We must needs be brought into a righteous condition thereby: Because the least defect of righteousness, is some degree of sin; and where there is no degree of sin, there must needs be perfect righteousness. So if all the active righteousness of Christ were personally by God in judgement reckoned to be ours, we could not at the same time be accounted as sinners, but in the utmost perfection of innocents': And if so, What need were there of Christ's suffering, or of any expiation for sin? The Law did not require suffering and obedience both, but obliged us either to obey, or else to undergo the penalty. How much better is the plain Scripture-account of this matter, where these two are by God, and Christ himself in their end every where conjoined; By which we are told, that the whole of what Christ did, and suffered, in all its circumstances unitedly considered, is as one entire price of inestimable value, by way of satisfaction and valuable consideration paved unto God, and by him so accepted, for the redemption and Salvation of all such who submit to the terms, and perform the condition of the Gospel.  
A second Mistake about this matter, is this: Some have conceived, that both the Active and Passive righteousness of Christ are so made ours by a personal imputation, that we ourselves are accounted by God in judgement to have done, and suffered those very things, that Christ himself in his own person, did, and suffered.  
This conception is so Gross, that it is not only to be reckoned amongst such things as are hard to be understood, but amongst such things as are impossible to be accounted for to any common understanding. The notion of imputation in general, is no way to be opposed (though we are not where told in Scripture, in terminis, that Christ's righteousness is imputed to us,) that is, 'tis impossible for us to partake of the benefits and advantages of what was done by another, as done in our stead, and upon our account, without some sort of imputation. God is pleased that the whole of what Christ did, and suffered, in the effects and advantages of it, should accrue to us and our account, because he accepted him on our behalf, and in our stead, and that we should reap all the fruit and benefit of his Mediatorship. And in this sense God is pleased to impute his whole Mediatory transaction unto us, but no otherwise. The whole of Christ's satisfaction is imputed to us, as made For us, (and so he is the Lord our righteousness) but not as made By us, but actually made by him. And what can be more desired, then to reap all the benefits of Christ's whole undertaking, and upon the account of it, and its being accepted of God on our behalf, to be pardoned, justified, sanctified and saved; and as the Apostle expresseth it, to have Christ made to us of God (that is, as the Fundamental cause, procurer, and spring of them, a common head from whence they are all derived to us as his body) wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Those that will press the point farther, and insist upon personal imputation to every believer what Christ did, ought well to consider these things.  
First, If every believer be personally righteous before God in the very individual Acts of Christ's righteousness, one of these two things will thence ensue: Either that Christ in his own person did perform all the particular acts of righteousness required, as due from each saved person; or else that every is saved persons righteousness before God, is identically and numerically the same with Christ's in his public capacity, as Mediator, and so every saved person is personally righteous, with a righteousness that has a stock of merit in it, sufficient to save the world) unless you will say Christ had some righteousness that belonged to him as Mediator, and some that did not, which is absurd to affirm; for 'tis plain, all he did, he did as Mediator, nor had he any any concern in the world but as Mediator, and none of his actions can be separated from his Office, being all pursuant of it. (The first will be granted was not, nor had a possibility to be; and yet no man can be personally righteous with respect to the Law, but by an exact performance of every tittle and iota the Law required from him. And the other has two very gross absurdities in it. First, That we should be accounted to have done that which was done long before we were in a capacity to do any thing: And secondly, That we should be reckoned personally righteous with the righteousness of God-man. When first, There is not a possibility that Man, or Angel could perform any one Action, with the Circumstances, or in the Manner as he did. Secondly, Much of what he did, was in its nature unlawful for any else to undertake. And thirdly, The Whole of what he did was peculiarly appropriated and appurtenant to his Office, as he was Mediator, and cannot be suited to any other person, nor is any part of it transferrable, or imputable to any creature otherwise then in its operations and effects: For he neither did nor suffered the very idem that we are obliged to; for than he must have particularly done all the Law required from us, and have suffered to eternity. But he mad such a satisfaction to God for our Non-performance, and on our behalf, as became him as Mediator, and such as that God is pleased thereupon to suspend the strict and rigorous execution of the Law, and to bring us under a better Covenant. Our case is not strictly that of a Debtor, but of Rebellious Subjects, nor stand we in our sins related to God as a Creditor, but as a Supreme Sovereign and Judge: Nor did Christ sustain properly the place of a Surety to pay individually and identically our Debt, but of a Mediator tomake reparation to divine Justice by another way, then putting the Law in execution against us.  
Secondly, If every justified person be justified in judgement by the very acts of Christ's personal righteousness, accounted to him as his own, it will then follow beyond any good answer, that every man is justified by the works of the Law: For Christ's personal righteousness, with respect to which he was justified as Mediator, and approved of God to become a sufficient Saviour, was a Legal righteousness and not an Evangelical. This if sincere, though imperfect, will be accepted from us for Christ's sake, but would not so have been accepted from Christ for our Justification, nor can it be well affirmed that Christ believed and obeyed his own Gospel. That lies on our part to perform. Now that we should be justified by the works of the law, is confuted by many Texts: Rom. 3.28. the Apostle says, Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. And Galat. 3.11. But that no nun is justified by the Law in the sight of God, is evident, for the just shall live by Faith; and so in many other Texts: And the whole scope of St. Paul, in his discourses of Justification, is to establish this point, That no man is justified by an unsinning obedience performed to the Law, and so Not by works, but by believing, and in the way of Gospel-faith, which God is pleased out of Grace to accept and account for righteousness. Nor will it be to any purpose to say [it is one thing to be justified by our own obedience to the Law, and another thing to be justified by Christ's obedience imputed.] For, if his obedience be so imputed, as that we are accounted by God in judgement personally to have done what Christ did, it is all one as to this matter, and we are as much justified by the Law, and do as much live in the works thereof, as if we had in our own proper persons performed an unsinning obedience to it.  
Thirdly, if the rigid notion of imputation should be admitted as true; then every particular person that is saved, did merit his own salvation. For, if the very Acts of Christ be reckoned as ours, and so imputed as if done by us, the effects must needs be imputed so too. If I am reckoned by God in my own person to have performed that righteousness that does merit my Justification, I must of necessity be accounted to have merited my Justification. And besides all this, many the most dangerous and unsound principles of Antinomianism have their rise from this Doctrine; I choose to express it in the words of Reverend Mr. Gibbons, in his Discourse of Justification. I infer (says he) that they are dangerously mistaken, who think that a believer is righteous in the sight of God, with the selfsame Active and Passive righteousness wherewith Christ was righteous; m though believers suffered in Christ, and obeyed in Christ, and were as righteous in God's esteem as Christ himself, having his personal righteousness made personally theirs by imputation. This is their fundamental mistake, and from hence (tanquam ex equo Trojano) issues out a throng of such false and corrupt Deductions as these as, That God sees no sin in his Children: That a believer need not pray for the Pardon of fin, but only for the Manifestation of it: That God loved Noah when Drunk, and David when acting Murder and Adultery.— And many more such consequences that worthy person mentions.  
Those passages of Scripture that seem most to countenance this opinion, and are chief insisted on for the proof of it, are these three. 2 Cor. 5.25. He hath made him to be sin for us, that knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. From whence it is thus urged. How did Christ become sin for us? Not by inherency, but by imputation: So do we become the Righteousness of God in him.  
