the image of God, stampt on every power and faculty of his soul. It is a copy of his divine righteousness, so far as it can be imparted to a human spirit. It is a transcript of the divine purity, the divine justice, mercy and truth. It includes love, reverence, resignation to his Father; humility, meekness, gentleness: love to lost mankind, and every other holy and heavenly temper and all these in the highest degree, without any defect, or mixture of unholiness.

It was the least part of his external righteousness, that he did nothing amiss: that he knew no outward sin of any kind, neither was guile found in his mouth; that he never spoke one improper word, nor did one improper action. Thus far it is only a negative righteousness, though such an one as never did, nor ever can belong to any one that is born of a woman, save himself alone. But even his outward righteousness was positive too. He did all things well. In every word of his tongue, in every work of his hands, he did precisely the will of him that sent him. In the whole course of his life, he did the will of God on earth, as the angels do it in heaven. All he acted and spoke were exactly right in every circumstance. The whole and every part of his obedience was complete. He fulfilled all righteousness.

But his obedience implied more than all this: it implied not only doing, but suffering: suffer

ing the whole will of God, from the time he came into the world, till he bore our sins in his own body upon the tree: yea, till having made a full atonement for them, he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. This is usually termed the passive righteousness of Christ, the former, his active righteousness. But as the active and passive righteousness of Christ were never in fact separated from each other, so we never need seperate them at all, in speaking or even thinking. And it is with regard to both these conjointly, that Jesus is called The Lord our righteousness.

But when is it, that any of us may truly say, The Lord our righteousness? In other words, when is it that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. and in what sense is it imputed?

Look through all the world, and all the men therein are either believers or unbelievers The first thing then which admits of no dispute among reason ble men is this: To all believers the righteousness of Christ is imputed; to unbelievers it is not,

"But when is it imputed?" When they believe. In that very hour the righteousness of Christ is theirs. It is imputed to every one that believes, as soon as he believes; faith and the righteousness of Christ are inseparable. For if he believes according to scripture, he believes in the righteousness of Christ. There is

no true faith, that is, justifying faith, which hath not the righteousness of Christ for its object.

"But in what sense is this righteousness imputed to believers?" In this: All believers are forgiven and accepted, not for the sake of any thing in them, or any thing that ever was, that is, or ever can be done by them, but wholly and solely for the sake of what Christ hath done and suffered for them. I say again, not for the sake of any thing in them, or done by them, of their own righteousness or works. Not for works of righteousness which we have done, but of his own mercy he saved us. By grace are ye saved through faith. Not of works, lest any man should boast: but wholly and solely for the sake of what Christ hath done and suffered for us.

We are justified freely, by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. And this is not only the means of our obtaining the favour of God, but of continuing therein. It is thus we come to God at first: it is by the same we come unto him ever after. We walk in one and the same new and living way, till our spirit returns to God.

Sermon on Jeremiah xxiii. 6.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.

Does then the good Shepherd seek and save only those that are found already? No: he seeks

and saves that which is lost. He pardons those who need his pardoning mercy. He saves from the guilt of sin, (and at the same time from the power) sinners of every kind, of every degree; men who, till then, were altogether ungodly; in whom the love of the Father was not; and consequently, in whom dwelt no good thing, no good or truly Christian temper: But all such as were evil and abominable, pride, anger, love of the world, the genuine fruits of that "carnal mind, which is enmity against God."

These "who are sick, the burden of whose sins is intolerable," are they that need a Physician: these who are guilty, who groan under the wrath of God, are they that need a pardon. These who are condemned already, not only by God, but also by their own conscience, as by a thousand witnesses, of all their ungodliness, both in thought, and word, and work, cry aloud for him that "justifieth the ungodly, through the redemption that is in Jesus: The ungodly and him that worketh not;" that worketh not before he is justified; any thing that is good, that is truly virtuous or holy, but only evil continually. For his heart is necessarily, essentially evil till the love of God is shed abroad therein. And while the tree is corrupt, so are the fruits;" "for an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit."

Justifying faith implies not only a divine evidence or conviction, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that he loved me, and gave himself for me. And at what time soever a sinner thus believes, be it in early childhood, in the strength of his years, or when he is old and hoary-headed, God justifieth that ungodly one: God, for the sake of his Son, pardoneth and absolveth him who had in him till then no good thing. Repentance indeed God had given him before; but that repentance was neither more nor less than a deep sense of the want of all good, and the presence of all evil. And whatever good he hath or doth from that hour, when he first believes in God, through Christ, faith does not find but bring. This is the fruit of faith. First the tree is good, and then the fruit is good also.

He hath no righteousness at all, antecedent to this, not so much as negative righteousness, or innocence. But faith is imputed to him for righteousness, the very moment that he believ eth. Not that God thinketh him to be what he is not. But as he made Christ to be sin for us, that is, treated him as a sinner, punishing him for our sins, so he counteth us righteous from the time we believe in him: that is, he doth noth punish us for our sins, yea, treats us as though we were guiltless and righteous.