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ground and foundation of all solid joy, peace, and comfort, in this life, and hope of eternal glory hereafter.

I. I shall consider the act of justification, and in what sense the word is to be taken. 1. It is not to be understood of instructing men in the scheme and method of justification, whether in a legal or evangelical way.-2. Nor is it to be understood of making men righteous, by infusing righteousness into them; for this is to confound justification and sanctification together, which are two distinct things, 1 Cor. i. 30. The word justify is never used in a physical sense, for producing any real internal change in men; but in a forensic sense, and stands opposed, to a state of condemnation; it is a law-term, and used of judicial affairs, transacted in a court of judicature, Deut. xxv. 1. Prov. xvii. 15. Isai. v. 22. this is the sense of the word whenever it is used in the doctrine under consideration. 3. Justification is to be understood in this doctrine, not of justification before men, before whom men may appear righteous. But of the justification of the persons of men before God; and this is either legal or evangelical; legal, on condition of a person's fulfilling the whole law, which in man's present state and circumstances, is impossible, Rom. ii. 13. Evangelical; which is an act of God's grace accounting and pronouncing a person righteous, through the righte ousness of Christ imputed to him, and received by faith, 1 Cor. i. 30. this is the justification we are treating of; concerning which farther observe.

II. The causes of it. The moving cause, is the grace of God; the procuring, meritorious, or material cause of justifi cation, is the righteousness of Christ imputed. At present I shall only attend to the efficient cause of justification, who is God; It is God that justifies, Rom. viii. 33. which is marvel. ous; since, 1. He is the Judge of all the earth, who will do right, and will by no means clear the guilty. The saints can come to God, the Judge of all, without fear and dread, Heb. xii. 23, 24. 11. Whose law is the rule by which he judg es, and that law broken by men, and yet he justifies them.

God, who judges according to this law, justifies them, Rom. ii. 12. 11. Sin, the breach of the law of God, is commited against him, and is hateful to him, and yet he justifies from it; well might Bildad say, How then can man be justified with God? Job xxv. 4. and yet he is. 1v. It is that God that justifies, who will not admit of an imperfect righteousness, in the room of a perfect one, and yet he justifies. v. That God who is the Lawgiver, and is able to save and to destroy, who has power to destroy both body and soul in hell, and would be just in so doing, and into whose hands it is a fearful thing to fall, yet he justifies. Now this act of justification, as described to God personally belongs to all the three persons in the Godhead; they are all concerned in it, Father, Son, and Spirit.

First, God the Father; who, in many places where he is spoken of as a justifier, the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus, Rom. viii. 35. 1. God the Father contrived the scheme and method of justification. 2. He sent his Son, in the fulness of time, to execute this scheme. 3. A perfect righteousness being wrought out by Christ, God the Father approves of it, is well-pleased with it, and accepts of it as the justifying righteousness of them that believe in Christ. 4. He imputes this righteousness to believers as their own; this is the Father's act of grace, Rom. iv. 6. Of Him, are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God (the Father) is made unto us righte ousness, 1 Cor. i. 30.

Secondly, the Son, the second Person, is concerned in the justification of men; By his knowledge, says Jehovah the Father, shall my righteous Servant justify many, Isai. liii. 11. 1. Christ, as a divine Person, as he has power to for. give sin, so to absolve and justify from it; he said to the woman taken in adultery, Neither do I condemn thee! and to his apostles, Ye are clean, every whit clean, free from sin, through the word I have spoken to you; the sentence of justification by his blood, Matt. ix. 2. John viii. 11. 2. As Mediator, Christ is the author of that righteous

ness by which sinners are justified, The Lord our Righteousness, the Sun of righteousness, and the end of the law for righteousness. 3. As the head and representative of his people, they are justified in him; as Adam's natural posterity, sinning in him, were condemed in him; so all Christ's spiritual seed shall be justified, and shall glory. 4. As Christ has wrought out a righteousness for his people, so he actually puts it upon them, clothes them with it: says the church, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, 5. As it is to faith the righteousness of Christ is revealed, and by faith it is received, hence believers are said to be justified by faith; so this faith, as well as righteousness, is of Christ; as he is the object of it, Ye believe in God, believe also in me; so he is the author and finisher of it, John xiv. 1. Heb. xii. 2,

Thirdly, The holy Spirit of God, the third Person, has also a concern in the justification of sinners. 1. He convinces men of righteousness, of their want of righteousness, John xvi. 8. 2. He brings near the righteousness of Christ; not only externally, in the ministry of the word; but internally, by the illumination of his grace, 3. He works faith in convincing and enlightening persons, to look at the righteousness of Christ; hence he is called the Spirit of faith, Col. ii. 13. 4. He bears witness to their spirits, that they are interested in the righteousness of Christ, and are justified by it, which is the meaning of their being justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God, 1 Cor. vi. 11.