In answer to which, I say, Christ became 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for us, that is, a sacrifice for sin: For so it signifies, as well as barely Sin; as also the Latin piaculum which is often taken for a sacrifice of expiation, as well as Sin: And in the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is frequently used to signify a sacrifice for sin: And this is an expression relating to the sacrifices under the Old Testament. And the proper rendering of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a sin offering. So that the plain meaning of the Text seems to be this, Christ that was without all sin, was made (that is, ordained of God) to be a sacrifice for sin, that we might be made thereby righteous with the Gospel-righteousness: For that is the general meaning every where of the Righteousness of God: 'Tis opposed to man's righteousness and the righteousness of works, which is by the Law. If it be pressed farther, and affirmed [That sin itself was so imputed to Christ, as that God in judgement did reckon him guilty and a sinner,] (which the Scripture no where tells us, and 'tis great impiety to assert,) He is then excluded from all possibility of merit, for the suffered but what was his due, and so the whole of Christ's satisfaction is subverted. But he freely suffered the punishment of sin that was infinitely removed from the guilt and desert of it, and thereby redeemed us; became sin, in that sense, that so we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now by the righteousness of God, sometimes is meant in Scripture the Personal righteousness of the Mediator who was God-Man, and sometimes the righteousness of Faith, that righteousness that faith is accounted for, and which in the Gospel is conditionally required of every saved person: And this is so called, because 'tis a righteousness of Gods contriving, of Gods working, and of Gods accepting, in and through Christ, and for the sake of his satisfaction. If you ask me for a Text to prove this latter, there are many: I will only instance in one: For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God, Rom. 10.3. By the righteousness of God here, is not meant the Personal righteousness of the Mediator, but the Gospel-righteousness of faith and believing by which we are Justified, in opposition to the Law, (which in the next ver. the Apostle tells them Christ was the end of, for righteousness by his satisfaction) so the Apostle expressly calls it in the 6th. ver. But the righteousness which is of faith, speaketh on this wise: And if you read to the 9th. ver. he there fully describes this righteousness of God, and tells you in other words what it is, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. And the whole Context puts it out of all doubt, that by their own righteousness is meant the righteousness of the Law, which Moses (the Apostle says in the 5th. ver. describes in those words. That the man that doth those things shall live by them: And by the righteousness of God, is meant the Gospel righteousness on our part to be performed, which the Apostle says in the 6th. ver. Moses does otherwise describe; But the righteousness which is of faith (says he) speaketh on this wise: Say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ down from above, etc. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is, the word of saith which we preach. If we take it in the first sense, than the meaning of this Scripture, is this, Christ became a sin-offering for us, and freely underwent the suffering and punishment due to sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, that is, that the Righteousness of Christ as Mediator in a way of satisfaction, might be appropriated unto us: And as he underwent the consequences of our sin, so we might reap the effects of his righteousness, that we might be interested in his righteousness, just as he was in our sins. He suffered the penalty of our sins, and we reap the fruit of his righteousness, and so there is a mutual transferring of our sins and Christ's righteousness in the effects and consequences of both, but no otherwise. If we take it in the other sense, (which is, I believe the sense intended by the Apostle) than the meaning is, That Christ became a sin-offering for us, that we might in pursuance thereof and as an effect of it, be made Righteousness in the Gospel-righteousness, that is, that we by believing in him, might be accounted for righteous, and so accepted of God. The Apostle does not say, that we might be made His righteousness, or that his righteousness might be made personally ours, but that we might be made the righteousness of God in him: And the phrase In him, is not to be taken personally and literally. For when we are said to abide in him, 'tis to continue steadfast in the doctrine of the Gospel; to walk in him, is to walk according to the rule of the Gospel; to Sleep in him, is to die in the saith and hope of the Gospel; to marry in the Lord, is to marry according to the rules he has prescribed. So, to be Righteous in him, is to be righteous according to the rule of the Gospel, to be righteous in the righteousness of his procuring and appointing. When we read of Christ in the Gospel, we are not always barely to understand his natural Person, but to consider him mystically and politically, to consider him circumstanced as Head, King, and Lawgiver to his Church; and upon that account his Name is often taken in a large and comprehensive sense.  
Another Text of Scripture much insisted on for the proof of Personal imputation, is, Rom. 5.19. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous.  
This text, upon due consideration, will be found to make nothing at all for any such Imputation and Transferring of righteousness as is pretended. The Apostles scope from the 12th. ver. of that Chapter to the end of it, is evidently to prove these two things. First, That as sin came first into the world by Adam's disobedience, and death by sin, and did not only seize on him, but descended upon all his Posterity, (even upon them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, that is, against a Law promulgated, as he did) he begetting them in his image after his Fall, in his apostate state, and not in his innocncy: So from Christ's obedience and satisfaction for sin, came righteousness, life and salvation. In three things the Apostle makes the Feadship of Adam and that of Christ to run parallel. First, As Adam had a public Station, and stood so related to others, that he had power to involve them in his own condition: So had Christ. Secondly, the Effect of Adam's sin was Universal, came upon all: The Effect of Christ's obedience is so, comes upon all, that is, both upon Jews and Gentiles without distinction (which is the grand point the Apostle is all along making good;) Thirdly, the first Adam, by his disobedience was the general Author of death: Christ the second Adam, by obedience, is the Great Introducer of life. And secondly, That there is not and exact equality and even proportion, between the Headship of Christ, and the Headship of Adam. So the Apostle tells us, in the 15 and 16 ver. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift: For if through the offence of One Many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift I or the judgement was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto Justification. The Advantage lies much on Christ's side in the comparison, and that in three respects. First, Christ's spiritual seed, Believers, are not so like him in degrees of holiness, as Adam's natural posterity are like him in degrees of sin: And yet Life reigns as triumphantly amongst them, as Death did over the posterity of Adam. Secondly, it was one sin of Adam that introduced Death: But Christ's obedience, and the gift brought in by him, was not upon the occasion of that, or any other one sin, but of many, is the abundance of grace, and procures forgiveness, not only for that sin, but for all other sins whatsoever that have ensued thereupon. And thirdly, there is a disparity between Adam and Christ in this; (and the advantage lies much on Christ's side) That one sin, one act of disobedience was enough to condemn; But more the one act of obedience was requisite to procure our pardon. And so, although Christ do not save by his obedience so many as Adam condemned by his disobedience; yet the second Adam is much more potent than the first, because there is much more efficacy required in the Saving of One, then there was in the Condemning of Many. As the restoring of One dead to life, is much harder than the destroying of the lives of many.  
Now, How by one man's disobedience were many made sinners? Why, Adam (who had all mankind virtually in himself) turning a Rebel and an Apostate, his natural state was thereby changed, his nature was attainted, and became sinful, and so fell under the sentence of death; and that was included in the penalty threatened: In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die: Thy Natural state shall be changed and subjected to death. And this falling out before he had propagated any of his kind, he begat all his posterity in the same sinful Mortal state with himself: So the Apostle tells us, that in Adam all dye. That is, he becoming Mortal; all were so propagated, and Death reigned upon that account. So on the contrary, by one man's ●●●obedience many are made righteous. As all mere men sinned in Adam, being all in him, and undergo the Effects of that sin. So all Believers have virtually satisfied for sin in Christ: By Christ's obedience and satisfaction we come to be pardoned, accounted of as righteous, and saved: But still 'tis as an effect of Christ's obedience that we come to be made righteous; for the Apostle does not say, In one man's obedience many shall be made righteous, but By one man's obedience (as a consequent and Effect of it) many shall be made righteous. As the effect of one man's disobedience, many come to be shapen in iniquity and brought forth in a sinful condemned nature, so as by the Effect of one man's obedience, many come to be new born, and brought forth in a righteous and a saving sfate.  
A third Text insisted on, is that in the 3d. chap. to the Philip. ver. 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.  
To this Text a short Answer will suffice. No more is requisite then to read from the 4. v. where the Apostle is discoursing of his Attainments under the Law. Though I might (says he) have confidence also in the flesh, if any other man thinketh he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more, circumcised the eighth day, etc. and so he goes on: And in the 7th. ver. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ, yea doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. By which it is as plain as words can make it, That the righteousness he desires Not to be found in, was his own, as he was a Jew and a Pharisee. And to be found in Christ, was no more than to be found ingraffed by Faith into the Christian Church, to be found in that righteousness which is of God by faith, which is the Gospel-righteousness. No sober minded man can imagine the Apostle did not desire to be found in Gospel-righteousness, or that by his own righteousness he meant that: For 'tis that alone can entitle us to the benefits of Christ's righteousness; And he himself every where so earnestly presseth men to strive for it as indispensably necessary to salvation, and rejoyeeths in it, telling us what comfort he had took to conling cider, that he had fought a good fight, had finished his course, had kept the faith, and that as a reward of so doing, a crown of life was laid up for him in Heaven. Nor is there any one passage of St. Paul's Epistles against works, but 'tis very plain from the context, he intends the works of the Law, and no other: For, as he opposeth faith to works; so he also opposeth faith with Gospel-obedience to works. As Galat. 5.6. I or in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing, but saith that worketh by love, or, that is wrought and perfected by love: For so it is best rendered; and sometimes opposeth evangelical obedience, alone to the works of the Law, as Galat. 6.15. Circumcision is nothing, nor Uncircumcision, but a new Creature. And in the 1st. of Cor. 7.19. Circumcision is nothing, (says he) and Uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping the commands of God; where, by the commands of God, is meant the Law of the Gospel. And Circumcision (as 'tis often in other places) is put for the whole Law: For whosoever was circumcised, the Apostle declares he was obliged to the whole Law. By which it plainly appears, that whenever St. Paul speaketh against Works, in the matter of Justification, 'tis the works of the Law, and not of the Gospel that he intends, and so he is to be understood: For by the works of the Gospel we come to have a right and title to Justification and Salvation, as appears Rev. 22.14. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life. That Gospel Works are never excluded, but are equally interested with faith in the matter of Justification, will appear true beyond any good denial by these two considerations. First, That faith that is said to justify, and does only so, is a faith that worketh by love; which is in other words to say, 'tis a faith that worketh by a sincere obedience, and keeping all the Commands of God. Secondly, the promises of the Gospel are as well made, and the rewards thereof equally annexed to our Gospel obedience, as they are to our faith, which plainly shows, that faith and obedience are inseparably conjoined in this matter; and that faith is always so to be understood as comprehensive thereof, without it, 'tis dead, is but a Karkass of faith, and not such a living faith as the Gospel intends when it speaks of a justifying faith.   

