oppose the Doctrine delivered are to be interpreted in pursuance of this design That men are justified only by pardon of sin through the Propitiation upon performing those conditions pardon is promised to and so may the Gentiles be justified without such perfect obedience to the Law or meritorious priviledges or satisfactions If I should proceed I can only repeat the same again and again with very little variation upon the places following Gal. 2. 11 12 13 14 15 16. Gal. 3. Gal. 5. 2. Paul once circumcised Timothy yet here saith Behold I Paul say unto you If you be circumcised that is upon this account else he would not have spoken so severely to make you such worthy persons as to need no pardon Christ shall profit you nothing Ver. 3. For I testifie again to every man that shall now be thus or on this account circumcised he is a debtor to the whole Law He must look to it that he fail not in the least for he virtually disclaims all pardon by Christ and so shall not have it So Tit. 3. 5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost Ver. 7. That being justified by his grace c. This Scripture tells us what is meant by work and what by faith and plainly to any considering man James 2. 14 to the end When some had it is probable mis-understood such expressions in St. Paul's Epistles as if only believing the truth was enough for salvation the Apostle James shews that by Abraham's faith was meant his faith and obedience and saith that those words believed God mean believed God and obeyed him in offering up his son and other difficulties like that 1 Maccab. 2. 52. Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation and it was imputed to him for righteousness As Phineas executed judgment and it was counted to him for righteousness throughout all generations that is God rewarded him graciously with an everlasting Priesthood as if he had been a righteous man a deserving man when yet he was not by the Apostle Paul's argument that the word counted implieth it was not due to him so doing but of grace Ver. 22 23. When he offered up his son then the Scripture was fulfilled perfectly explained that saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness that is God acquitted and rewarded him upon his faith and obedience as if he had been a righteous man in the strictest sense when indeed he was not And you may observe it would as much serve the Apostle Paul's arguing and support what he builds upon it if the very words had run thus Abraham believed and obeyed and it was counted c. and it is plain that was the meaning as you may see Gen. 22. 8. In thy seed shall all nations be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice or if they had run thus He walked before God and was upright and it was counted c. and this is said in effect in saying If he did so God would do great things for him cap. 17. 2. Or if the words had been expresly thus Abraham feared God and it was accounted to him for righteousness and we do read as much in sense though not in express words Gen. 22. 12. For now I know thou fearest God seeing thou hast not with-held c. Ver. 16. By my self have I sworn For because thou hast done this thing and hast not with held thy son that in blessing I will bless thee It would be a poor blessing if it did not include justification I say had the words run so the Apostle is so far from excluding these things from being a condition of justification that such words would as well have proved what he is proving only they would not so occasionally have served to press them to the great difficult duty of that day the believing Christ's Resurrection FINIS
Contraries are of the same general nature As condemnation is by a Law-threat so Justification of a sinner must be by a Law-promise It is a Law-rule that Obligations are dissolved by the same way whereby they are made The Apostle speaking of boasting being excluded in Justification asketh By what Law and answers By the Law of Faith implying plainly Men are justified by the Law of Faith 4. We may clearly see it by the tenour of the Covenants Rom. 10. 5 6 9 Moses describeth the righteousness of the Law the tenour of the Covenant of Works which would have justified men had they performed the condition of it The man which doth these things shall live in them But the righteousness of faith the tenour of the Covenant of Grace the word which we preach is this If thou confess with thy mouth and believe with thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Had man performed the Legal Condition perfect and perpetual obedience the Law of Works would have justified him Therefore now if a man perform the Gospel-condition the Gospel this Law of Faith will justifie him See also Gal. 3. 