that they may be justified. Otherwise let them 'pretend what they would to faith, while they lived without brotherly love and good works, it was but an empty pretence; and their profeffion wanted the proper witnesses to justify it. Thus the arguiment is natural and eafy: and the conclufion neceflarily follows. But then, on the other hand, if we confider juftification as meaning our reconciliation to God, and our personal acceptance .with him; the apostle's argument will appear very lame and defective, and the conclufion will never follow from the premises. For it will by no means follow, because a lifeless fruitless faith, deftitute of mercy and obedience to the royal law of love, will not juftify us before God; that therefore good works in truth will justify us before God. It will by no means follow, because we cannot be accepted of God and faved, by a falfe and unfincere profeffion of faith; that therefore we can be accepted of God and faved, by fuch obedience as we are capable to perform. The inference is therefore necessary, that the apoftle must be so understood, as will fecure the connection of his difcourfe, and the force of his argument: which cannot be done, if we confider him as fpeaking of juftification in any other fenfe, than that which I am now pleading for.

Further, that the juftification here treated of, is the juftification of our faith and fincerity, but not of our perfons, is evident likewife from the confequence the apostle draws from the foregoing premifes, which he undertakes to prove and vindicate in the following verfes, which is, Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone, ver. 17. This is the point which he undertakes to prove ; and accordingly this is the conclufion of the whole, when he has finished his reafoning on the fubject. For as the body without the fpirit is dead, fo faith without works, is dead alfo, ver. 26. As a breathlefs fpiritlefs corpse that cannot act or move, is evidently dead, fo a fpeculative belief, that does not influence a man's life and actions, is evidently dead; a dead thing in itself, argues a dead foul, and is dead as to the purpofes and offices of gofpel faith. We must therefore understand all the arguments here used, to refer to this point only. They are all brought to prove, that faith

which is without (or fevered from) works, is dead and that therefore there is a neceffity of works to juftify our faith, or to make it manifeft that it is not a dead faith. Were justification here taken in the other sense, his arguments would not only he utterly inconclufive, but his reafoning quite foreign to his fubject, which may not be fuppofed: and therefore it neceffarily is the juftification of our faith, or Chriftian profeffion, and not of our perfons, which the apoftle James is here treating of.

This is also evident from every one of the arguments, ufed by the apostle in this context. Every one of them will bring out the conclusion now mentioned: but neither of them separately confidered, nor all of them connected, have any appearance of an argument in proof of our perfonal justification (or our perfons being made righteous) before God, by our good works.

The first argument feems but ironically proposed. Yea, a man may say, thou haft faith, and I have works: fbew me thy faith without thy works; and I will fbew thee my faith by my works, ver. 18. As if he should 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 manifefting the truth of faith; I refolve to take a contrary method; and will shew you my faith, will evidence the fincerity 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 profeffion, and fo of our juftified ftate. But now let us fee how this argument will conclude for the other fide of the queflion. The argument ought to be thus stated. Our faith must be fhewn and manifested by our works: therefore our good works will juftify our perfons before God, and render us righteous and acceptable in his fight. I think, every body will own, that the Spirit of God does not reafon at that rate; and therefore that fification before God, which is the finner's relief

against the challenges of his law and justice, cannot be the fubject here treated of.

The fecond argument here used, is, that a fruitless and unoperative faith, though 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 believeft there is one God; thou doft 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 apoftle exprefly thews us, what it is he had undertaken to prove: which is, that a bare, fruitlefs, hiftorical faith cannot fave us, because it is common to the very devils. Here he ex. prefly 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 exprefly affert the principle, which was the fubject of his difcourfe, 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 perfons, muft be juftified by good works; otherwise we are but vain men, and our hope is but a vain hope, which will leave us among unpardoned devils at laft. 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 profeffion; and not of our persons, in regard of their ftate, before God.

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A third argument here brought by the apofile to prove his point, is Abraham's being justified by works, when he had offered Ifaac his fon upon the altar, ver. 21. Now it appears from a variety of the strongest and cleareft evidences, that the apoftle did not (could not) refer to the juflification of Abraham's perfon in the fight of God, but to the juftification of his faith and fincerity only, in this inftance before us.

This appears, in the firft place, because Abraham was in a juftified flate, by an everlasting covenant, thirty years before his offering his fon Ifaac upon the altar.

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It was fo long, or near fo long before this, that the glo ious God himself made the promise to him, in Gen. xvii. 7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy feed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a GOD unto thee, and to thy feed after thee. And it was more than fo long before this, that Abraham had this teftimony given him in Gen. xv. 6. That he believed in the Lord: and he coun ted it to him for righteousness. Yea, he was a believer fo long before, as his firft leaving his father's house. By ́faith Abraham, when he was called,obeyed and went out, Heb. xi. 8. How then could his offering his fon Ifaac be the mean or term of the juftification of his perfon before God, when he had faith unfeigned, had righteoufnefs imputed to him, and an everlafting covenant made with him fo long a time before? Befides, if works could have justified his perfon, he would have been justified by works long before this. For his whole ftory fhews, that he had lived in a course of holy fruitful obedience, from the time of his juftification till this time. There cannot therefore be any fair pretence made, that the juftification of his perfon is here referred to. No, this good work was not in the leaft conftitutive, but only evidential, of his personal justification before God.

Further, it appears by the story itfelf, to which the apoftle refers, that it was only a manifeftative juftification, a justification of his faith and fincerity, and fo de. clarative of the juftified state of bis perfon, that Abraham obtained by offering his fon 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 fearest God, feeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only jon 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 juftifica tion which can be proved from this text in Genefis, to which he refers. We may not fuppose, that an inspired apoftle quoted fcripture impertinently: and yet we cannot fuppofe the fcripture referred to, was any thing at all to his purpose, unless we understand him to be speak

ing of juftification in the fenfe I am pleading for. In this fenfe therefore, and this only, did the apoftle 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 justification before God was made apparent.

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This alfo appears by the apoflle's illuftration of this argument, in ver. 22. Seeft thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? How was it that faith wrought with his works? Not as a joint condition of his juftification before God. He was juftified in the fight of God long before this, as I have fhewn you already: and the apoftle 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 righteoufness was imputed to him that worked not, but believed on him that juftified the ungodly. This fenfe being rejected and contradicted by the Spirit of God himself, must confequently by no means be admitted: nor is there any interpretation, which can (with the leaft fhew of reafon) 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 had received the promifes, offered up his only begotten fon. His faith was fignally operative; not a dead faith; and therefore fincere. This was visibly 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, and affifting him in them and thereby may fee, that it was not fuch a faith, as the apostle 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 less perfect, for the works which followed it: fave, as the exercife of faith in doing them might tend to ftrengthen and improve the habit. But the meaning feems to be, that it was dif covered, and proved to be a perfect (true and lively) faith, by its practical confequences and effects. His faith was a perfect or fincere faith, when it was imputed