SECT. iv  
I Proceed to the third and last inquiry, which is this, How, do we come to partake of the benefits of Justification before God, and arrive at a justified estate? To this the Scripture gives us a plain and ready Answer; By peforming the Gospel-Condition: For all the advantages that accrue to the world from Christ's satisfaction are proposed, conditionally to us, and no man is actually justified till the condition be performed; For whom he called, them he justified. And upon that account it is, that we read in the New Testament of being justified by our faith, of being justified by our words and works. Gospel-faith and obedience being the condition required on our part to be performed, and upon the performance of which we are justified, and come to give up our account with joy; at the great Judgement day men will be justified and condemned upon their performing, or not performing the Gospel condition, as we find by our Saviour's own words, Mat. 25. v. 35. That the Covenant of Grace is in the proposal of it conditional, and that Christ, with all his saving benefits, is by the Gospel offered to us upon terms, that we stand obliged personally to perform, there needs no other proof than our Saviour's own summary words about that matter. He that believes shall be saved, he that believes not shall be damned. And we find Gen. 17. v. 1. When God first proposed the Covenant of Grace to Abraham, he annexed sincere obedience to it as the condition of it. Walk before me, and be thou upright, and I will make a Covenant with thee. Nor do we find our Saviour ever encouraging any to come to him, but upon the terms of taking his yoke, and bearing his burden. And indeed the Gospel is every where so express in this point, and so very many Texts do affirm it, that no man but one extremely intoxicated with the frenzy of Antinomianism, can deny it; and it were labour lost to prove it.  
Now in regard the whole Conditionality of the Gospel is comprised in believing, and in that one word Faith, upon which account we are so often said to be justified by faith. 'Tis of great concern to arrive at the Scripture sense of this word, and its intendment by it. And to me it appears very evident, That to be justified by faith in Scripture, is generally taken to be Justified upon the terms of Christianity and the principles of the Gospel in opposition to Legal and Jewish Justification: And by faith is comprehended whatever the Gospel requires of us in order to Justification. The Gospel is styled the Law of faith, and whatever is required of us by it, is called the obedience of faith.  
Two Extremes are with great caution to be avoided in our conceptions of Gospel-faith.  
First, We must not, on the one hand, imagine that by faith and believing is meant only in the Gospel a bare Crediting of God, and giving our assent to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and acquieseng therein. For to be a Believer, and to be a sincere practical Christian, is all one in Scripture sense; and When we are told, that He that believeth shall be saved, and are told in many other places by our Saviour, and the Apostles, that 'tis those only that Obey him also, and keep his commandments, subduing their corrupt lusts and affections, and working out their own salvation with fear and trembling, that shall be saved; and are generally told by the Gospel, that without holiness no man shall see God: 'Tis a natural and necessary Inference, that all that, and whatever else is made conditionally necessary to a justified saving state, and our continuance therein, must be comprised in Faith and Believing: Or else we shall make the Gospel not to be Correspondent with itself. And indeed, Faith is never spoke of in Scripture as bare believing and assenting, in opposition to acting, but as the grand principle of Action, and so it is in itself: The power of Belief is such, that often it works physically, and with great efficacy does it operate morally. In the 11th. to the Heb. the Apostle tells us All the great Actions of those noble Worthies he mentions done before by faith, God being not an object of sense, since the world began. Since Abel's time, the spring of all Religious and Godly actions, has been faith. But the world were never under the Law of faith till the Gospel was published. That faith was nothing else, and contained nothing farther than a bare Assent to the Revelation of the Gospel as true, was that gross Delusion that led so many aside in the first publication of the Gospel. especial of St. Paul's Epistles: For the Gnostics, and others unlearned and unstable, as we find by Hegesyppus in Eusebius, wrested the Scriptures, and held, That barely believing the truth of Christianity, and professing it, was enough, without any thing farther done, to save a man. Against this it is, That both St. John and St. James so fully then wrote: And St. John tells us positively, That he that Doth righteousness is only truly righteous: And not he that reckons himself so without righteous Doing upon the score of believing. And St. James expressly sets himself to confute this dangerous Error, and to prove these two things. First, That Christianity, Believed and Professed, will profit no man, unless the Ends of it be pursued and prosecuted. And secondly, That that Faith that the Scripture calls a Justifying faith, is an operative working faith, a Faith that includes in its nature a suitable acting and obedience. Speaking of Abraham's faith, and his Justification, which the Scripture makes to be the pattern of Gospel-faith and Justification; and the one to run parallel with the other: And which St. Paul had made so much use of, to prove Justification by faith against the Jews: Seest thou (says he) how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect, and the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for Righteousness. Where 'tis as plainly expressed as by words it can be; That that faith that was accounted to Abraham for righteousness, was such a faith, as contained in the bowels of it a suitable obedience, and subjection to all Gods revealed will and pleasure. By works (saith the Apostle) faith was made perfect. That is, faith was in order to action, and a suitable acting and obedience in pursuance of it, was included in it, and was that, which when performed, did complete and perfect it, and without which, faith is altogether imperfect, and is not such a faith as in the Scripture is said to be accounted for righteousness. And therefore it was upon Abraham's suitable obedience in prosecution of his faith, by which the Scripture was fulfilled, when it says, Araham believed God, and that belief was accounted for righteousness. By which it is plain, that Abraham's faith was counted for righteousness, with reference to that obedience that was virtually comprised in it, and not otherwise: And that his faith and his works wrought jointly together to obtain the same end. And this is no way contradicted by St. Paul, who tells us that Abraham was not justified by works: For, the works that St. Paul means, are plainly such as the Law required, such perfect sinless works as would in strict rules of Justice make the reward to be Debt: And therefore when he opposeth faith to works, 'tis but in other words, to oppose the Gospel to the Law. St. Paul's business is to prove Justification in the way of the Gospel, against the Jews, by faith, in opposition to Justification by the works of the Law. St. James, his province is to prove, that the faith that does justify us under the Gospel, is not a bare naked Assent, but such a faith as abraham's was, that contains in it a suitable obedience. The one Apostle asserts in opposition to the Jews, Evangelical Justification against Legal, under the general term faith: The other Apostle, for the confutation of Heretical Christians, explains that term; and tells us, it imports not only believing of God, but an obedient Acting in prosecution thereof. That the Apostles do very well agree with each in their Doctrine, that Abraham was justified by such a faith as was accompanied with works, and not by faith only, according to St. James: And yet that Abraham was justified by faith and not by works, according to St. Paul, may be this made to appear. First, That Abraham's faith that was counted for righteousness, included his suitable obedience according to St. James, and that his works did complete and perfect his faith: And that the Scripture was thereby fulfilled, that tells us the Act of his Believing, was counted for righteousness, is plain from the story itself in Genesis, which St. James quotes. Had not his Believing compriz d a suitable obedience, instead of being counted for Righteousness, it would no doubt have been esteemed of God, as it had indeed been a great piece of hypocrisy. For Abraham's upright walking, was the terms upon which God at first proposed to enter into a Covenant with him. Secondly, That Abraham was not justified by works, according to St. Paul, though his faith that was counted for Righteousness included his obedience, is thus evident: St. Paul's business is to prove against the Jews, that Abraham who came first under the Law of Circumcision, and from whom they derived themselves, (for it appears by their discourses with our Saviour, when they cried out, We have Abraham to our Father, that they went no higher) was justified before he came under the Law of Circumcision, before he was obliged to the economy of the Law, upon Gospel-principles (and so those had the precedence of legal, even in Abraham their Father) upon the terms of another Covenant, the Condition of which was Faith, upon such terms as both Jews and Gentiles were to be justified then under the Gospel: Upon which account the Scripture styles him the common Father of all the faithful. Abrahant, before that faith of his that was accounted to him for Righteousness, had lived for some time in Heathen Idolatry, and was a great sinner, and so could not pretend to be justified by a sinless perfection, which the Law required, and the Jews insisted on, and so not by works in that sense: He was one of the ungodly St. Paul speaks of in 4th to the Rom. who had not Legal perfection, had not such works to plead as would make the reward, in strict rules Justice, to be of debt: His Justification was upon the very same terms that the Gentiles than might be justified upon, though they had lived in the grossest Idolatry; and that was by believing the revelation of God in Christ, charging their course of life, and becoming obedient to what God should require of them. In short, Abraham's faith and obedience was not such Righteousness, as in its own nature, and by its own intrinsic worth, would justifle any man from the guilt of all his sin, and denominate him perfectly a Righteous person; for had it so been in itself, it needed not any favour to have been accounted for Righteousness: But God was pleased out of grace so to reckon and account it. Abraham having blelieved God about the promises of the Messiah that was to spring out of his family, by whom himself and all the world were to be saved, (for the sum of all Gods converse with Abraham was to show him Christ's day, and reveal to him the Salvation that was to come by him) God was pleased to give the world an instance in his imputing that faith of Abraham to him for Righteousness, how, and upon what terms men should be saved by the Messiah when he did come! (in a word, what should be the condition he would require of us to perform by the Gospel) that is, By believing the revelation of Christ, and acting suitably thereunto by a sincere though imperfect obedience: This God would impute and account for Righteousness: This is all that he would require on our part conditionally to perform: This should constitute us righteous upon the terms of the New Covenant: This should legally entitle us by the Gospel to all the Advantages of Christ, and to a righteous end justified state; and this is so far from such a Justification by works as the Jews rested in, and St. Paul disputes against, that 'tis a Justification that results wholly from grace and favour, is the Effect of Christ's purchase, and of the terms of another Covenant: And all merit, and all reward that can be claimed out of debt, is utterly excluded thereby. And thus the two Apostles appear perfectly agreed in their doctrine: Abraham was not justified upon terms of the Law and sinless perfection, but he was justified as an ungodly person, one that had sins and failings about him, that needed forgiveness, was justified by faith in way of the Gospel: And that faith that justified Abraham then, and justifies every person under the Gospel now, and is by the tenor thereof accounted for righteousness, is not a naked assent to the truth what God reveals, but such a faith as implies in its nature, and compriseth a suitable obedience to all he requires of us. There is a wide difference (as much as there is between the nature and terms of the two Covenants) between such works as by an inherent virtue in themselves constitute just, and so justify from an innate perfection as to make the reward to be of debt, and such works are in their own nature altogether imperfect and faulty, and are accepted only through grace and favour, and made but conditionally necessary to our Justification another way. Works, 'tis true, there are in the case both ways; but of very different natures, upon very different Accounts, and to very different Ends.  