16 17 21 22 of the two Covenants To Abraham and his seed were the Promises made that is to Abraham and all true Believers that are of the Faith of Abraham as he fully explains himself in other places of the Chapter especially the last verse And is the Law against the Promises of God against this Covenant confirmed of God in Christ That he that believeth shall live Had there been a Law which could have given life verily righteousness should have been by that Law but the Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe We may argue plainly thus This Law this Covenant-Promise Believe and live can give life that is right to life for some do perform the Condition of this Law Therefore verily Righteousness is and must be by this Law Can any man possibly give a reason why that Law would have justified would have given right to life and so righteousness have been by it to a man that had performed perfect obedience and not this Believe and live perform the Gospel-conditions and live and not this justifie give right to life and so righteousness be by it 5. To deny this is to say the Gospel-Promises are meer Cyphers and Nullities they have no effect if they do not give right to Impunity and eternal life which is Justification to those that perform the conditions Nay it is to deny that they are Promises for if Promises they must have the common nature of Promises which is to give right To deny the efficacy of them is to deny they are gracious Promises it is to say they are useless as to giving the right we should have had right without them It is no Act of Oblivion much less a very gracious Act of Oblivion that doth not pardon and justifie properly them that perform the Conditions of it no Act of Oblivion to him that would be justified by doing that which is the condition of it without it And this by the way They that say Faith attaineth right as an Instrument and not as a condition make all the Promises Nullities they in effect say We should have had right had we performed that thing which is the condition without such a promise Thus you see Justification must be by some Law of Grace and indeed Protestants seem agreed it is a Juridical Act. Now what Law of Grace is it What names is it to be called by You may call it The Promise the Covenant the Law of Grace the Law of Faith the Gospel by these names it is called in Scripture The tenour of it is this He that turneth shall live He that believeth shall be saved He that accepteth Christ in the Gospel-way on the Gospel terms shall have the benefit of this Propitiation to his justification and salvation though never so great a sinner This is the Gospel the Law of Faith the Law or Covenant of Grace founded in the blood of Christ These Promises are Yea and Amen in Christ are the Covenant confirmed of God in Christ as the Apostle calls them And by this all were justified and saved that ever were saved by the blood of Christ You shall all be judged that is justified or condemned sententially according to this Gospel And as you shall be sententially judged according to this Law of Liberty at the last day so you are here in this life constitutively justified or condemned here in law The word which Christ spake shall John 1â— 48. condemn 〈◊〉 at 〈◊〉 last day shall justifie or 〈◊〉 So it doth in Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 them that obey the Gospel here For not the hearers of the 〈◊〉 are just before God he speaketh Rom. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Law of Grace it is like that Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord but he that doth the will of my Father shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven but the doers of the Law shall be justified in the day when God shall judg the secrets of all hearts according to my Gospel I hope you now begin to see into the nature of Justification and by seeing what it is you see what it is not Only these things following to my best remembrance are and can with any shew be pretended to be called Justification except what the Pupists pretend That it is nothing else but Sanctification which I pretermit as ridiculous He would not be an abomination to God that could justifie the wicked that is sanctifie them according to thâ—ir interpretation First It is not Our knowing we are justified which some call Justification in Conscience For 1. The Scripture never calleth Assurance our knowing we are justified Justification 2. We may be justified in Scripture-sense by this Gospel having the condition of Justification and yet not know it yea think we are not justified and have no right to salvation else wo to troubled souls And we may not be justified and think we are 3. In this sense we should be properly said to justifie our selves and not God to justifie us for it is we that know we are justified by the act whereby we know it and not God though God enable us to know we are justified Secondly Justification is not God's knowing we are justified and have right to Impunity right to Heaven it is not God's knowing accounting us judging us justified for we are first justified pardoned in order of Nature though not of Time before he knows accounts us so be We first have this right to Impunity Salvation before He knows or accounts us to have it The Object is in order of Nature before the Act a thing is before it be known If there be an Act of Oblivion made upon condition of Rebels laying down their Weapons Offenders are pardoned justified in Law-title upon laying down their Weapons in
