order to his Juftification; and therefore it cannot poffibly be, that fuch Faith has any Sort of Works, any Sort of Obedience included in the Nature of it, as it is a juftifying Faith. It juftifies only as it receives a divine Gift freely offered; or, in the Apottle's Language, as it believeth on him who justifeth the Ungodly. Here is no Room left for any Evafion. Aiter never fo many critical Diftinctions are made, Him that worketh not, is Him that worketh not.-He moreover fhews us, that the Faith under Confideration is a Believing on him that juf tifies the Ingodly; and therefore cannot include evangelical Obedience in the Nature of it, unless evangelical Obedience and Ingodlinefs be the fame Thing. -It is true, that a Perfon when juftified, or when exercifing that Faith through which he is juftified, ceafes to be in his State and habitual Courie ungɔdly; for he has a Faith which not only fends him to Chrift for Juftification, but for Sanctification too, and which not only embraces the Promife, but the Precept too, and is a vital active Principle of all bedience. But then there is no Moment of Time intervenes between his State of Ungodliness and his Juftification. He further fhews, that God imputeth Righteoufnefs, for our Juftification, without Works; and therefore Obedience cannot be included in the Nature of juflifying Faith as fuch, unless Obedience be without works alfo.-Here like wife the Expreffions are strong and plain. There is no Room for Shift or Cavil. When all the most plaufible Pretences in the World are made to avoid the Force

of thefe Expreffions, without Works, is without Works ftill.

How admirable does the Pretence which I am oppofing appear, when the Aptle does with his own Pen, in as ftrong and pointed Language as can be ufed, obviate the Pretence, reject it, and con

fute it, and that too, in the very Context upon which it is founded.-1 need therefore offer no other Arguments to clear this Point; it is effectually done to my Hand by the Apostle himself, and his Reasoning ought to take place against all Objections. Could we be justified by any Sort of Works or Obedience, perfonally performed by us, we should have whereof to glory: And were our Juftification a Reward given on Account of any Works of Obedience of ours, it would be of Debt, and not of Grace. But both thefe Things are inconfiftent with God's gracious Difpenfation towards us. He imputeth Righteoufnefs to him that worketh not; He juftifieth the Ungodly; He imputeth Righteoufnefs without Works; and therefore the Faith, which is imputed unto Righteousness, does not, cannot, as fuch, include any sort of Obedience in the Nature of it.

I proceed now to prove to you, that the Faith which is imputed to Believers unto their Juftification, is not their own perfonal Righteousness. This will evidently appear, if you duly confider thefe following Arguments.

That Righteousness by which a Sinner is juftified, is the Righteoufnefs of God.-The Righteousness of GOD is revealed from Faith to Faith. Rom i. 17. -We are made the Righteoufnefs of GOD in him. 2 Cor. v. 21.-The Righteoufnefs of God which is by Faith of Jefus Chrift, unto all, and upon all them that believe. Rom iii. 22.-Now it cannot be true, that the Righteousness of God and our own inherent perfonal Righteoufnefs are the fame Thing. -If it be pretended, that Faith is the Gift of GOD, and as fuch it is the Righteoufnefs of GOD, the Anfwer is eafy. Faith, confidered in itself as a Principle, is ours fubjectively, and confidered in its Exercife, it is ours formally, or our own personal act

and

and in that respect, fo far as it is any Righteousness at all, it is our own personal Righteousness; and therefore, as it is our own perfonal Righteoufnefs, it can no more properly be said to be the Righteoufnefs of God, than our Breath can be faid to be the Breath of God, our Words to be the Words of God, or our Loco-motion to be the Motion of God. For our Power to breathe, to speak, or to move, is as truly the Gift of God, as our Power to believe.Befides, all Pretences of this Kind are utterly excluded by the quoted Texts. For if Faith cannot with any Propriety be faid to be revealed from Faith to Faith; if we cannot with any Propriety fay, that Faith is a Righteoufnefs by Faith of Jefus Chrift; then Faith is not the Righteousness of God, by which we are justified; and therefore we cannot be juftified by Faith, as it is our own inherent perfonal Righteoufnefs, and yet be justified by the Righteoufnefs of God.