Secondly, On the other hand, we must carefully avoid so to apprehend faith, supposing it to comprehend all that the Gospel requires of us to believe and practice, as if it had in itself any justifying virtue, or were of any innate worth to acquit us before God from the guilt of sins. The value of it is wholly from God's gracious ordination, as it is all the condition that is required on our part to be performed by the Law of grace. And it is not of ourselves neither, but 'tis the gift and bestowment of God. We obtain the precious faith of the Gospel (St. Peter tell us) through the righteousness of God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Whenever we read of our Justification by faith, 'tis meant of our being justified in the Gospel way; and that is, by Christ alone meritoriously, and by what he has done and suffered (for, the Apostle tells us, that God for Christ's sake hath freely forgiven us: Nothing has the least meritorious interest in our forgiveness, but Christ, Grace, and free forgiveness, in Scripture, is still opposed to our merit) and by faith only, with respect to its conditional relation to him, and that Covenant which he hath purchased and proclaimed, and in the method whereof we come to be actually pardoned and justified upon Believing. To think otherwise, is to subvert the grand design of the whole Gospel, which we are often told, is to declare Christ's Righteousness for the remission of sins, and to sot forth him as a propitiation through faith in his blood: Faith is no part of the Propitiation, but 'tis he himself and his blood that is the Propitiation, and faith but the conditional means by which we come to reap the fruit and benefit of it. The whole Fabric of the Gospel is bottomed upon satisfaction made to the Justice of God on our behalf, upon a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Our Saviour says, he came down to lay down his life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a ransom for many; And St. Paul to Timothy calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a price of redemption. We are every where in Scripture said to be ransomed, redeemed, purchased, bought with a price: And that must needs be by a valuable consideration paid, and by satisfaction made. And St. Peter tells us what that price of redemption is that was paid for us, and by which we were purchased and ransomed; 'twas not corruptible things, such as gold and silver, or any thing we had to offer to God, but 'twas with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without spot. No works nor performances of our own could ever have reached this purchase, or so prevailed as to have been accepted for a satisfaction in this case: For then a Justifying Righteousness might have subsequently resulted from the Law of Works, which St. Paul denies, and tells us expressly, Galat. 2.21. that it could not be that way, it could not come by the Law: For, had there been a possibility of it, he tells us, it should so have been: That is, could men either pefectly have kept the Law, or have sufficiently answered for the Breach of it ex post facto, Righteousness would have been that way, and Christ had not died, for his death had been then in vain.  
Two things still may be remembered about Faith, by which we may receive some account of the use that is made by the Holy Ghost of this word in Scripture.  
First, By faith the Gospel is often denominated in opposition to the Law, and the whole of it signified thereby. And the Reason of this seems to be because the Gospel is in its nature a Revelation from God proposed to our belief; and all that we are required by it to do, flows naturally from what we are first obliged to believe. Belief is the spring of all Gospel- obedience, and does in its nature comprise all other Gospel-graces; they being at first produced, and ever after upheld and increased thereby.  
Secondly, by the tenor of the Gospel and Gods peculiar Ordination therein, the whole condition required by it, is at the first virtually performed by the bare act of believing, as the representative of all other Graces, and root of universal obedience. 'Tis all that at the first is made conditionally necessary to constitute a Justified state, though to the after-continuance in it, the exercise of every other grace is equally requisite. He that sincerely believes in Christ as he is proposed, is truly in a Justified state by such an Act of Faith (and herein Faith hath the preference of all other Graces, in point of Justification) if we never live to perform any subsequent Act of Obedience: And the Reasons of this, may be these two. First, The grace of Faith has in its nature a Nearer relation to the satisfaction of Christ, wherein the Essentials of our Justification consist, than any other Grace whatsoever: For all we can do with reference to that, and the nearest approach we can make to it, to receive the benefit and advantage of it, is to believe it, and to rely upon it. Secondly, A true and sincere faith and belief of the Gospel, supposeth and includeth a firm resolution to act accordingly; that is, to pursue the Ends of that Faith in all such acts of obedience as are subsequently required of us: And this God sees virtually contained in the first Act of true Faith, and the seeds of all future sincere persevering obedience therein: And upon that account accepts thereof at first, as the performance of the whole condition required by the Gospel legally to entitle us to the privilege of a Justified state.   

SECT. V  
ANd now the last thing proposed to be inquired after, [How and upon what terms we come to arrive at the benefits of a Justified state] having been thus resolved; that we arrive thereunto by coming up to the terms proposed by the Gospel, and performing the condition therein required, which is briefly comprised by our Saviour in Believing: It will turn much to our account in this present Discussion, to inquire with some farther particularity, what is intended and comprehended therein! And of that, we may be much informed by the consideration of these three things.  
First, The way and method that God takes to justify a sinner, being originated in the depths of his infinite Counsels, no way ever to be found out or discovered, but by Revelation; a great mystery hid from ages, and a thing very incredible to a carnal mind, and no way suited to the corrupt Reasonings of Flesh and Blood: God expects, in the first place, that we should fully credit it; and firmly give our assent to its veracity: And this is in itself a very Righteous Act and so accounted of God, firmly to believe him in what he reveals to us. And herein the faith of the Gospel, and that of Abraham in whose steps we are bid to tread, do perfectly resemble each other. For, he believed God about divers things in their own nature very hard to be credited: He staggered not through unbelief, but hoped against hope, and still relied upon God's veracity and all-sufficiency.  
Secondly, God requires of us, That he having revealed from Heaven such a glorious and extraordinary way of Justification and Salvation, so far out of our own compass and span, as is the sending of his Son to assume our nature, and in that nature to perfect and complete all that concerned our present und future welfare: He expects upon this, that we should adore this Revelation, bow before it with the greatest acknowledgements we are capable of making, rely upon it, acquiesce in it; and be perfectly silenced to all attempts our own Wisdom can suggest to us about this matter. And herein the faith of the Gospel, answers punctually to that of Abraham: For, he wholly quitted all those methods carnal and corrupted reason would have directed him to. He left his Country and his father's house, and went he knew not whither. In a word, he forsook the conduct of his own wisdom, Believed whatever God told him, Did all he bade him, and Went whithersoever he called him, whatever Difficulties appeared to himself, and whatever Censures he lay exposed to from others in his so doing.  
Thirdly, God and the Mediator require of us, that we should become Obedient to a New Recovering Law of Grace, as the condition of our Pardon and Justification: In a word, That we should subject ourselves to all the precepts of the Gospel: For, Christ as Mediator erects a Kingdom; His exaltation is to be a Prince, as well as a Saviour; a Prince in being a Saviour, and whosoever will be saved by him, must become one of his Subjects, must submit to the regiment of his Kingdom, and subject himself to his Laws. And herein the faith of Abraham, and the faith of every Believer, answer one to another, as face answereth face in a glass: For Abraham's Justification was upon performance of the terms and condition of the New Covenant. The Apostle proves he was justified by faith, which was to be justified upon the terms of another Covenant, and not that of the Law: For the law is not of faith, nor faith of the Law, there was no relation at all between faith and law, the law made no promise to faith, the promises of the law were to perfect obedience. And as the Apostle with convincing evidence urgeth against the Jews Abraham was justified by a faith he had before he was circumcised, or had any thing to do with the Law. And that faith of Abraham was more than a bare fruitless assent to what God revealed to him: 'Twas such a faith as put him upon Action, and approved its own truth by a suitable obedience: And of this we are sufficiently informed by the Story itself in Genesis, and by St. James his Comment upon it.  