order of Nature before the King or any else know or account them pardoned God doth not account men's sins pardoned till first they be so by his own Law of Grace They that justifie the wicked or condemn the righteous are both an abomination to the Lord. As God did not account Adam guilty condemned till first he was so by his own Law through sin so he doth not will not account any justified pardoned till first they are so by his own Law of Grace made in the Blood of Christ which is upon their performing of the Condition of it Thirdly Justification is not God's knowing we shall be justified God indeed doth know men shall be justified when they believe but this is not Justification It doth not follow that a man is justified and his sin pardoned who is going on in all villany because he belongeth to the Election of Grace because God knoweth he will believe and so will be justified when brought home For 1. God knoweth till he believe he is unjustified his sin not pardoned he is under the curse of the Law and under the Rectoral displeasure of God for Without Faith it is impossible to please God God hateth all workers of iniquity with this Rectoral hatred He that believeth not is condemned already he is so far from being justified You cannot say of such a man he is justified his sins pardoned but he knoweth it not No till a man believe the wrath of God abideth on him Hell is yet his due by God's own Laws of Government though Heaven will be so when he believes 2. Else Justification and pardon of â—in would be from Eternity which we are sure is contrary to all Scripture that maketh them consequent of Faith Repentance and Conversion whatsoever some have said to the contrary turn them from darkness to light that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance c. We have believed Gal. 2. 16. that we may be justified by the faith of Christ To whom righteousness shall Rom. 4. 24. be imputed if we believe That they may return every man from his evil Jer. 36. 3. way that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin lest they should see with their eyes and be converted Mar. 4. 12 and their sin be forgiven them Fourthly Justification is not God's intending decreeing willing that men should be justified when they believe 1. Then it would be from Eternity which is repugnant to all Scripture God speaketh of it as a thing future God intended from Eternity That our King should be King of England but he was not King of England till his Father was dead and then h◠〈◊〉 the legal Title 3. God's intending from Eternity to condemn men for their sins is not Condemnation else men would be condemned from Eternity but then men are condemned when they sin and the Law condemns them So God's intending to justifie sinners upon believing is not Justification But when men believe then God justifieth them by his Law of Faith 3. To say This is meant by Justification is to make non-sense of all those places of Scripture that make it future When he saith God will justifie we must then say the meaning is He will willjustifie We must double the word will Fifthly Some tell us That Justification is properly and formally Christ's suffering or obedience or properly God's laying our sins on Christ But then we must say Christ never merited our pardon or justification we are not forgiven for Christ's sake for Christ never merited thâ—se things which they call Justification viz. his own sufferings or our sins laying on him Could you think of any other thing to call Justification beside what I have here taught you I could with much ease shew you the absurdity of it These are the likeliest of any I can think of to pretend to be it that are not it and are pretended by some to be it You now see or may see Justification is God's Juridical Act by his Gospel by his Law of Grace If an Act of Oblivion be made on these terms That whosoever of such Rebels shall go and promise before some Justice of Peace they will be loyal Subjects for the future as soon as ever they have thus promised this Law justifieth pardoneth them They did not pardon themselves that is a foolish pretence of some weak men contrary to the knowledg of all Lawyers and Divines yea of any rational men but the Law-giver did pardon them by this Rectoral Act of Pardon upon their promise If there be a Law in force that every Felon should dye but there is also another remedying Law That if the Felon read he shall not dye When he readeth the Law pardoneth him the Law-giver by this Law justifieth him from the charge and condemnation of the other Law It is by this Gospel this perfect Law of Liberty that we are justified this is that new Law that Ministers are sent to preach Go preach the Gospel to every creature He that believeth shall be saved He that believeth not shall be damned This is our great business To tell men the condition on which they shall be pardoned justified and so saved And should any Ministers be ignorant of their great Message yea so ignorant as to say These are no conditions no terms nothing required of us in order to attaining the benefit of Christ's death How sad should this be to us Men are justified or condemned here in this life by this Gospel in a Law-sense and in this sense Scripture for the most part useth the word Justifie and men shall hereafter be justified or condemn'd sententially according to this Gospel Thus I have told you what Justification is which was the first Question propounded to be answered and I have tacitly slidden into the second Question What the Covenant is and answered that The third propounded was To tell you what the Condition is Thirdly What is meant by this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Him that believeth in Jesus or Him that is of the faith of Jesus This is the Question now to be answered What is the Condition of the Covenant of Grace of the Law of Grace on the performance of which this Propitiation this price of Redemption shall be ours for our justification and salvation Ours I say with this limitation For our justification and salvation or to speak more strictly The condition of our justification and salvation by it For God never giveth us interest in his Son's Merits and Satisfaction in its essential nature but only in the fruits and effects of it He giveth us his Merit only in such a sense as a man be said figuratively to give a Captive a sum of money which it may be the Captive never handled never had it given to him at all properly but only it was paid to the King of that Countrey for his ransome I answer What would you wish or desire it should be Think of that a little for that is it I dare
