made his; but he cannot be punished for it, for punishment is the recompence of fin on account of its guilt: wherefore, the Lord Chrift was made fin for us, by the imputation of the guilt of our fins unto him.

In answer hereto, and by virtue hereof, we are "made the righteousness of God in him ;" this was the end of his being made fin for us." And this alfo, is an act of God himself, for it is God that justifieth. It is God that imputeth righteoufnefs +. And to be made the righteoufnefs of God," is to be made righteous before God, though emphatically expreffed by the abstract for the concrete, to anfwer what was faid before of Chrift's being made fin for us. To be made the righteousness of God is to be justified; and to be made it so, in him, as he was made fin for us, is to be juftified by the imputation of his righteoufnefs unto us, as our fin was imputed to him.

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No man can affign any other way whereby he was made fin, but by God's laying all our iniquities upon him;" that is, imputing our fin to him. How then -are we made the righteousness of God in him?" By “the infusion of an habit of grace," say the Papifts. Then, by the rule of the antithefis, he must be made fin for us by the infufion of a habit of fin, which would be a blafphemous imagination. By his meriting, "procuring, and purchafing righteoufnefs for us," fay others. So, poffibly, we might be made righteous by him; but fo we cannot be made righteous in him: this can only be by his righteoufnefs, as we are in him, or united to him: to be righteous in him, is to be righteous with his righteousness, as we are one mystical perfon with him. Wherefore,

To be made the righteousness of God in Chrift, as he was made fin for us, and because he was fo, can be no other than to be made righteous by the imputation

of

* Rom. viii. 33.

† Rom. iv. 6.

of his righteousness to us, as we are in him and united to him. All other expofitions of thefe words are jejune and forced, leading the mind from the first, plain, obvious fenfe of them *.

GALATIANS II. 16.

THE Epiftle of the fame Apostle to the Galatians, is wholly defigned for the vindication of the doctrine of Juftification by Chrift, without the works of the law; and the fum of his defign is thus expreffed :

"Knowing that a man is not juftified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jefus Chrift; even we have believed in Jefus Chrift, that we might be juftified by the faith of Chrift, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law fhall no flesh be juftified."

That which is here afferted, was such a fundamental and well-known principle of truth among all believers, that their conviction of it was the ground of their tranfition from Judaifm to the faith of Christ. And in thefe words the Apostle determines that great queftion, How a man may be justified before God. The subject spoken of is expreffed indefinitely-A man - any man, a Jew or Gentile-the Apostle who writes, and the Galatians, to whom he writes, who had alfo, for a time, believed and profeffed the Gospel.

The answer he gives to this queftion is both negative and pofitive; afferted with the highest affurance, and as the common faith of all chriftians, excepting only those who had been led afide from it by feducers. He afferts that a man is not, cannot be juftified by the works of the law. What he intends by the law in these dif

putes

*Here the author introduces and anfwers feveral objections of Bellarmine against the fenfe of the words just given; but as most of these had been noticed in the 8th and 9th chapters, they are omitted in this place. (Ed.)

putes hath been before evinced. The law of Mofes is fometimes fignally intended; not abfolutely, but as it was the prefent inftance of men's cleaving to the law of righteoufnefs, and not fubmitting themselves to the righteoufness of God. But that he any where excepts the moral law in this argument, is a weak imagination; for this would be to except the ceremonial law itself, for the obfervation of it, while it was in force, was a duty of the moral law.

And the works of the law, are the duties of obedience which this law of God requires, and performed in the manner he prescribes, in faith and love, as hath been proved. To fay, that the Apostle excludes only "works abfolutely perfect," which no man fince the fall ever performed, is to fuppofe him to difpute with great earnestness against what no man afferted. Nor can he be faid to exclude only "works looked on as

meritorious," feeing he excludes all works, that there may be no place for merit in our Juftification. Nor did the Galatians look for Juftification from any works but fuch as they then performed, when they were believers. Not this, nor that fort of works-not this nor that manner of performing them-not this nor that kind of intereft in our Juftification; but all works, of every kind, and however performed, are excluded from every kind of confideration in our Juftification. For thefe Galatians only defired that their works might be admitted into co-partnership with their faith in Chrift. But the Apostle excludes them altogether; and so much weight does he lay on their total exclufion, that he affirms, that the admiffion of them would overthrow the whole Gospel, ver. 21. "For if righteousness come by the law, then Chrift is dead in vain ;" and it is dangerous to venture on fo fharp a fence.

In oppofition hereto, he pofitively afcribes our Juftification to faith in Chrift alone-" We have believed in Christ, that we might be juftified by the faith of

Chrift:"

Chrift:" not by works, but by faith, is by faith alone *. And it is not probable that we shall have an end of con tending in this world, if men will not acquiefce in fuch plain determinations of controversies given by the Holy Ghost himself.

CHAP. XXI.

Teftimonies from the Epiftles of St. Paul, continued.

EPHESIANS II. 2, 8, 9, 10.

"FOR

OR by grace are ye faved, through faith; and that not of yourfelves, it is the gift of God not of works, left any man fhould boat. For we are his workmanship, created in Chrift Jefus unto good works, which God hath fore-ordained that we fhould walk in them."

The evident defign of the Apoftle in this chapter, is to declare the way in which loft and condemned fine ners are tranflated out of that condition into a state of acceptance with God, and eternal falvation thereon. And therefore, in the first place (according to his ufual method) he fully defcribes their natural ftate, with their being obnoxious to the wrath of God thereby

"They were dead in trespasses and fins ;" expreffing the power that fin had on their fouls as to spiritual life and all the actions of it; but also that they lived and walked in fin," and on all accounts were "children of wrath," or fubject to eternal condemnation.

What

That the particles ɛav un are not exceptive but adverfative, hath not only been undeniably proved by Proteftant Divines, but is acknowledged by the modeft and candid writers of the Roman Church.

What such persons can do towards their own deliverance, many terms are invented to exprefs, all paffing my understanding; seeing the entire defign of the Apostle is to prove that they can do nothing at all. But another caufe is difcovered, and that in direct oppofition to any thing that may be done by ourfelves to that end. It is not a work for us to undertake; it is not what we can contribute any thing to" but God, who is rich in mercy *. Would men have refted on this divine revelation, the church of God had been free from many perverfe opinions and wrangling dif putes which it has been peftered with: but men will not so easily part with thoughts of fome kind of interest in being the authors of their own happiness. And it is obfervable, 1. That the Apoftle affigns the whole of this work abfolutely to grace, love, and mercy; and that with an exclufion of the confideration of any thing on our part, (ver. 5, 8.) 2. He magnifies this grace in a marvellous manner; expreffing it by various names -mercy, love, grace and kindness; he also gives fuch epithets to divine grace as to render it fingular, and herein folely to be adored ;--rich in mercy-the great love wherewith he loved us-the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindnefs, ver. 4-7. He evidently defigns deeply to affect the hearts of believers with a sense of the grace and love of God in Chrift, as the only caufe of their Juftification before God. I think no words can fully exprefs thofe conceptions of mind which this representation fuggefts. Whether they think it their duty to be like-minded, and comply with the Apostle in this defign, who fcarcely ever mention the grace of God, but to diminish its efficacy, and to whom thefe afcriptions to it are matter of contempt, it is not difficult to judge.

The

*Ver. 4. The adverfative includes an oppofition to every thing on our part, and inclofeth the whole work to God.