Some things there are to be remarked in this Disposal of God, that highly exalt his Wisdom, Holiness and Justice: And some things that to a very stupendious degree do magnify his Mercy.  
First, How is the Wisdom, Holiness and Justice of God, made very transparent by such a dispensing Pardon and Justification as this! How suitable is this method to himself! He forgives not as the Greatest of men often do, and think it an effect of the most supreme sovereignty so to do; as if in forgiveness nothing were to be done, but singly to exercise an act of sovereignty. But he forgives like the Lord our Maker: That eternal Jehovah who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working, with whom are inherent infinite Attributes, none of which in the least can be Denied, or in the least Oppose, or Contradict each other; He proceeds in all he does in methods chalked out by his infinite Wisdom, wherein they are all attempered together, and do after an admirable manner harmonise each with other. He annexeth such conditions to his forgiveness, as no way lessen the grace and bounty of it, and yet at the same time record his immutable holiness and justice.  
Secondly, The greatest righteousness that ever was extant, the holiest state of man that he is capable of in his lapsed condition, is introduced by the gospel and the precepts thereof; and the greatest homage from Earth to Heaven that can be: And yet all flesh put to silence in the performance of it. We stand justified at God's Bar in a way of Gods providing and contriving; and we perform the Condition required of us solely by the power of his grace freely conferred upon us: The glory of all redounds to God alone. No Reward can be of Debt; 〈◊〉 for all the Rewards of the Gospel are but Gods gracious remunerations of his own gifts and graces. Free grace, and Divine bounty is the Root that bears all; nor can there be any boasting against that Root. The holiest man that lives upon earth has the greatest occasion, as having received most, to abase himself, and lie lowest in the dust before God in the Sense thereof, in his best performances.  
Thirdly, By this method of forgiving, these two great Ends are attained. First, God's solemn hatred and dislike of sin, is made very evident. He save no man in his sin, but from his sin. Whom he justifies, he sanctifies: No man's sin is so forgiven, as that the least allowance is vouchsafed to it. How impossible were if for God openly to tolerate a Rebellion (as all sin is, for 'tis a disobedience to some Law) against himself! How inconsistent were it with his Holiness and his Sovereignty! By the Conditions God has annexed to his Forgiveness, 'twill evidently appear before men and Angels, what a Contrariety and Opposition there is in God to all sin, resulting from the essential Purity of his nature: And that none but such as are sanctified can be accepted of him. Secondly, By the performance of these conditions we are made meet for Glory, 'tis approaching Heaven gradually. 'Tis impossible without holiness to see God. And 'tis our great happiness, that so great a stress is laid upon our attaining to it: That we are under so solemn an obligement to our greatest Interest. Doubtless, the most effectual way to introduce sanctity, was to make it conditionally necessary to our Justification: and to oblige us to forsake our sins upon our utmost Peril, and greatest Penalty.  
Some things there are also observable in this Gospel method, of Pardon, by which the grace and mercy of God are made greatly evident, and appear in their highest elevation.  
First, The Precepts of this new recovering Law of Grace, the commands of the Gospel; our obedience to which is made conditionally necessary to a justified state: They are such as appear to be wholly calculated for our advantage and welfare. The yoke of Christ, 'tis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a gracious, benign, bountiful yoke, and his burden is a light burden. His commands are in no sort Grievous to any man truly and rationally informed▪ of his own welfare. God has not arbitrarily commanded us, as he might do, (for, we own him all conceivable subjection,) but singly obliged us to such precepts as are in their own nature absolutely necessary to our present and future welfare. In short, he has only bid us live a sober, righteous, religious life here, such as is rationally Best for ourselves, and others, and be gradually preparing for those Eternal fruitions that are to come. Whoever comes short of Heaven by not performing the Gospel-condition, denies his own present as well as future Interest: And 'twill be a black Reflection hereafter to consider, That whatever brought us to a state of Misery in the Next world, made us also unhappy in This: That God requited no more of us to qualify us for future Felicity; Then that we would live wisely and profitably to ourselves, and usefully to others here.  
Secondly, Whatever is by the Gospel Conditionally required of us, is all freely and fully given to us. Faith at first, and every other Grace in pursuance of it, is the gift of God. Whatever we are commanded to do, as a peculiar and principle effect of Christ's purchase by the Law of Grace, we receive a power to perform. The Holy Ghost upon Christ's ascension was eminently sent from Heaven for that very purpose, and will not cease in his operations, till all the members of Christ's Body are fully enabled to perform the Whole of what the Gospel requires at their hands: This is an apparent Effect of the highest Grace and Goodness, and renders Christ as free a Gift to the World, as if no Condition had been annexed to the proposal of him, since the power of performing all is Freely conferred upon us, when from the Greatness, Holiness, and Justice of God, and our own present and future welfare, it became necessary that such holy Conditions there should be. God in his boundless Grace, undertakes in Christ, and obliges himself by his Covenant to furnish us with ability for their utmost performance. By which method the whole will appear perfectly made up of free grace. The Satisfaction contrived, provided, accepted, and the condition performed: And every saved person will appear righteous both before God and the world, and 'twill be very apparently a righteous thing with God to bring such unto Glory, who have Christ's righteoussness by way of satisfaction, and compensation, to answer for them with respect to the Law, and their own faith, and sincere (though imperfect) obedience to answer the terms of the Gospel.  
Thirdly, This gracious recovering Law of the Mediator; 'Tis not given as God gave the first Law to Adam, and as he after gave the Law upon Mount Sinai, requiring exact and punctual obedience in every circumstance of it upon the greatest penalty: But 'tis given from the hand of a Mediator upon far more gentle and mitigated terms. 'Tis required by it, that we be deeply and thoroughly sensible of the ill of our former state and conversation, while without God and Christ in the world, and strangers to this grace of Gospel, and of our utter inability to procure acceptance with God any other way: be rationally satisfied of the excellency of that life the Gospel calls us unto, of the glorious reward that will ensue; And so make a solemn choice of it to ourselves, and sincerely resolve, as men of Truth and Fidelity ought, strenuously to endeavour to attain to it, to live in the practice of every duty the Gospel annexes to our state and condition, and to departed from every Gospel-sin. This conviction and resolution the Gospel makes indispensibly necessary, and 'tis comprised in all sincere and true Faith. But 'tis thus qualified for the advantage of an offender; That that which constitutes and preserves the union between Christ and a Believer, the thread that ties a man to Christ (as I may so express it) in the whole performance of the Gospel-condition, is sincerity of Intention and endeavour, (and what could the Great God require, and accept less from the hand of an Apostate Creature) and not perfection of Action: And this sincerity too reckoned as much to our advantage as possible may be; That is, Whatever can, upon the utmost allowances, be truly so called, shall be so reputed: And he that can enter a just claim to the lowest degree of sincerity, that is, when all the Infirmities that can accompany sincerity, and not overwhelm and extinguish it, that can consist with its denomination so to be, are admitted, shall yet be accounted a sincere man, and numbered amongst those that are truly so. Till this thread of sincerity be utterly broke, the union between Christ and a Believer is never Dissolved, but he still remains in a justified state before God. Though a man sin often through infirmity, and strength of Temptation, (and the best men so sin very often) if his Resolution abide firm and sincere for obedience to Christ, and holy living, he is still reckoned to perform the Gospel-condition, and abide in a justified state: Such a man is in the first Latitude of Gospel-forgiveness. But if a man through the power and prevalency of his Lusts, and the violent impetuous assaults of temptation, have an invasion made upon his sincerity, that is, that a man often fails in point of sincerity, sins against his own Light, and his Resolutions, and Knowledge, repeats this again and again; does it often, (for, such is man's apostate state by his Fall, so fertile is it of all sort of sin, that if Christ in this new Law had not considered our frame, and remembered with infinite compassion what we are, and so dealt with us, we had still come short of happiness) yet, if such a man by the strength and efficacy of grace, renew himself again by continued acts of Repentance, revive and reinforce his resolutions, return back to his first stated sincerity, be in his rational and most Deliberate choice still for Christ, and Obedience to his Laws, (for Christ will not sinally judge of us by our passionate choice, but by our rational choice) and so carry himself upon the whole matter, that Christ is not deposed his soul, but still continues his Government there, if Satan and the Flesh prevail but by sits, and are still dispossessed by an habitual sincerity; If a man be always either at the present, or upon second, and after reviews, full of deep and heart-affecting trouble, and sorrow, whenever he so miscarryes, and the fixed state, acquiescency, and rest of his soul is in living to Christ in a sincere obedience to his Laws, and his rational and most undisturbed choice is to do; in short, if he never comes to be bowed down, and subjected to pregnant hypocrisy, even in all cases of this nature, the Scripture gives us good ground to believe, that Christ, and his saving benefits are to be had, Justification before God attained, and future glory possessed (upon such gracious principles of condescension, is this New Law of the Gospel erected.) Though it must be withal acknowledged, that sins of this nature, sins tinctured with insincerity, are of all under the Gospel the most dangerous, border most upon a breach of the Condition required, are the most destructive to our present Peace and Comfort, the most productive of any of temporal and spiritual Judgements in this life: And when they arrive to such a degree, that the whole of a man's condition truly and evenly considered, (for, we shall all be weighed in the perfect Balance of God's righteous judgement) they turn the Scale against sincerity; are the more Predominant and Prevailing part, they are perfectly Ruinous, a Non-performance of the Gospel-condition, is returned upon us, and no such man will ever have the advantages of Christ's satisfaction accounted to him, let him have made never so great a progress in all other Gospel attainments.  
