no fin in his people." I know this doctrine has been moft odioufly traduced, and most vilely mifreprefented; but, I hope, when fome few things are ob. ferved, it will plainly appear not to be a fancy, or a freak of fome diftempered minds, but a moft glorious and comfortable doctrine of the gofpel, and without which the gospel must ceafe to be good news and glad tidings to the fons of men.

ft, When it is afferted that God fees no fin in his people, the meaning is not, that there is no fin in believers, nor any committed by them, or that their fins are no fins, or that their fanctification is perfect in this life.

1. Sin is in the best of faints; to fay otherwife is contrary to feripture, and to all the experience of God's people; If we say that we have no fin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us". The ingenuous confeffion of the faints, their groans and complaints, and that continual war between flesh and fpirit: they feel in themfelves, are fo many proofs of fin's being in them; nay, it is not only in them, but it lives in them. It is true, indeed, they do not live in fin, for then there would be no difference between them and unregenerate perfons; to live in fin, is not only unbecoming, but contrary to the grace of God but ftill fin lives in believers; though there is an inward principle of grace, and a mortification of the outward actions of fin, and a putting off concerning the former converfation the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lufts; yet this old man is not changed nor removed, much less destroyed. Moreover, fin is not merely in believers now and then, by fits and starts, as we say, but it dwells in them. Hence the apoftle calls it, Sin that dwelleth in me°; where it is not idle, but active and bufy; it hinders all the good, and does all the mischief it can; it makes war against the foul, and sometimes brings it into captivity.

2. Sin is not only in the beft of faints, but is alfo committed by them : There is not a just man upon earth, that doth good and finneth not; nor is there any fin, but what has been, or may be committed by believers, excepting the fin against the Holy Ghoft: their daily flips and falls, their frequent prayers for the discoveries of pardoning grace, and the applications of Christ's blood, which cleanfeth from all fin, confirm the truth of this. It is true, the apoftle John fays, that whosoever is born of God, doth not commit fin; for his feed remainetb in bim, and be cannot fin, because he is born of God; that is, as born of God, he neither does, nor can commit fin. What is that which is born of God? The new creature; the other I, distinguished from fin that dwelleth in him this never did, nor can commit fin; there are an old man and a new man in regenerate 1 John iii. 9..

1 John i. 8.

Rom. vii. 17, 20.

Eccl. vii. zo.

regenerate perfons; the new man never fins, the old man does nothing else but fin; there are flesh and Spirit in the faints; all finful works are the works of the flesh, as all good works are the fruits of the Spirit. The work of grace, though imperfect, is not impure; nothing impure fprings from it, nor is any thing impure to be attributed to it.

3. The fins of believers are fins, as well as the fins of others: they are of the fame kind, and are equally tranfgreffions of the law, as others are: murder and adultery, committed by David, were fins in him, as well as they are as committed by others; yea, oftentimes the fins of believers are attended with more aggravating circumstances than the fins of other men, being acted against light and knowledge, love, grace, and mercy. Though believers are justified from all fin by Chrift's righteousness, and have all their fins pardoned through Chrift's blood, yet their fins do not hereby ceafe to be fins. Juftification from fin by Chrift's righteousness, and pardon of fin through Chrift's blood, free them from obligation to punishent due to fin, but do not destroy the nature of fin.

4. The work of fanctification is imperfect in this life; it is a good work begun, but not finished; there is something lacking in the faith of the greatest believer; love is not come to its full growth: and as for knowledge, it is but in part. There is a twofold fanctification; the one in Christ, this is compleat and perfect; the other is derived from Chrift, and wrought in the foul by the Spirit of Chrift; this at prefent is imperfect. There is indeed a perfection of parts, but not of degrees; that is to fay, the new creature has all its parts, but these are not grown up to the perfection they will arrive unto. The best of faints need fresh fupplies of grace, which they would not, were they perfect: they difclaim perfection in themselves, though they wish for it both in them-. felves and others; when therefore it is faid, that "God fees no fin in his people," neither of these things are defigned by it.

.66

2dly, God's feeing no fin in his people, does not impeach his omniscience; nor is it to be confidered as referring to the article of providence, but to the article of juftification, as I fhall fhew prefently. God is omnifcient, he knows and fees all perfons and things; nothing is or can be hid from his all-feeing eye: His eyes are upon the ways of man, and be feeth all his goings; there is no darkness nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves'. All the actions of men, whether good or bad, are known to him, with their fecret fprings and principles from whence they flow: he fees the fins of his own people, as well as the fins of others, both in their first motions, and in their

Job xxxiv. 21, 22,

open

open productions; The Lord's throne is in heaven, bis eyes behold, his eye-lids try the children of men; the Lord trieth the righteous. About this there is no debate; they must be ftupid indeed, if there be any; for my part, I never heard of any who deny that the omniscience of God extends to the fins of his people; it never was thought of, or defigned, by this affertion, to limit or deny the omniscience of God; nor is it limited or denied by it. Though the phrases of seeing and knowing, are used as fynonymous in the article of providence, yet never in the article of justification; there they are always diftinguifhed: knowledge and fight are two things; the one belongs to the attribute of God's omniscience, the other to the attribute of his justice: when therefore it is faid, that God fees no fin in his people, the meaning is not, that he does not, with his omniscient eye, fee and know fin to be in them; but he does not fee any iniquity in them with his eye of justice, or fo as to punish them for their fins, or require fatisfaction at their hands for them.