hearts lest we should draw back and his soul have no pleasure in us Do not say This is not to be supposed for you ought to put such suppositions to your selves viz. If I should now leave off to be wise and to do good I should perish For what else doth God threaten for If the righteous forsake his righteousness he shall dye As a man that never maketh this Supposition If Christ had not died I had perished or if God had not converted me cannot but be very unthankful which Suppositions are at least as equally impossible as the Supposition of your total Apostacy So a man that never maketh these Suppositions If I should fall away I should lose all cannot but be very unwary and remiss in care and watchfulness Concerning those several Names the Gospel-condition is called by let me add this Observation I know sometime these words may be and are used in Scripture in their proper sense for one act and no more And it may be sometimes by confess may be meant no more than confess And sometime Faith is used only for Faith as when he saith He that cometh to God must believe that God is There by believing is meant only assent And so when we read of Faith's operativeness it means only the belief of the Truth and so would I be understood when I at any time speak of Faith's operativeness as purifying their hearts by Faith yet whenever any Promise is made to any Grace or Act whatsoever of Justification Salvation Pardon there it implieth the whole Gospel-condition and all Graces essential to Christianity It must be understood caeteris paribus if other things answer thereto And this I can prove evidently to you by this argument else a man would have right by the Promise upon his Confessing though he did not forsake and by believing that Christ is risen from the dead though he should refuse to obey the Gospel and God would be unfaithful in denying him the things promised If you promise a Vintner so much money to send you such a Butt that stands in his Cellar and he sends you the empty Vessel if you can assure me that you are not by truth and promise bound to pay him then I am equally sure that you meant the Vessel and the Wine also you spake Synecdochically Methinks I may say as the Town-Clark of Ephesus once did with greater reason than he These things are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things that cannot be spoken against Object Is not this working for Justification or Righteousness Is there no danger in seeking to be justified and saved by works Ans No danger at all in this sense and yet great danger in another sense but it is so far from being dangerous in this sense that it is indispensably necessary to salvation They only shall be blessed that keep his Commandments in Gospel-sincerity that they may have right to the tree of life that is that they may be justified And I dare confidently say that never any did sincerely obey God whatever confused notions some good men have had in their brains that they held only speculatively but for this end among others that they might have right to Heaven which is Justification for as humane nature now is and I think I may say the same concerning the state of Innocency it is not capable of undergoing the difficulties of obedience but for such ends To escape the curse and attain the blessing which is to attain Justification and escape Condemnation And to say otherwise is to say God hath indeed made promises of remission of sins and Heaven to those that repent turn from sin and obey the Gospel but I will not regard these promises I will not be moved by them I will do none of these things for these ends but I will only act out of love Which yet I could shew you would be impossible For how can I love him who I think hath done me no good and how can I think he hath done me any good when I think my own salvation is no good as I certainly do if I do not desire and endeavour it And God hath threatned those that go on in sin with a Curse and Hell But I will not refrain sin for these ends that I may escape Hell I will only act out of Love I will be above Scripture I will neither be moved with promises nor threats But there is another sense which the Apostle speaketh of as damnable The Pharisaical Jews would have Justification and Righteousness without pardon would purely and meerly be justified so as not to be pardoned that it should be no favour to justifie them but their due without grace and pardon and that maketh him prove out of David the necessity of pardon Rom. 4. and that would be in effect to say without the Satisfaction and Righteousness of Christ and if so Christ died in vain this would make void his death they would have their obedience to the Moral Law which they commonly interpreted as reaching only to the outward act either to be