Two Fundamental Failures there are in reference to the Conditions required by the Gospel, upon the performance of which, begun, and continued, we come to be primarily and finally justified. First, When men wholly reject the Gospel, or with a careless, unconcerned, unactive Indifferency, (which comes, in the effects, all to one) barely assent to its veracity, but never prosecute the Ends of it: And secondly, when men prove false and perfidious in that subjection and obedience Christ requires from them in a Christian course. Christ will answer for no man that will not receive him when offered as worthy of all acceptation, and as an inestimable Jewel of an Infinite value, or that does not sincerely intent to obey his Laws, and act suitably to such an intention. 'Twere a mean and unworthy conception of our Saviour, to imagine he should account the Precious Effects of his most Precious Blood to any man that would not be throughly sensible of that sin, and rebellion against the Highest Sovereign that occasioned his sufferings, and to expiate which he became a sin offering, and was sacrificed; and in the most sincere and solemn manner resolve for the future, as the worst of all ills, (the Wound of Life, the Sting of Death, and tormenting Plague to Eternity) to avoid it: And especially, that should pretend to do, and yet lie against the Holy Ghost, and prove false in so gracious a Covenant. In a word, Nothing keeps men from the good things of the Gospel, the blessedness of a justified state, but a positive Refusal of Christ, (or a slothful, careless, unconcerned neglect of him, (which comes in effect all to one) or a prevailing unconquered falseness in the course of Gospel-obedience, and that Conformity to his Laws which Christ requires from us. And who can imagine that such a Saviour as our Lord is, who is God and Man after a stupendious manner united, should be provided by the Almighty for any persons in either respect so qualified?   

SECT. VI  
FRom the consideration of all these things, divers material Questions do naturally result; To which a due Answer ought to be given.  
First, This Question will be asked: Does not this diminish the Grace of the Gospel, and lessen the free donation of Christ, to say he is offered conditionally, and that no man can be justified by him but upon terms to be performed by himself?  
Answ. If it appear in truth so to be, that no man can be saved by Christ, nor be said in the Gospel-Sense to love him, that does not keep his Commands, if we go further in this matter, then to those Limitations the Gospel evidently puts upon itself; then this Objection ought not to be made: For, God's pleasure is the rule of his own Grace. That the Gospel is Conditional, is apparent beyond denial: If we live after the flesh, we are told, we shall certainly die, and if we mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live: If we overcome, we shall have the Crown, if we do not we shall lose the Reward: And If we faint, we are told, we shall not reap: 'Tis he that holds out to the End, in a Christian course, that shall be saved, And is not this all Conditional? And this Conditionality of the Gospel, the offer of Christ upon terms, does no way Extenuate the grace and mercy of God in the free donation of Christ: We are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ, though we are justified conditionally by faith, and that Faith includes all Gospel-obedience, and the whole duty of a Christian. Our Salvation is entirely purchased by Christ's blood, and an ability to perform every Condition required of us, is purchased for us, and by him freely conferred upon us. So that he, as a gift of inestimable value and bounty from Heaven, is a spring of all Grace, and freely supplies us with what ever we stand in need of: And the proposal of him to the world upon terms and conditions, is but that method the only wise God has seen fit to make use of, in the accomplishment of so glorious a work of Grace, and so free a Redemption, as that which tended most to his own glory; and will appear at last to be eminently best for us: For, 'tis but first to oblige us, and then to enable us to be holy and like Himself, in whose image lies the perfection of all Happiness. 'Tis but to save us here in part, and that we might gradually possess that Gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  
Quest. Secondly, By this Doctrine, how can we ever come to know we are carefully and completely Justified, till we have fully performed and accomplished all the conditions made requisite to a justified state? That is, how can we, upon good ground be assured of our Justification till our faith and obedience be consummuated: Which is not till we die?  
Answ. Every man is then Actually justified according to the Gospel-Law, and Completely so, when he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart. Because no more is at the first required Legally to constitute a justified state. But Justification is a continued act of God; and the constant performance of all those duties which a sincere reception of Christ as he is offered in the Gospel, implies, are indispensibly necessary to the continuance of it. 'Tis in this case, as 'tis in Marriage: A Marriage is perfected by a mutual consent; But the performance of all matrimonial duties is employed in that consent: The Marriage continues valid till somewhat be done (as 'tis very possible there may be) that does virtually Null and Revoke such consent, and what was employed therein, and does ex natura rei, Dissolve, the Vinculum matrimonij. 'Tis plain the Apostles did look upon such as declared a firm assent to the Gospel, and a sincere and hearty reception of Christ as he is there proposed, to be in Christ: That is, to be in a Justified saved state, admitted them to all Gospel-priviledges, and never esteemed them otherwise, till by their Lives, or Professions, they contradicted, and denied what by such a faith and consent they had before affirmed, and thereby Apostatised from it: And of such tergiversation the Gospel every where warns men; That they should take heed of an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. And St. Paul tells the Corinthians: I am jealous over you (says he) with a godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste Virgin to Christ: But I fear least by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ: Whoever avows the faith of the Gospel, and a sincere closure with Christ upon the Terms thereof, and does after fall into an open Rebellion against him, and lives in an allowed disobedience to his Laws, such a man is, as the Apostle speaks of an Heretic, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a man condemned by himself: For he that in his Baptism, and at his first admission into the Christian-Church, had made a solemn Profession of the true Christian Doctrine, and did after degenerate into Corrupt and Heretical Opinions, contrary and destructive to it; passed sentence upon himself. So, He that declares to close with Christ as a Prince and a Saviour, which supposeth a general submission to all the Laws of his Kingdom, and shall after Indulge himself in a course of open disobedience, and choose a continued practice of sin against that grand fundamental Law of Christ: That, he that names his name, must departed from iniquity; gives Judgement against himself in this case, Disowns Christ and the Gospel, Dissolves the Relation that seemed to be between them, and publicly retracts what he before obliged himself to: So that a man is at the first actually and legally according to the tenor of the Gospel justified by a true and sincere Faith: But a constant prosecution of such a faith in all its proper Ends and Tendencies by an universal submission to all the Laws of Christ's Kingdom, is of absolute necessity to our continuance in a Justified state.  
Quest. 3. Do not divers Scriptures in the New Testament seem to establish Justification solely upon believing, and upon Faith, only as an instrument receiving, and no more, in opposition to all sort of working? Especially that Text, Rom. 4.5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness?  
Answ. We are said to be justified in the New Testament by faith alone, upon these three accounts. First, as faith intends the Gospel and the Principles of Christianity, in opposition to the Law and the principles of Judaisme. Secondly, As 'tis a comprehensive word for all that the Gospel requires at our hands: For, by Believing in Christ, the Scripture intends such a closure with him, as receives him in all his offices, and sujects us to all those obligations, which 〈◊〉 Prince and Saviour he thinks fit by the Gospel to lay upon us: And upon that account, to Believe, and to obey, are often in Scripture put one for the other promiscuously, and so are unbelief and disobedience. All obedience and subjection to Christ is originated in, and flows from our Belief of that Revelation God makes to us of him, and is naturally employed, and comprised in it: And so it has by God's appointment the precedence and preferrence of all other Graces in point of Justification, and we do not find any other grace so related to Justification as this. And upon that account it is, that we are not said in Scripture to be justified by repentance, or by love, or any other single grace, but only by Faith, as comprehensive of all the rest. And thirdly, because we are actually brought into a justified state at first, solely by Faith without the actual exercise of any other grace: The very act of sincere believing, by God's peculiar and gracious ordination, entitles us to Christ, and all his Benefits: And the reason of that Ordination is evidently this; That who ever believes in Christ, receives him as he is by God proposed; and whoever does so, obliges himself therey to all the duties of Christianity. But upon no one of these accounts can Faith be said to justify 〈◊〉 barely as an Instrument, but as 'tis comprehensive and productive of all other Gospel-duties; and by the subsequent performance of them, Faith (as St. James tells us) is perfected. 'Twas the fear many good men had of interesting any Works, or any thing of our own Justification, and Eclipsing free grace thereby, that made them that they would neither allow Faith to be a condition, nor a work, (When they ought to have considered, that Gospel works are never opposed to Grace, nor can any thing done by Divine assistance be so; and when the Apostle opposeth Works to Grace, he means such Works as are inconsistent with Grace, and so justify by their merit, as to put us out of need of Grace, and render it useless) but invented that unscriptural notion of its instrumentality (of no other use, but to make way for metaphysical subtleties, and to obscure a plain point) when indeed Faith is both a work, and a condition. First, 'Tis a work; so our Saviour himself calls it, Joh. 6.29. This is the work of God that you believe. Indeed, 'tis the chiefest part of Evangelical obedience, the greatest work the Gospel requires at our hands, and that which produceth all other; and 'tis plainly made as such, every where in Scripture the Condition of the New Law, and that which it requires on our part to be performed, in order to our Justification and Salvation. And so the Apostle declares when he says, We have believed that we might be justified: That is, We have performed the Condition required by the Gospel in order to Justification, that so we might be justified thereby upon the terms thereof: And for that reason, as 'tis the Condition of the New Law, 'tis accounted for Righteousness. And so when God justified Abraham upon the terms of the New Covenant, his Faith is said to be accounted for Righteousness, because it was the performance of the Condition thereof: And God was pleased to give an Instance in him what was to be the Condition of it, which was, a sincere Faith, including a suitable obedience: So far different was Abraham's Faith in its Nature, and so far is all true Gospel-Faith from that Idea some men frame of it, who ascribe no more to it then a Bare naked notional instrumentality.  
