the disobedience of Adam was an actual transgression of the law; and therefore the obedience of Christ here intended, was his active obedience unto the law; which is that we plead for. And I shall not at present farther pursue the argument, because the force of it in the confirmation of the truth contended for, will be included in those that follow.

CHAPTER, XIII.

The nature of Justification proved from the difference of the Covenants.

T

HAT which we plead in the third placo unto our purpose, is the difference between the two covenants. herein it may be observed;

And

I. That by the two covenants I understand those which were absolutely given unto the whole church, and were all to bring it unto a complete and perfect state; that is the covenant of works; and the covenant of grace revealed and proposed in the first promise.

2. The whole entire nature of the covenant of works consisted in this; that upon our personal obedience, according unto the law and rule of it, we should be accepted with God and rewarded with him. Herein the essence of it did consist. And whatever covenant proceedeth on these terms, or hath the nature of them in it, however it may be varied, is the same covenant still. As in the renovation of the promise wherein the essence of the covenant of grace was contained, God did oftentimes make other additions unto it, as unto Abraham and David; yet was it still the same covenant for the substance of it, and not another; so whatever variations may be made in, or additions unto the dispensation of the first covenant, se long as this rule is retained, do this and

live; it is still the same covenant, for the substance and essence of it.

3. Hence two things belonged unto this covenant (1.) That all things were transacted immediately between God and man. There was no mediator in it, no one to undertake any thing either on the part of God or man, between them. For the whole depending on every one's personal obedience, there was no place for a mediator. (2.) That nothing but perfect sinless obedience would be accepted with God, or preserve the covenant in its primitive state and condition. There was nothing in it as to pardon of sin, no provision for any defect in personal obedience.

4. Wherefore this covenant being cnce established between God and man, there could be no new covenant made, unless the essential form of it were of another nature; namely, that cur own personal obedience be not the rule and cause of our acceptation and justification before God. For whilst this is so, as was before observed, the covenant is still the same; however the dispensation of it may be reformed or reduced, to suit unto our present state and condition. What grace soever might be introduced into it, that could not be so, which excluded all works from being the cause of our justification. But if a new covenant be made, such grace must be provided as is absolutely inconsistent with any works of ours, as unto the first ends of the covenant, as the Apostle declares. Rom, xi. 6.

5. Wherefore the covenant of grace, supposing it a new, real, absolute covenant, must differ in the essence, substance, and nature of it from that first covenant of works. And this it cannot do, if we are to be justified before God on our personal obedience, wherein the essence of the first covenant consisted. If then the righteousness where with we are justified before God, be our own, our own personal righteousness; we are yet under the first covenant, and no other.

6. But things in the new covenant are indeed quite otherwise. For (1.) it is of grace, which wholly excludes

works; that is, so of grace, as that our own works are not the means of justification before God, (2.) It hath a mediator and surety, which is built alone on this supposition, that what we cannot do in ourselves which was originally required of us, and what the law of the first covenant cannot enable us to perform, that should be performed for us, by our mediator and surety. And if this be not included in the very first notion of a mediator and surety, yet it is in that of a mediator or surety that doth voluntarily interpose himself upon an open acknowledgment, that those for whom he undertakes, were utterly insufficient to perform what was required of them; on which supposition all the truth of the Scripture doth depend. It is one of the very first notions of christian religion, that the Lord Christ was given to us, born to us, that he came as a mediator, to do for us what we could not do for ourselves, and not merely to suffer what we had deserved. And here instead of our own righteousness, we have the righteousness of God; instead of being righteous in ourselves before God, he is the Lord our righteousness. And nothing but a righteousness of another kind and nature, unto justification before God could constitute another covenant. Wherefore the righteousness whereby we are justified, is the righteousness of Christ imputed unto us, or we are still under the law, under the covenant of works.

It will be said that our personal obedience is by none asserted to be the righteousness wherewith we are justified before God, in the same manner as it was under the covenant of works. But the argument speaks not as unto the manner or way whereby it is so; but to the thing itself. If it be so in any way or manner under what qualification soever, we are under that covenant still. If it be of works any way, it is not of grace at all,

CHAPTER, XIV.

The exclusion of all sorts of works from an interest in Justification. What intended by the law, and the works of it, in the Epistles of Paul.

WE shall take our fourth argument from the express

exclusion of all works of what sort soever from our justification before God. For this alone is that which we plead; namely, that no acts or works of our own, are the causes or conditions of our justification; but that the whole of it is resolved into the free grace of God, through Jesus Christ, as the mediator and surety of the covenant. To this purpose the Scripture speaks expressly, Rom. iii. 28. "Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith, without the works of the law." Rom, iv. 5. "But unto him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Rom. xi. 6. "If it be of grace, then is it not of works". Gal. ii, 16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law, shall no flesh be justified." Eph. ii. 8, 9. "For by grace are ye saved through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast." Tit. iii. 5. "Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according unto his mercy he hath saved us."