perfect or so little defective that the great meritoriousness of being Abraham's Seed and circumcised and their strict observance of the Ceremonial Law and other Traditions never commanded would make up what wanted And their Righteousness being compleat of it self their Justification would be of due debt from the old Law through Justice and not of Pardon and Grace through a Propitiation And so too many among us look upon their good works as meritorious though they be sinners and know it yet they think the good works of Alms and other things which they look upon as no duties will satisfie for those sins and think God would do them wrong if he do not for their good deeds pardon their evil deeds think their good works are very good and deserving much from God and their evil not very evil and so God would be very hard yea unjust if he should condemn them If this was true then no need of Christ he then dyed in vain then salvation would be of debt from natural Justice from the old Law and not of Grace and Mercy and Pardon through Christ Will any dare to say If what I have spoken be true that he will pardon none but repenting returning believing sinners that it is not of Pardon Mercy Grace but of debt from the old Covenant which allows no Pardon I confess Paul's Epistles about Justification are hard to be understood and I am confident many Expositors are and have been notoriously mistaken about these things and that by Faith he meaneth as I do Faith and Obedience to the Gospel I have written something to shew to my Acquaintants the meaning of these places which I think make them appear rational and plain to this sense and absit verbo invidia will do so to rational men But it is not fit to speak so largely here I wish you to read considerately Cap. 3. v. 5. of his Epistle to Titus Can you
Christ never agreed for the salvation of final impenitent Unbelievers never satisfied for that though he did for impenitency and unbelief and rejection of Christ for a time provided they came in at last He obtained of God not to take every denial every rejection for an utter loss of all for then we had all perished but obtained that God would wait and be long-suffering to sinners and accept them to righteousness and life provided they come in before death They that have a mind to it notwithstanding Christ's bearing their sins may bear them themselves and many will do so even they that knowing the terms of Justification and Salvation by Christ do chuse rather his eternal wrath and displeasure than to accept him on the condition of his love and favour They agreed that they and they only shall have benefit by this Propitiatory death of Christ that shall in this life perform the conditions whereon it is offered and if they finally refuse it on these terms they shall have no benefit by it but the wrath of God shall abide on them yea and they shall perish with heavier perdition with soâ—â—r punishment because of their treading under foot the blood of the Covenant slighting of it as not worthy their acceptance upon the terms of it Which is this new Covenant this second Covenant made in the blood of Christ So that I may say Though immediately and antecedently to the consideration of fixing the terms and making this second Covenant Christ dyed as I told you before that God might be just though he should pardon sinners yet he dyed eventually and the new Covenant being considered that God might be just and the justifier of him that is of the faith of Jesus He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believed c. And for this cause he is the Mediator of the new Covenant that by means of death for the redemption of Transgressions they which are called that is Heb. 9. 15 effectually called converted might receive the promise of the eternal Inheritance Now it is necessary for your instruction herein that I make out to you these three things 1. What Justification is 2. What the Covenant 3. What the Condition First What Justification and to justifie â—s If you know what Condemnation is you may by it know what Justification is for contraries are mutually known by one another Now Condemnation is contrary to Justification Who shall lay any thing to Rom. 8. 33 the charge of Gods Elect it is God that justifieth Who is he that condemneth If there be a controversie between men Deu. 25. 1 and they come unto judgment that the Judges may judg them then they shall justifie the righteous and condemn the wicked Now there is a two fold Condemnation viz. by the Law and according to the Law that is by the Law and by the sentence of the Judg. A man that transgresseth a Law is immediately condemned by the Law Adam in the very moment he transgressed the Law was condemned in Law that is made guilty the death threatned was made due to him And again when an offender is proceeded against according to the Law and by the sentence of the Judg sentenced according to the Law then he is Sententially condemned First the Law condemns him and then the Judg according to the Law So there is a Justification in Law and a Justification by the Sentence of the Judg. And these two senses of the word can only challenge any kind of propriety one is called Sentential Justification by the sentence of the Judg pronouncing him righteous and one that ought to be acquitted according to the Law The other is called * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Constitutive Rom. 5. 