Nor is there one Text in all the New Testament that excludes Gospel- Works, Evangelical obedience from being Conditionally necessary to our Justification and Salvation, but they are universally made so, as has been proved before: For, Whatever is requisite to constitute a man a good Christian, is conditionally necessary to his Justification; and no man can be interested in the Salvation purchased by Christ, that does not subject himself to an universal obedience to all his Laws. To distinguish, as some do, between Justification and Salvation, and say, that Gospel-works are necessary to the Latter, but not to the Former, is to distinguish where the Scripture makes no difference: For, The Apostles speak of a Justified person, and a saved person as the same, and of Justification and Salvation as so; and they are both promiscuously promised to Believing. St. James when he is discoursing of Justification, asks this question, can faith without works save you? Where he means the same thing as if he had said, can it justify you? Nor does it any more derogate from free Grace to make Gospel-works necessary to Justification, than it does to ache them necessary to Salvation: For, they are both inseparably included each in other: No man can be saved that is not Justified; for whosoever is not justified at God's Bar, is condemned, and whoever is justified, is also glorified. That Text of St. Paul Rom. 4. v. 5. duly considered, does no way counenance any such Doctrine; for the right understanding of which it will be necessary to consider the whole Context. In the first ver. What shall we say then (says the Apostle) that Abraham our father (from whom we derive ourselves, and who first received the Law of Circumcision, the father of our Persons, and of our Religion) as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 'Tis an Interrogation importing a Negation, Abraham did find nothing as pertaining to the flesh. By flesh in Scripture (besides the Corrupt acceptation) it sometimes is meant the strength of natural abilities: So Ishmael is said to be born after the flesh; that is, by the mere and sole efficacy of nature, in opposition to Isaac's being born 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, according to the spirit, and after the promise: And sometimes by Flesh is meant the Legal external privileges of the Jews. So in the 3d. of the Philip. 'tis taken: St. Paul says there, If any other man thinketh he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh; I more: Circumcised the eighty day, etc. But 'tis plain what St. Paul means here by flesh: For, what he calls flesh in the first ver. he calls works in the second: For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. If Abraham were justified by the worth and value of his own performances of any works wrought in his own Strength, and by his own Ability, he had whereof to Glory; But not before God; which last clause is a positive Negation, and comes in as a Minor proposition: And so the the Apostles Argument is thus framed, If Abraham were justified by works, he had whereof to glory before God; For 'tis faith only that excludes glorying before God (his reward would have been a debt) But he had not whereof to glory before God: Therefore he was not justified by works. And that this is his meaning in those words, But not before God; is plain: Because in the next words he applies himself in the proof of it: For, what saith the Scripture, (says he) It does not say that Abraham was justified before God by works, but Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for Righteousness. God, out of favour and grace, accepted his Faith for Righteousness, which is employed in the word Counted, when: he might justly have Refused so to do Abraham could not have claimed it from any merit in strict rules of Justice Now to him that worketh (in the 4th ver.) is the reward not reckoned of Grace, but of Debt: That is, he that hath any thing due to his for what he has himself in his own strength done, that Reward is a Debt, and is not a reward of Grance: And so if Abraham had been a man of such merits, had done such works as would in their own nature have justified him, and constituted him Righteous in the sight of God, Gods justifying him, and adjudging him righteous, had been a debt due to him: But Abraham was not so, he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Sinner, and could claim nothing of Debt; And God was pleased out of favour and grace to Reward Abraham's Faith and suitable obedience, with an accounting it for Righteousness; and to justify him thereupon: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifyeth the ungodly, his faith is accounted for Righteousness: That is, Dependeth not upon the strength of his own performances, and such a sinless innocency as will in strict rules of Justice acquit him before God, as Abraham did not, but Believeth on God that justifies the ungodly: That is, a man that has not a Legal sinless perfection, (for, that is meant by the ungodly) his Faith is counted for Righteousness: That is, his Faith through Grace shall avail him as much to all intents, and stand him in as much stead as a perfect sinless Righteousness would do. Abrahm's Justification was not upon the terms of the Law, or by perfection of Works, (which is inconsistent with Pardon) for he was a great sinner, and had lived for some time in Heathen Idolatry: But he was justified upon the terms and conditions of another Covenant; that is, upon his believing God, and reforming his Life, was Pardoned and Accepted: and his Faith and sincere reformation, though the Grace of another Covenant, was accounted to him for Righteousness: Even so as the Idolatrous Gentiles though never circumcised, may now also be justified; that is, have their sins forgiven, if they believe the Gospel, and Reform their lives: And that by Justifying and Imputing Righteousness, is meant the pardon of sin, and that Abraham was justified as an ungodly person, by being Pardoned, and not as an Innocent person, the next words declare, ver. 6. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth Righteousness without works, (which was Abraham's case) And how is that? Why, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. The scope of the Apostle in this Chapter is to prove, that Abraham was not Justified by any original Innocency, or such a sinless perfection of life, as would make the reward to be of Debt: And so not upon the terms of the first Covenant; but he was justified by having Righteousness without Works, upon the terms of another Covenant. He was justified as an ungodly person, as a Sinner; That is, was Pardoned upon his sincere Faith and suit able obedience; and so arrived at the Blessedness David describes, who takes it for granted, that Blessedness comes not by unsinning perfect obedience, (which is inconsistent with Pardon) For than he would have said: Blessed are the sinless perfect persons that never offended. But he says, Blessed are they to whom God will not impute sin, and blessed are they whose sins are pardoned. The plain intention of this great Apostle of the Gentiles, is by the instance of Abraham to establish Evangelical Justification, of which the Gentiles were as capable as the Jews, in opposition to Legal: By works he intends all along the Law and the first Covenant, and what was required to justify a man therein: And by Faith he intends the Gospel, and all that is conditionally required of us thereby, which is a sincere belief accompanied with suitable obedience. And Abraham who was justified by performing the Gospel condition, (and not the condition of the Covenant of Works) had such a sincere Faith accompanied with such obedience, as the Story itself, and the Holy Ghost by St. James positively tells us: His Works wrought with his Faith; that is, to obtain the same End with it, and by his Works his Faith was perfected. 'tis absurd to imagine St. Paul ever intended to exclude Gospel-works, such a sincere obedience as is naturally appurtenant to Faith, and is included in it, and supposed by it, and which is accepted out of mere Grace, and cannot pretend to the least merit: But he speaks only against such works as might claim Justification as a reward of Debt, in opposition to Grace; such as the Jews insisted on, which would utterly exclude the Gentiles from all possibility of Justification, and establish it upon a Legal bottom, and thereby subvert the whole design of the Gospel. By justifying therefore the ungodly upon believing, he means no more than the justifying a person that has not sinless legal perfection (which the first Covenant made necessary to Justification) by his performing the condition of the second Covenant, which condition performed, is through Grace accepted for Righteousness, and procures actual Pardon.  
Quest. 4. Has Christ satisfied for our Gospel-sins; For the breach of his own Laws as Mediator, or not?  