III. The objects of justification; and they are the elect; Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth! that is, the elect, Rom. viii. 33. for who else can be meant? 1. Elect men, and not elect angels; whom God predestinates he calls and justifies; and whom he justifies he glorifies, Rom. viii. 30. 11. Redeemed ones are the objects of justification; Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Rom. iii. 2411. Pardoned ones; whose sins are forgiven, they are justi fied, Rom. iv. 6, 7. 1v. Hence it appears, that the objects of

justification are not all men; for, all men are not chosen ; they are only a remnant, according to the election of grace; though there is an all that are justified, even all the seed and offspring of Christ, the seed of Israel, on whom the gift of righteousness comes to justification of life, Rom. v. 18. Yet they are many, for whom Christ gave his life a ransom; and whose blood was shed for the remission of their sins, Matt. xx. 28. and xxvi. 28. vi. The objects of justification, are described as sinners, and ungodly: sinners, Gal. ii. 17. ungodly, Rom. iv. 5. So they are, in their ungenerate state; but when converted, they are described as believers in Christ, for the righteousness of Christ, is unto all, and upon all them

that believe.

IV. The charges or sins, such are justified from. I. They are chargeable with original sin; but God justifies and acquits them from that offence. 11. They are chargeable with impurity of nature, and a want of original righteousness; but God justifies from this charge through the imputation of the holiness of Christ's human nature to them, which is thought, by some divines, to be the law of the Spirit of life in him. 11. They are chargeable with actual sins, before conversion, and those many, and some very heinous; and yet God justifies from them all. The Corinthians were guilty of some of the blackest crimes, and most enormous sins; yet were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Iv. They are chargeable with a multitude of sins, after conversion; yet all are forgiven, and they are cleansed and justified from them, James iii. 2. Hos. xiv. 4. v. They are justified from all their sins; they that believe in Christ are justified from all things; his blood cleanses from all sin, 1 John i. 7. VI. They are justified by the righteousness of Christ, from all things, from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses, Acts xiii. 39. vII. God justifies his elect from all charges brought against them, from what quarter soever, and whether true or false. Do saints bring charges one against another? Does the world bring charges against them, as they

frequently do? Every tongue that riseth up in judgement against them God will condemn; for their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord, Isai. liv. 17. Does Satan go about the earth to pick up charges? Jehovah rebukes him for them; an instance of this we have in the vision of Zechariah, chap. iii. 1-4.

V. The matter and form of justification.

First, The matter of justification, the righteousness of Christ; every thing else must be removed from it, and denied of it. As, 1. Man's own righteousness, or his disobedi ence to the law. The reason why a man's own righteousness cannot be the matter of his justification before God, are, 1. Because it is imperfect, and the law will not admit of an imperfect righteousness for justification; There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not, Eccles. vii. 20. 2. If justification was by the works of men, it could not be by grace: but justification is by grace, and therefore not by works; Being justified freely by his grace, Rom. iii. 24. 3. If justification was by man's obedience, it would not be by a righteousness without works; whereas the blessedness of justification, lies in the imputation of a righteousness without works, Rom. iv. 6. 4. If justification could be by men's obedience to the law, then there would have been no need of the righteousness of Christ; If righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain, Gal. ii. 21. 5. If justificationcame by the works of men, boasting would be encouraged; whereas, God's design is to prevent it, Rom. iii. 27. 11. Nor is man's obedience to the gospel, as if a new and milder law, the matter of his justification be fore God. It was a notion, that some years ago obtained, that a relaxation of the law, has been obtained by Christ; but 1. The law is not relaxed, nor is the sanction of it removed. 2. Nor is the gospel a new law. 3. Nor are faith, repentance, and new obedience the terms of it; as doctrines, they are gospel doctrines; as graces they are blessings, and both are provided for in the covenant of grace, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. 4. If these were terms and conditions, required of men, in the

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