Moreover we are faid to be made righteous by the Obedience of Chrift, Rom. v. 19. and to be juftified by the Blood of Chrift, Rom. v. 9. But Faith, as it is our perfonal inherent Righteousness, is in no refpect the Obedience of Chrift, or the Blood of Chrift; and therefore Faith, as it is our perfonal inherent Righteoufnefs, can in no refpect be that Righteousness by which we are justified, or made righteous before God.

Not

Furthermore, Faith, as it is our personal inherent Righteoufnefs, is our own; but the Righteousness by which we are juftified is not our own. having my own Righteousness, Phil. iii. 9. And therefore Faith, as our perfonal inherent Righte oufnefs, does not justify us before God.

I will only add, if Faith, as it is our inherent perfonal Righteousness, cannot answer the Demands of the moral Law, it cannot justify us consistently

with

with the Perfections of the Divine Nature; but the former is true, and therefore the latter.

If there had been a Law given, which could have given Life, verily Righteoufnefs fhould have been by the Law, Gal. iii. 21. But this was impoffible in the Cafe of fallen Man, as being utterly inconfiftent with the divine perfections.-I think no Man will pretend, that our perfonal inherent Righteousness. can answer the Demands of the moral Law. I fhall therefore only endeavour to fhew you how it is utterly inconfiftent with the divine Perfections that Sinners fhould be juftified by any Righteousness,which will not answer the Demands of the moral Law.

It cannot be agreeable to the Justice of God, that we fhould be justified by any Righteoufnefs, which will not answer the Demands of the moral Law. For which Reason, Godfending his own Son, in the Likeness of finful Flesh and for Sin, condemned Sin in the Flesh, that the Righteoufnefs of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Rom. viii. 3, 4. It is by declaring Chrift's Righteousness (by which the Demands. of the moral Law are fatisfied) that God can be just, and yet the Fuftifier of him which believeth in Jefus, Rom. iii. 26.-The glorious God justly gave us the Law as the Rule of our Obedience; juftly required our perfect Conformity to it, and juftly annexed the Penalties to it inCafe of Difobedience. This Law was founded upon, and flowed from the Justice of the divine Nature. Obedience to it was required, and the Penalties of it were annexed, by the rectoral Justice of the great Governor of the World. And the Justice of God is now the fame that it was when this Law was first given; and with the fame inflexible Severity requires that it be fulfilled, and not a Title of it pass away, or be deftroyed. The fame fuftice, which annexed the Penalties, must be fatisfied for the Violation of the Law,

Law, in fuch Manner as that the Honour of a righteous Judge may be fecured, and the Penalty of the Law fulfilled.Whence it follows, that no perfonal inherent Righteousness of ours whatsoever can justify us before God, confiftent with his rectoral Justice; because it cannot answer the Demands of the moral Law.

It is altogether impertinent to pretend, that Christ has procured easier Terms than Obedience to the Law of Nature; and that our fincere Obedience to the Gospel is now the Condition of our Fuftification. For the Question ftill recurs, Which Way is the moral Law fulfilled? Has Chrift fulfilled that for us, and in our Place and Stead; or has he not? If he has, we then have a better Righteoufnefs to plead for our Juftification than any perfonal inherent Righteoufnefs of our own; but if he has not, the Law has ftill its full Challenges upon us (Penal, as well as Preceptive) notwithStanding any Righteoufnefs of our own, and we cannot be juftified upon this Bottom, confistently with the governing Justice of God.

I muft further obferve, it cannot be agreeable to the Holiness of God, that Sinners fhould be juftified by any Righteoufnefs whatfoever, which does not fully anfwer the Demands of the moral Law. The moral Law is (as it were) a Copy or Tranf cript of the Holiness of God; and must therefore be a perpetual and unalterable Rule of Righteous nefs to Man. There can strictly be no Righteoufness, but by a complete Conformity to this Law; and hence none can, confiftent with God's Holiness, be accepted by him as righteous, who have not a full Conformity to this original and only Rule of Righteoufnefs to plead in their Favour. If therefore we can have no fuch perfect Conformity to the moral Law, to plead before God on Ac

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