Answ. This Question is resolved by one Text of St. John, who tells us, that The blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth from all sin: Against whatever Law committed, if we perform the Gospel Condition. Ever since the Fall and sin of man, Christ hath been extant in Promises and Types till his full Appearance: And all Pardon and Forgiveness has some way or other come through Him. He has been the great medium, by and through which all Divine favour and Grace has been in all times dispensed. Under the Gospel, whoever perform the Condition, and comes within the compass of that Latitude Christ by his New Law allows, his sins of partial unbelief, and all other sorts of Gospel-disobedience, are Pardoned upon the terms thereof; by the tenor of this New Covenant which Christ hath purchased by his blood, whose blood is called the blood of the Covenant: By this gracious Covenant a renewed pardon is still granted to all believers for every sin at any time committed, upon sincere repentance and reformation: And Christ proposeth himself to the world upon those gracious terms; That if they cordially close with him, and receive him as Lord and Christ, as their King and Saviour, all their past sins shall be forgiven: And whenever they shall sin for the future, and come short of that Duty they are to pay to him, upon their Repentance they shall be renewed, and God through and by Him, and for His sake will exercise continual acts of Pardon towards them in all such cases. And this day of Grace is for aught we know, of the same duration with every man's life. Every man while he lives has an Opportunity of embracing the Gospel: And whoever falls by Temptation and the power of Corruption, after he has so done, has yet a continued possibility while God spares him in this world to be restored to a Pardoned, Justified state by Repentance. But whoever fails, and comes short in performing the Gospel-condition; Whoever closeth not with the Redeemer (who hath all power put by the father into his hands) upon his own Terms, not one of that man's sins will he ever Remit, or Account for to the Father: But is he left to answer to that most dreadful Charge of the Law; and besides, by neglecting so great salvation, falls under the utmost condemnation of the Gospel: Is left to God as supreme Judge of the World in the highest exercise of Justice, having refused the terms of his mercy: Is left to God without the interposition of a Mediator; the terror of which condition the Apostle thus expresseth: 'Tis a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God: Where he means without a Mediator. For 'tis spoken in terrorem to the Converted Jews, who were in great danger of Apostatising from the Gospel, and the faith of the Mediator, and returning back to the old Canceled dispensation of the Law, the end of which was Christ.  
To conclude this whole matter. The making and redeeming of a man is originally founded in an eternal transaction of the blessed Trinity. God saw it fit to Create man at the first with a mutable Will, with an inherent freedom of choice; though he perfectly knew and foresaw all the consequents, and what use man would make of it. The Reason of this is not to be inquired into: For although God is pleased in Scripture to permit us to Treat with him about his Justice, and to Discourse with us about the equity of his proceed, whether his ways be not equal towards us, and ours unequal towards Him: Yet he never admits us to any conference with him about his Wisdom, never suffers any humane inquiry to be made Whether he does Wisely or no in what he does, but still puts us to silence in that point with his absolute Sovereignty over us, and brands that man with a Woe that so strives with his Maker, and shall dare to say, Why hast thou made me thus? Whatever God does, we have these two prevailing Reasons to Acquiesce in it, First, That 'tis done by him that has the supreme Right of disposing All: He that made all, is sittest to dispose all, and must needs be best entitled so to do. Secondly, That 'tis the result of infinite Attributes, such wherein is inherent the utmost possible Perfection we are able to conceive of in every kind. Whatever opposeth, or questioneth such Wisdom, must needs be the highest Folly. Whatever opposeth or thwarteth such Justice must needs be the greatest Injustice; and so in all other instances. God, in this case, saw it best to make man Free, and leave him to the utmost exercise of that freedom, that so Man might appear to be what he would be, and God might appear to be what his is. Evil had never been but that 'twas infinitely better it should be then not to be: For when the Creature has sinned to the utmost, God overrules that sin to excellent Ends; and from the depths of Divine Wisdom we see it so brought about, that glorious effects result from it: Though the commission of sin is no way excused thereby, and the guilt of it rests at every man's own door.  
From created freedom all sin and all misery the adjunct of it had their first rise, and from thence they were originally produced. This created freedom of will, was in itself and its own nature, as first framed, excellent, and a bright beam of Divine perfection, being of a Noble Faculty capable of a continual choice of what was best; and 'tis far more excellent freely to choose what is so, then from any outward necessity to become obliged to it. It was also suited in its nature to Gods giving a Law, and man's Obedience: Of the fitness of which we may easily conceive, when we reflect upon that Relation there is between the Creator and a Creature, from this Root of created freedom so adequate an adjunct to so noble a creature as Man, and in its right exercise always centring in God as the supreme and chiefest good, and most proper object of choice. From hence sprang up the evil and apostasy of humane nature: For no man can, or from the beginning could say when he is tempted: I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted when he is led aside of his own lust, and enticed. This freedom in man declining to disobedience, puts a period to all his happiness, Disorders, and Disjoynt's all his Faculties, and strait way renders him obnoxious to that supreme and dreadful Attribute of his Maker, his Justice. God upon the first declension of this freedom, upon man's first disobedience, inflicts the utmost penalty of his Law: Nor can we suppose it otherwise, but that God in the first instance of that kind, would give his Creatures to know what sin was! That a Rebellion against Him the Highest, most Absolute, and most Perfect Being, was of all things the most Intolerable, contained in its bowels the utmost Evil, being an opposition to the Greatest Good, and must needs expose to the Worst of Conditions: For nothing can oppose God, and be happy, or prosper. Nor would it consist either with the Justice, or Wisdom of such a Sovereign as God is, to give Laws, but upon the most perfect and unalterable Reason, and upon that account, to adhere to their punctual Execution: And of this we are sufficiently informed, when we see that nothing less than a satisfaction made by the Death of our Saviour, (that stupendious and Miraculous expedient of Divine Wisdom, beyond the ken of Angels or Men, whereby God receives a redundancy of compensation) could relieve or release us from the severity and strict execution of the Law of Works, and introduce that better Covenant, the Law of Grace, by which we are now justified and saved. We must not imagine God dallies when he gives Laws to the world, or that he will connive at the breach of them, or repeal them as men do; 'Tis otherwise with the supreme Lawgiver and Judge of all the earth, to whom all things that are to come, are fully and certainly known, and before whom all future events are ever present.  
Man, by this chosen disobedience to the Law of his Maker, stands before him thereby by as an object of his Justice, who being also essentially good, gracious and forgiving, and acting nothing but in a perfect compliance with himself, those two Attributes of Mercy and Justice (So far as we are able to reach) remain in such a juncture utterly irreconcilable, till by a Miracle of Divine Wisdom (which can never be sufficiently adored) a way is found out to make those two Contending Attributes both triumphant: Justice is fully satisfied, and Mercy brought into its utmost exercise, and all the Floodgates of Divine Goodness let open upon the world: This is all effected by the glorious and gracious undertaking of our blessed Redeemer; by whom life and immortality is brought to light, our Salvation proclaimed, and stands for ever established upon these three fundamental points. First, That Christ perfectly performed all that was necessary for him to perform, to constitute him a sufficient Mediator between God and Man, exactly fulfilled all the Law of his public Mediatorship, and was approved of God so to have done: A sufficient Instance whereof he gave to the world in raising him from the dead, and exalting him at his own right hand. Secondly, That by reason of the Dignity of Christ's person, his obedience and sufferings were infinitely of more intrinsic value and weight than all the obedience and sufferings of Mankind ever were, or possibly could be; and so they are accounted of before God. Thirdly, That being performed in our Nature, and wholly upon our Account, God by an infinitely gracious Statute in Heaven accepts them for us (though not as done by us) and reckons all the effects and advantages of them by way of imputation to us.  
The Lord Christ having made such a satisfaction to God for the sins of the world, and thereby reversed that sentence of Condemnation that by the Law was Recorded against us, has as Mediator the power of dispensing Pardon wholly committed to Him. For, the Father now judges no man, but has committed all judgement unto the Son. That is, Christ as Mediator is established King. And the world is now to be judged by a Law of Grace: And two things in the exercise of this Mediatory Dominion are Eternally stipulated between the Father and the Son. First, that all pardon and Forgiveness shall be dispensed upon such Conditions; that is, upon the terms proclaimed by the Gospel, whereby the glory of all the Divine Attributes, as well as of Mercy and Forgiveness, is highly displayed. And Secondly, That that power, Christ as Mediator is vested withal, to empower and enable whom he pleaseth, by the sending forth of the Holy Ghost, to perform the Gospel-Condition, shall be exerted toward those alone to whom God in his Eternal Counsels (who had all things in prospect and foreknowledge, and the whole of all men's circumstances before him from Everlasting) designed present Grace, and future Glory.  
Those who through Divine Grace and Assistance receive Christ as he propounds himself to us in the Gospel, are by the tenor thereof justified before God: And he so propounds himself, that whoever Receives him, is thereby obliged to the performance of all Gospel-Righteousness: And when the whole of Christ's undertaking to bring many sons to glory shall be perfected and completed, we shall then see that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as the Apostle calls it, that multiform●s sapientia Dei, that manifold wisdom of God in curious variety about this matter, and the glorious Excellency there is in a Sinners Justification, in its contrivance, in its procuring cause, in its condition, and in its final effect; And thence will result Everlasting Adoration and Hymns of praise and thanksgiving to him that sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever.  
FINIS.