to prove, that Faith which is without (or fevered from) Works, is dead: And that therefore there is a Neceffity of Vorks to justify our Faith, or to make it manifelt that it is not a dead Faith. Were Juftification here taken in the other Senfe, his Arguments would not only be utterly inconclufive, but his Reasoning quite foreign to his Subject, which may not be fuppofed: And therefore it neceffarily is the Juftification of our aith, or Christian Profeffion, and not of our Perfons, which the Apostle James is here treating of.

This is also evident from every one of the Arguments used by the Apostle in this Context.- Every one of them will bring out the Conclufion now mentioned; but neither of them, feparately confidered, nor all of them connected, have any Appearance of an Argument, in Proof of our perfonal Juftification (or our Perfons being made righteous beore God,) by our good Works.

The firft Argument feems but ironically propofed. ea, a Man may fay, Thou haft Faith, and I have Works. Shew me thy Faith without thy Works; and I will fhew thee my Faith by my Works. Ver. 18. As if he thould have faid, Have you indeed Faith without Works? I pray. fhew me your Faith without Works, if you can. For my Part, I know of no fuch Way of manifesting the Truth of Faith; I refolve to take a contrary Method, and will fhew ou my Faith, will evidence the Sincerity of it, and justify my Profeffion of Faith by my Works. Here the Argument is very clear and full, in Favour of the Interpretation I am pleading for. And here we have an Index to point out the Meaning of the Word Juftification in the fubfequent Difcourfe. It cannot import more than a manifeftative Juftification. Indeed it fignifies the fame Thing with fhewing our Faith or evidencing the Truth of our Pro fellion

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fellion, and fo of our justified State. But now let us fee how this Argument will conclude for the other Side of the Queftion. The Argument ought to be thus flated: Our Faith must be shown and manifefted by our Works; therefore our good Works will justify our Perfons before God, and render us righteous and acceptable in his Sight.—I think every Body will own, that the Spirit of God does not reafon at that Kate; and therefore that Juftification before God, which is the Sinner's Relief against the Challenges of his Law and Juftice, cannot be the Subject here treated of.

The fecond Argument here ufed is, that a fruitless and unoperative Faith, tho' it be good as far as it goes, yet is no other than what the Devils have; he is therefore a vain Man, who depends upon Acceptance with God by fuch a dead Faith. Thou believefl there is one od; thou dost well; the Devils alfo believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that Faith without Works is dead. Ver. 19, 20. Here the Apostle exprefsly fhews us what it is he had undertaken to prove: Which is, that a bare, fruitless, historical Faith, cannot fave us, because it is common to the very Devils.Here he exprefsly fhews who it is he is difputing with: It is a vain Man, who vainly expects to be faved by an idle Faith and empty Profeffion of the Gofpel, without any Fruit of Obedience.- And here he does again exprefsly affert the Principle which was the Subject of his Discourse, and the only Point to be proved, that Faith without Works is dead.. So that there is no Room to debate, what was the Defign of this Argument. By this he effectually proves, that the Faith which juftifies our Persons must be jullified by good Works; otherways we are but vain Men, and our Hope is but a vain Hope, which will leave us among unpardoned Devils at last.

But

But not fo much as the leaft Colour of an Argument can be found here, that our Perfons are juftified before God by good Works: Whence it follows, that the Juftification here treated of, muft neceffarily be the Juftification of our Faith, of our Chriftian Character and Profeflion; and not of our Perfons, in Regard of their State, before God.

A third Argument here brought by the Apostle, to prove his Point, is Abraham's being juftified by Works, when he had offered Ifaac his Son upon the Altar. Ver. 21.— Now it appears from a Variety of the strongest and clearest Evidences, that the Apostle did not (could not) refer to the Juftification of Abraham's Perfon in the Sight of God, but to the Juftification of his Faith and Sincerity only, in this Inftance before us.