3dly, Nor is the meaning of this propofition, that "God fees no fin in his "people," that he takes no notice of them, nor refents them, nor chastises them, in a fatherly way, on the account of them. God does not, indeed, punish his people for their fins in a way of vindictive wrath and justice; for this is contrary to his justice, and must overthrow the fatisfaction of Chrift; for either Chrift has perfectly fatisfied for the fins of his people, or he has not; if he has not, they must fatisfy for them themfelves; if he has, it is contrary to the juftice of God to punish for fin twice, or to require fatisfaction, both of the furety and the finner: but though God does not punish his people for their fins, yet he chaftifes them in a fatherly way; he takes notice of their fins, lays his hand upon them, in order to bring them to a fenfe and acknowledgement of them: If his children forfake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my ftatutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I vifit their tranfgreffions with the rod, and their iniquity with ftripes; nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from bim, nor fuffer my faithfulness to fail'.

4tbly, Though God fees fin in his people, as being but in part fanctified, yet he sees no fin in them, as they are perfectly justified; though he fees sin in them, with his eye of omniscience, yet not with his eye of revenging justice; though he fees them, in respect of his providence, which reaches all things, yet not in respect of justification; though he takes notice of his people's fins fo as to chaftife them in a fatherly way, for their good; yet he does not fee them, take notice of them, and obferve them in a judicial way, fo as to impute them to them, or require fatisfaction for them: God was in Chrift, reconciling the VOL. III. Ff world Pfalm lxxxix. 30-33.

• Pfalm. xi. 4, 5·

world to bimfelf, not imputing their trefpaffes unto them": No, he has imputed them to Chrift, he has beheld them in him, he has charged them to him, and Christ has made full fatisfaction for them; and therefore who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth: Who is be that condemneth? It is Chrift that died". God will not require fatisfaction at the hands of his people for their fins; he will not punish them on the account of them ; they fhall never enter into condemnation; for there is no condemnation to them that are in Chrift Jefus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Was God to fee fin in his people in this sense, and proceed against them in a forensic way, he must act contrary to his justice, and set aside the satisfaction of his Son. A few things will make it plainly appear that God fees no fin in his justified ones, as fuch:

First, This will be evident, if we confider what Chrift has done with respect to the fins of his people. These have been removed from them to him; they have been placed to his account, imputed to him, and laid upon him. All we, like sheep, bave gone aftray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all; which he has bore in his own body on the tree; yea, he is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the fin of the world; he has removed the iniquity of his people in one day: As he was wounded for their tranfgreffions, and bruifed for their fins, fo he has wafhed them from their fins in that blood of his which cleanfeth from all fin; by his righteousness be justifies them from all things, from which they could not be justified by the law of Mofes; and by the facrifice of himself, he has put away fin for ever; yea, he has finished transgreffion, made an end of fin, has made reconciliation for iniquity, and has brought in everlasting righteousness. This is the language both of the Old and New Teftament and if this be the case, as it certainly is, God does not, and cannot fee iniquity in his people, fince all their iniquity has been transferred on Chrift, and it is all done away by him.

Secondly, This will be yet more evident, if we confider what God the Father has done on the account of the blood, righteousness, facrifice, and fatisfaction of his Son. He has freely forgiven all the fins of his people for Christ's fake; he has covered them with a covering of mercy, so as they are not visible; he has blotted them out of his fight, fo as they are not legible to the eye of juftice; yea, he has caft them all behind his back, and into the depths of the fea; infomuch that the iniquity of Ifrael shall be fought for, and there shall be none; and the fins of Judah, and they shall not be found: fuch strong expreffions

as.

2 Cor. v. 19.

Rom. viii. 33, 34.

* Rom. viii, 1.

y Isa. liii, 6,

1

as these from the mouth of the Lord of hosts, will sufficiently bear us out in afferting, that "God fees no fin in his people."

Thirdly, Add to this, the view in which the people of God are to be confidered, and are confidered by Father, Son, and Spirit, being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and washed in his blood: they are compleat in Christ; they are without fault before the throne, without spot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing: Chrift fays to them, Thou art all fair, my love; and there is no pot in thee. The church is a perfection of beauty in his esteem; all the faints are perfectly comely through the comelinefs he has put on them; yea, they are, in the fight of God, in the eye of justice, unblameable and unreproveable; and if fo, then furely God fees no iniquity in them. One must transcribe a confiderable part of the Old and New Testament to give the full proof of this doctrine.

If this is a fancy, it is the glory of the Bible, and the marrow of the Gospel; what most displays the riches of God's grace, the efficacy of Christ's blood, the compleatness of his righteousness, and the fulness of his fatisfaction; it is the foundation of all folid hopes of future happiness, what supports the life of faith, and is the ground of a believer's triumph. One would have thought, Sir, you might have forbore so severe a reflection on this truth, of God's feeing no fin in his people, fince it is the to grow, the exprefs words of the facred oracles: He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither bath be feen perverfeness in Ifrael. I proceed,

IV. To another truth decried by you as a fancy; the affertors of which are ridiculed, as amufers of themselves with a fancy, which is, that "< good works are not necessary to falvation." I am fenfible, in some measure, what controverfies have been in the world about this fubject, and what extremes have been run into on both fides the question. There was a sharp contention among the Lutherans on this head. George Major afferted, that "good works were neceffary to falvation ;" on the other hand, Nicholaus Amsdorfius faid, that they were "noxious and pernicious to falvation:" neither of these positions are defenfible, as they thus ftand: Not the former; for though good works are neceffary, upon many accounts, to answer several valuable ends and purposes, yet not neceffary to falvation; though they ought to be performed by all God's justified and faved ones, yet not in order to their justification and falvation; though the people of God ought to maintain good works for necessary uses, yet these neceffary ufes do not defign falvation, but other things, as I fhall fhew

Ff 2