or works in ourselves, is excluded, it is certain that we

are juftified by faith alone.

3. He afferts from hence, ver. 31. "that we do not make void the law through grace, but establish it: of which we have spoken before.

This is the fubftance of the refolution the Apostle gives to that great inquiry-How a guilty finner may be juftified in the fight of God? The fovereign grace of God-the mediation of Chrift-and faith in his blood, are all that he requireth. And whatever notions men may entertain, it will not be fafe to venture on any other refolution of the question; nor are we wifer than the Holy Ghost.

ROMANS IV.

IN the beginning of this chapter the Apostle confirms his doctrine by the fignal instance of Abraham," the father of the faithful," whofe Juftification is propofed as the pattern of ours; concerning whom,

1. He denies that Abraham was juftified by works, ver. 2.-works of moral obedience to God, for they were performed fome hundreds of years before the Jewish law was given at Sinai-works performed in faith and love-works required by the covenant of grace-evangelical works;-but they are all excluded from his Juftification before God.

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2. He proves from Scripture that he was juftified by grace, through faith, ver. 3. Abraham believed God (in the promife of Chrift and his mediation), and it was counted to him for righteoufnefs."-He was juftified by faith, in the way before defcribed, in oppofition to all his works and perfonal righteoufnefs thereby. 3. From the fame teftimony he declares how he became a partaker of that righteousness by which he was juftified;

+

* Ver. 22, &c.

justified; namely, by imputation; it was counted or imputed to him for righteousness.

4. He afferts and proves the special nature of this imputation from its contrary, ver. 4. "Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." Where works are of any confideration, there is no room for that kind of imputation whereby Abraham was juftified, for it was a gracious imputation, and that is not of what is our own antecedently thereto, but what is made ours by that imputation; for what is our own cannot be imputed to us in a way of grace, but only reckoned ours in a way of debt.

VERSE 5•

" BUT to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that juftifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

In this verse the fum of the whole doctrine is expreffed. These words-his faith is counted for righteousnessare allowed on all hands to exprefs the Juftification of the perfon intended; he is juftified; and the way of it is his faith is counted for righteousness.”

And firft, it is faid of him, that he is one who worketh not. It is not required, that he should not work, for every man in the world is obliged unto all the duties of obedience to God; but the expreffion is to be limited to the subject matter treated of, which is Juftificati. he who worketh not" with refpect unto Juftification, (though not the defign of the perfon, but the nature of the thing is intended) his works, whatever they be, have no influence into it; God confidereth them not in his Juftification, feeing we are justified "freely by his grace."

on;

In the description of the subject of Juftification the Apostle adds, that God juftifieth the ungodly. This

ex

expreffion hath excited much wrath in many, even against the Apoftle himself; for "what need can there be, "fay fome, for godlinefs and good works, if God jufti

fy the ungodly?" Some explain these words by faying, "He juftifieth thofe who formerly were ungodly, "not those who continue ungodly when they are justifi"ed." And this is most true. All who are justified were before ungodly; and juftified perfons are at the fame inftant made godly: But the question is, whether they are godly or ungodly, antecedently, in any moment of time, to their Juftification? If they are confidered as godly, then the Apoftle's words are not true, that God juftifieth the ungodly: but the contrary propofition is true-God justifieth none but the godly. Wherefore, though in and with the Juftification of a finner, he is made godly, for he is endued with that faith which purifieth the heart," and is a vital principle of all obedience, yet antecedently to his Juftification he is ungodly, as one that worketh not, as one whofe duties and obedience contribute nothing to his Juftification.

"

The qualification of the fubject, or means on the part of the perfon to be justified, is faith or believing—“ but believeth on him who juftifieth the ungodly." That is, it is faith alone; for it is the faith of him "who worketh not"; and not only fo, but its special object, "God, as justifying the ungodly" is exclufive of the concomitance of any works whatever.

Concerning this perfon it is affirmed, that "his faith "is counted for righteousness;" that is, fay fome, "his "faith, as an act, duty or work of his, is fo imputed." Others fay, his faith as it apprehends Chrift, and his

σε

righteousness which is properly imputed; and fo faith juftifieth, or is counted for righteoufnefs relatively, "with respect to its object," and thus they admit a trope in the words. And this is fiercely oppofed, as though they denied the exprefs words of Scripture, whereas they only interpret this expreffion, once used, by

many

many others wherein the fame thing is declared. But all those, who are for the first sense, affirm, that faith is to be taken as including works, and as having the fame influence with it in our Juftification. But herein they not only admit a trope, which they blame in others, but they give this fenfe of the whole paffage-" Unto him "that worketh not, but believeth in him that justifieth "the ungodly, his faith and works are counted to him. "for righteoufnefs;" which is not only to deny what the Apostle affirms, but to affign to him a plain contradiction. But I fhall oppose a few arguments to this feigned fenfe of the words.

1. Faith, as an act of ours, and works,, are not opposed; but faith, as we are justified by it, and works are opposed. "To him that worketh not, but believeth *."

2. It is the righteousness of God, that is imputed to us. "We are made the righteousness of God in Christ †.' "The righteoufnefs of God upon them that believe." But faith, abfolutely confidered, is not the righteousness of God. That unto which the righteoufnefs of God is revealed, is not itself the righteoufnefs of God; for nothing can be the cause of itself: but the righteousness of God is revealed to faith ||, and by it is received §.— Faith is not the righteoufnefs of God which is by faith." That by which the righteousness of God is to be fought, obtained and submitted to, is not that righteoufness itself; but fuch is faith **.--The righteousness which is imputed to us, is not our own antecedently to that imputation; but faith is a man's own ††.-God imputeth righteousness unto us ‡‡, and thereby we are justied; but we are juftified by the obedience and blood of Chrift §§: but faith is neither the obedience nor the blood of Chrift.-Finally: If faith, as a work be im

puted to us, then it must be as a work wrought in faith, for no other work is accepted with God; then must that faith alfo wherein it is wrought be imputed, for that also is faith; that therefore must have another faith from whence it proceeds; and so in infinitum.· One obfervation more shall close our discourse on this chapter.

In the 6th, 7th, and 8th verfes, the Apostle pursues his argument to prove the freedom of our Juftification by faith, in the inftance of the pardon of fin, which effentially belongs to it; and he does this by the teftimony of the Pfalmift, who placeth the bleffedness of a man in the remiffion of fins-" Even as David alfo defcribeth the bleffed nefs of the man unto whom God imputeth righteoufnefs without works, faying, Bleffed are they whofe iniquities are forgiven." He defcribes their bleffedness by it; not that their whole blessedness confifts therein; but this concurs to it, wherein no refpect can poffibly be had to any works whatever. And he may justly from hence defcribe the bleffedness of a man, in that the imputation of righteousness, and the non-imputation of fin, are infeparable: But yet they are not the fame any more than righteoufnefs imputed and fin remitted are the fame; nor doth he fo represent them, but mentions them diftin&tly, both being equally neceffary to our complete Juftification, as hath been proved.

CHAP.