19 Justification or Justification in Law which is of one that hath right to be acquitted when accused When the Scripture speaketh of Justification by Christ by faith or to life it constantly useth it in one of these senses He that is a believer that hath performed the Gospel-condition is justified immediately ipso jure in Law-title by the Law of Grace he is constitutively justified by that Covenant or Gospel-grant He that believeth shall be saved hath right to not-perishing and a right to eternal life by this promise though he is not sententially justified till the day of Judgment The Lord grant he may find mercy at that day saith the Apostle By the Law of Grace or Promise immediately the sinner upon his believing hath right to impunity as to Hell and right to the Inheritance by Promise and at the last day shall be adjudged to it to the immediate possession of all those Immunities which were given by the Law of Grace or Promise Not the hearers but the doer of the Law shall be justified In the Gal. 5. 5. day when God shall judg the secrets of all men according to my Gospel We through the spirit do wait for the hope of righteousness by faith that is for justification by faith at the last day But this Sentential justification is to come Therefore whensoever the Scripture speaketh of justification in this life as for the most part it doth being justified by faith we have peace with God But you are sanctified you are justified it is to be understood of justification in Law-title and in this sense it is to be understood here We may say of a man whose case is good according to the Law that ought to be acquitted when it cometh to trial The Law justifieth him the Law acquits him he is justified already in Law and so are believers in this life There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit The justification here spoken of is expressed by another word in the Text viz. Remission of sins And the Scripture constantly useth Justification in the Gospel-way and pardon or remission of sins as equipollent terms and the Apostle proveth there is no justification now by works but by pardon of sins Rom. 4. 7 8. citing it out of the Psalms Blessed are they whose iniquities are pardoned and whose siâ—â— are covered Blessed is the man to whâ—â— the Lord doth not impute iniquity Observe the place and you will see he useth imputing righteousness without works and not imputing iniquity as the very same Again in the Text justified freely by his grace through the 〈…〉 pt 〈…〉 â—hat is in Christ is thâ—s 〈…〉 Scriptures Redemption through his Eph. 1. 7. blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace And redemption through his blood even Col. 1. 14. the remission of sins Be it known unto Acts 13. 38 39. you therefore brethren that through this Man is preached unto you the remission of sins and by him all that believe are justified from those things from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses The blood of the Matt. 26.
he will be as ready to part with it to thee as ever Naaman was to Gehazi 5. Have nothing to do with Sin The Philistines would not tread on the threshold they thought brake their Idol Dagon's neck The Jews would not put the Thirty pieces given for betraying Christ into the Treasury because it was the price of blood Mat. 27. 6. Will you look on sin as gain on that which you have gotten by sin as gain It is the price of blood Should that be pleasing to thee which was so bitter to Christ David would not drink of the water his Worthies had ventured their lives for but poured it out and said Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives 2 Sam. 23. 17. Wilt thou put that Serpent into thy bosome that hath stung to death thy dearest Relation A strange sight for a Child to delight in that Sword or Knife that killed his Father Some will break God's Law for the gain of two-pence God made not such a leight matter of the breach of his Law Let this conspicuous Justice of God be as a flaming-sword to keep you from sin Since Christ hath dy'd for sin let us dye unto sin yea let us rather chuse to dye than to sin Lastly Live to your Lord Redeemer walk as they that are bought with such a price say to Christ as the people â—o Gideon Rule thou over us for thou hast delivered us from the hand of our enemies He died that they which live might not live to themselves A strong and constraining bond of obedience and thankfulness is laid upon us Offer up Souls and Bodies a living sacrifice to him that offered up himself a dead sacrifice for us Be cheerful in suffering for him grudg not at suffering any thing for him that suffered so much for thee Christ loved not his life unto the death for our sakes A Discourse concerning the Apostle Paul's meaning by Justification by Faith occasioned by some passages in the Sermons An Endeavour to make apparent That the Apostle Paul by Justification by works and by the Law means justification for mens deserts and merits or by unsinning obedience without pardon And by Justification by Faith means pardon of sin upon mens believing and turning from sin to God And that it is not in the least his design to exclude Repentance and sincere Obedience from being a condition of our justification but that he includes them in the word Faith FIrst We are sure whatever the Apostle teacheth is consistent with himself and the whole tenour of Scripture Therefore his meaning cannot be That it is not necessary or that it is dangerous for any to repent and turn from sin for pardon or justification and salvation But this I have already cleared Secondly We are sure Whatever the Apostle saith is true and his arguing cogent as when he tells us Rom. 4. 