This appears, in the first Place, because Abraham was in a juftified State, by an everlafting Covenant, thirty Years before his offering his Son Ifaac upon the Altar. It was fo long, or near fo long before this, that the glorious God himself made the Promife to him, in Gen. xvii. 7. And Iwill establish my Covenant between me and thee, and thy Seed after thee in their Generations, for an everlasting Covenant, to be a GOD unto thee, and to thy Seed after thee. And it was more than fo long before this, that Abraham had this Testimony given him in Gen. xv. 6. That he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for Righteousness. Yea, he was a Believer fo long before, at his firft leaving his Father's Houfe. By Faith Abraham, when he was called,——obeyed and went out. Heb. xi. 8. How then could his offering his Son Ifaac be the Mean or Term of the Juftification of his Perfon before God, when he had Faith unfeigned, had Righteousness imputed to him, and an everlasting Covenant made with him fo long a Time before? Befides, if Works could have juftified

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juftified his Perfon, he would have been juftified by Works long before this. For his whole Story fhews, that he had lived in a Course of holy fruitful Obedience, from the Time of his tuftification till this Time. There cannot therefore be any fair Pretence made, that the fuflification of his Perfon is here referred to. No, this good Work was not in the leaft conflitutive, but only evidential, of his perfonal Juftification before God.

Further, it appears by the Story itself, to which the Apostle refers, that it was only a manifeftative Juftification, a Juftification of his Faith and Sincerity, and fo declarative of the justified State of his Perfon, that Abraham obtained by offering his Son Ifaac upon the Altar.- -The glorious God condefcends to treat with him after the Manner of Men; and by an Affumption of human Affections, to declare concerning him, Now I know that thou feareft God, feeing thou haft not with-held thy Son, thine onby Son, from me. Gen. xxii. 12. This then was the Juftification of which the Apostle treats, Abraham's making it known that he feared God, and that his Faith and Profeffion were fincere.- For this is all the Juftification which can be proved from this Text in Genefis, to which he refers. We may not fuppofe, that an infpired Apoftle quoted Scripture impertinently; and yet we cannot fuppofe the Scripture referred to was any Thing at all to his Purpose, unless we understand him to be speaking of Juftification in the Senfe I am pleading for. this Senfe therefore, and this only, did the Apostle defign to prove our Juftification by Works, by the Argument now before us. Abraham's Obedience witneffed to the Truth of his Faith; and fo his real State of Juftification before God was made apparent.

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In

This alfo appears by the Apostle's Illustration of this Argument, in Ver. 22. Seeft thou how Faith wrought

brought with his Works, and by Works was Faith made perfect?-How was it that Faith wrought with bis Works? not as a Joint-condition of his Justification before God. He was juftified in the Sight of God long before this, as I have fhewn you already: And the Apostle Paul affures us, that his Juftification was by Faith without Works. Rom. iv. 4, 5. Therefore Faith could not co-operate with his Works to the Juftification of his Perfon, when Righteoufnefs was imputed to him that worked not, but believed on him that juftified the Ungodly. This Sense being rejected and contradicted by the Spirit of God himself, muft confequently by no Means be admitted; nor is there any other Interpretation, which can (with the leaft Shew of Reason) be given to these Words, but that which I am pleading for. Agreeably we read. Heb. xi. 17. By Faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Ifaac: And he that bad received the Promifes, offered up his only begotten Son. His Faith was fignally operative; not a dead Faith, and therefore fincere. This was vifibly demonftrated by the good Works which it produced. Such Works must be the Productions of a true and lively Faith: And we may fee, in this Instance, how Faith wrought with his Works, exciting, directing, affifting him in them; and there-. by may fee, that it was not fuch a Faith as the Apoftle is here complaining of.-By Works was his Faith made perfect. How was it made perfect ?. The Grace of Faith, confidered in itself, was neither the better nor the worse, neither more nor lefs perfect for the Works which followed it; fave as the Exercise of Faith in doing them might tend to ftrengthen and improve the Habit. But the. Meaning feems to be, that it was discovered, and proved to be a perfect (true and lively) Faith, by its practical Confequences and Effects.-His Faith Cc 3

was