4. To him that worketh the reward is not reckoned of grace but of debt and Rom. 11. 6. If by grace then it is no more of works but if it be of works then it is no more of grace Now this would not be true for a reward may be of works and yet of grace unless by works he understand meritorious works or full and compleat innocency If there be a promise made of a reward to a work yet if the work be inconsiderable in value to the reward this reward is to be ascribed to the grace and favour and kindness of him that promiseth and giveth the reward and not to the merit of his work that receives it It would be in this case of Grace as the Cause though of Works as the Condition the Works not being meritorious Else it would be impossible for any promise to be a gracious promise that hath any duty for the condition of it which to affirm would be the abhorring of any rational soul yea though the condition was to be performed by the man 's own strength whatever any say to the contrary which yet is not in the case-in-hand I willingly grant yea a conditional promise would not be one jot less gracious if the condition was to be performed by man of himself and is not more gracious because God causeth us to perform it only this causing us to perform it is more of grace Dare any deliberately say these conditional promises were not of grace because a work made the condition viz. If the wicked turn he shall live Repent that your iniquities may be blotted out Nay do we not expresly read Such are of grace Jer. 3. 1 12. Thou hast playd the harlot with many lovers yet return and I will not cause mine anger to fall on you For I am gracious and merciful 2 Chron. 30 19. The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek c. though he be not cleansed according c. Nehem. 13. 22. Remember me my God concerning this also and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy Jonah knew if God spared Nineveh upon repentance it would be an act of grace I know thou art a gracious God and merciful Jonah 4. 2. Whatsoever any one gives or promises to another who works more than the merit of the work amounts to is of grace and the justification of any man upon any terms less than the obedience of the Law in every thing is of Gospel-grace to wit of pardon Thirdly The opposition of the Apostle is good and true if by works be meant meritorious works deserving the reward or full and compleat obedienee to the Law in every thing viz. If of meritorious works then not of grace then the reward is no more than what is owing in strict Justice and one need not cry gratias grace grace need not give thanks for such a reward And if of compleat unsinning obedience one needs not pardon cannot be pardoned cannot give thanks for the reward as having of it upon the account of sin pardoned Object But would not Adam's justification have been of grace if he had continued in his innocency though it would have been of works This some object against this Tenent That the Apostle meant it of meritorious works or full obedience and I never saw this well cleared and many are much puzled with it therefore I will speak the more largely to it Ans I distinguish here between justification simply taken as justification of an innocent man accused or accusable though falsly and between the justification of a man with the resultancies from it which though immediate resultancies yet come on him upon his meer justification by virtue of some gracious Law Promise or Covenant made on condition of his innocency First Suppose there had been no promise made of everlasting happiness to Adam on condition of continued innocency but only a threatning That if he sinned he should dye be damned First In this case while he had continued innocent it would have been of debt not to have condemned him as a
sinner and so justification of him from any thing befalling him for the breach of the Law would have been of debt and not of grace no thanks Secondly But his justification in this case would have reached but a little way would have resulted no further than I have expressed For God might yet when he pleased have annihilated him for it seems not rational to affirm That if God make a rational Creature he may not lawfully and in equity unmake and annihilate it except it offend him this would be to impose hard terms on God But yet it would be of due debt that this annihilation should not be as a token of his displeasure and for the breach of the Law if he had not broken it as is supposed Secondly Suppose the Covenant ran thus If he obey he shall live eternally happy but if he sin he shall dye be damned as it is supposed it did First Here while man keeps his innocency That he be justified as innocent and not condemned as guilty is of natural equity and not of grace Which would have been enough had we no more to say to justifie the Apostle's speech if we take it not strictly but as we use to do other moral sayings the foundational and most immediately obvious part of justification being of debt Secondly But that this very justification should reach so far as right to continued life and happiness would be of grace because that promise that causes this right to result during him innocent was of grace and not of debt Thirdly Yet this justification thus resulting to continued life and happiness would not man continuing obedient have been of Gospel-grace of that kind of grace which the Apostle hath occasion mainly to speak of which is Mercy and Pardon it would not have been of Gospel-grace of forgiveness which is the thing the Apostle hath much in his eye No thanks would be due upon the account of forgiving him any thing Fourthly But to clear all beyond possibility of exception The Apostle only speaks ex hypothesi and on supposition for the Creature cannot possibly merit any thing of God but as above-said that if innocent he be not condemned as guilty and the Apostle knew their works were not meritorious that his opposers pretended were so Now suppose I say that obedience was meritorious of eternal life of the reward suppose man did any thing meritorious of Heaven then ex hypothesi salvation would not be of grace in any sense but properly of debt which is all the Apostle here affirmeth And it seems the Pharaisaical Jews went as high as some Papists do now as to hold their good works meritorious of eternal life and our Jewish Antiquaries manifest that this Tenent was common amongst them and you see if of meritorious works then not of grace in any sense And in this sense Adam's justification to life upon his unsinning obedience would not have been of meritorious works but of grace though not of pardon and Gospel-grace and Mercy It is easie to answer take it which way you will For if you will by works understand no more than perfect obedience to the Law then justification will not be of Gospel-grace which is pardon But if by works you will understand works properly meritorious of salvation then if of works not of grace at all And in some places the Apostle seems to take the words in one sense sometimes in the other For as here he seemeth to mean proper merit so Gal. 3. 10. As many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse for it is written Cursed is every one that continueth not c. implieth Man should have been blessed and not cursed as being justified by works had he fulfilled c. Here justification would have been of works not properly meritorious but being of Law-works it would not be by Gospel-grace and pardon though there would have been in such a case the Law-grace spoken of For to speak by way of anticipation if God was not bound in strict Justice to make such a promise If man obey perfectly he shall be happy if the making of it was of grace the making of it doth not hinder the performance of it from being of grace law-grace no more than God's making this law That sinner that repents and believes shall be saved maketh man's justification for being of Pardon and Gospel-grace Object The Jews Works and Priviledges were not meritorious nor perfect Therefore the Apostle doth not mean by works meritorious works or perfect Ans First It is true they were not meritorious else they would have been justified and saved of debt without Christ's satisfaction Secondly But they maintained and pretended their works such and this was to make Christ's death vain This very opinion made them slight Christ and kept them from submitting to the righteousness of God the Gospel-way of justification And by the way if any should now have this conceit concerning faith repentance sincere obedience works of charity viz. that they are meritorious of their justification and salvation a satisfaction for their sins recompence enough to Justice they would be in the same condemnation with these and Christ should profit them nothing For this was the reason why Circumcision and other observations of the Law would undo them Gal. 5. 2. not because they had that merit in them which they supposed for then they would have been justified and saved by them but because they conceited them meritorious making them worthy deserving men and so could not possibly during this conceit expect or desire justification in God's way of grace or Mercy through a Propitiation they could not but despise it as esteeming they had no need of it as indeed they had not if their conceit was true Fourthly Faith and Repentance are works it would move a man with pity to see the weakness of mens attempts to prove that faith is not a work when Christ himself calls it a work therefore his design is not to exclude every good work from any interest in justification else he would exclude Faith it self but only perfect or meritorious works or works conceited so to be which comes all to one for as works really compleat or meritorious would essentially hinder pardon by Christ's death being essentially inconsistent so a man conceiting his works meritorious is by God's Law of Grace excluded from any interest in this Propitiation For he hath made it a part of the condition That men be sensible of their unworthiness unrighteousness and undone estate without Christ and Pardon You see what the Apostle's meaning is not Now that you may see what his meaning is let these two things be well considered viz. What the Jews Opinions were and What the Apostle's Design was First What the Jews Opinions were which Paul opposed which are something plain from Scripture and are made more plain by the Writings of ancient Jewish Authors First They held their good works meritorious of eternal life yea some of