gives fentence for the perfon accused according to the valid plea of the Advocate, and fo abfolveth him. It is thus in the point of our juftification; there is Satan accufing, and fomething elfe. There is man accufed of finne and gilt, there is Chrift interpofing and pleading as an advocate, by his blood and.righteousneffe; and there is Gad as a fudge for Chrits (ake acquitting, and abfolving and pronouncing righteous, and accepting to everlasting life. So then the proper and punctual acception of the word juftification, is not according to infufion but according to abfolution and pronunciation: It is not Phyfical, as when a man is made whole, but it is judicial, as when a man is cleared at the bar.

He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the juft, they are both an abomination to the Lord, Proverbs 17. 15. There is the word againe. Not I truft to be expounded by way of infufion (that is) he who makes a wicked man a good man, by impreffion of righteoufneffe, is an abomination to God, but it is to be expounded by way of judiciary fentence (that is) he who pronounceth of a wicked man in the Court of Juftice, as if he were juft, and reputes him as fo, and accepts him as fo; This man is an abomination to the Lord. Now, take one distinction,and then I wiff to the nature of Juftification.

A twofold Ju- There is a twofold fuftification.

ftification.

One of the cause, and this is a particular kinde of acquittance, touching fuch and fuch things which are laid co a perfon, perhaps fometimes very unjustly.

Secondly,another of the perfon,when he is throughly purged and abfolved; now in this refpe&t we speak of juftification, which I think for the nature of it may be thus defined.

SECT. II.

Uftification of a finner, it is a gracious and just action of God, whereby he imputing the rigbiconfneffe of Chrift to a believing finner, abfolveth or acquitteth him from his fins, and accepteth of him

as

at righteous in Christ,and as an heire of eternal life.

on.

There are diverfe things confiderable in this defcripti- 3. Things in this defcripti

First, Iuftification (immediately) belongs to God, it is his acti- on. on. It is God that justifieth,faith the Apoftle, Rom. 8.33. And who can forgive fins but God only? Luk. 5. 21. We well distinguish twixt officia and beneficia, 'twixt duties and 'twixt bloffings: duties belong to us, but bleffings belong to God: It is God who is offended, and therefore condemnation and abfolution belong to him, to the Judge, not to any other; hence faith the Apoftle God was in Chrift reconciling the world to himselfe, 2 Cor. 5. 19. not imputing their fin. You do well to diftinguish of the causes of our Juftification. There is first the prime caufe, the Author and this is God the Father, who gave his only begotten Son for us, and fet him forth to be a propitiation for finne,through faith in his blood, that all who do believe in him fhould be juftified, Rom. 3. 25. And who is the Judge abfolving all that believe, and pronouncing them juft in Christ.

Secondly, The meritorious caufe, fo the Son of God our Median tory is faid to justifie us, both as our furety, in paying our debt, and laying down the full price of our redemption, fai. 53. 11. thereby affording unto us the matter and merit of our Justificati on, and as our Interceffor and Advocate,pleading effectually for us, that his merits may be imputed to us. Hence is it, Ifai. 53. 11. My righteous fervant shull justific many, God the Father juftifies as a Fudge by way of prime authority, and God the Son justifies as a Mediator. The Son juftifies as a furety, paying our debt and giving fatisfaction to the Father for us to the utmost, and the Facber juftifieth us, as a Creditor,fully accepting of that price and fatisfaction.

Thirdly, The applying cause, and thus the Holy Ghost may be faid to justifie, in afmuch as he conjoynes Chrift and the foul (by faith,) together, whence arifeth a participation of the righteousneffe of Chrift, and the pardon of fin by him. Once more diftinguish of juftification, it may be taken two wayes, either actively as a judiciary fentence abfolving, acquitting, &c. and fo we fay God justifieth; Or Paffively, as a thing apprehen-ded and rested on, and fo we say that Faith justifieth; not as if faith did acquit, but as it takes and receiveth the acquittance ;

not

2. Sorts of acti.

ons.

not as if faith did impute a righteousneffe, but because it receiveth and refteth on the righteousneffe of Chrift, by God imputed to us: now when we fay that juftification is an Action of God, it is meet for you to understand fomewhat of the kinde of this action. For the actions of God are of different forts.

Some,which are produced within us, and make a reall altera tioh and change in the foul of man, thus fanctification is an action of God, (that is) fuch an action of God as is altering the inward frame, and qualities of the foul of unholy, making them holy, of unbelieving making them believing, of hard ma king them foft, of earthly making them heavenly,

&c.

Others are wrought for us, but not in us, and though they import a change of the condition, and state of the perfon, yet properly, and formally, they imprint no change in the inward dif pofition; And thus fustification is an action of God, not an action changing the inward frame of the heart, but an action changing the great eftimation of the perfon; as when one of a bond-man is made free; this alters the state, but not the nature of the person when a gilty perfon is pardoned by his Prince, this alters not his nature, but it doth alter his condition; he is now in the ftate of life, who before was in the ftate of death. So is it in ju ftification, it is fuch an action, which alters the state, (that is ) the man who is in the ftate of wrath and condemnation, being juftified,is now acquitted, and fo paffed into the state of life and falvation.

A man who before was guilty of fin and damnation,the fame man (remaining a finner in himself, and in himself worthy of damnation) is in his juftification abfolved from the gilt of fin, and accepted as righteous in Chrift, and is paffed into the state of falvation. We deny not but the blood and the water goes to gether; (that is) whom God juftifieth by the blood of Chrift, him alfo he fanétifieth, and washeth by the Spirit of Chrift; but the action of the blood is one thing, and the action of the water is another thing. The light and heat in the fire go together, yet the action of light is not the action of heat:So bere,The action of the blood is a justifying action, and this is without us, yet for u, and of us The action of the water is a fanctifying action, and this is for us and in us 100.

Sect.

T

SECT. III.

He perfon juftified is a believing finner :the Apostle is clear, Rom. 4.5. To him that believeth on him that justifieth the. ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousneffe. There is great difpute which is first, of Faith or Juftification; to me now it feemes a fruitleffe trouble to moleft our felves with priorities in this kinde, I conceive we may diftinguish 'cwixt the purchase of our Justification, which was long ago in the blood of Chrift. He was a Lamb flaine long fince for to merit the remiffion of finnes, neither doth he now begin his merit, who hath heretofore performed it.

Secondly, 'twixt the imputation of that purchase. It is true, whiles I am an unbelieving perfon, my juftification is already as a purchase, but untill I believe, Godimputes it not unto me. My meaning is this, there is a righteousneffe of Christ, which hath de ferved pardon of finne before ever I believe, nay, be before ever I was borne, but God imputes this over to me when I believe, as foon as ever I take Chrift by faith, God imputes the righteousnesse of Chrift unto me, and will not impute my finnes to me: And Scripture is open enough for this, we reading fo conftantly in the. New Teftament for men to come in and believe that they may bave remiffion of finnes in the blood of Chrift, and through him also eternal life.

I only propound this fcruple,whether faith be to deale with the perfon of Chrift first, or with, his benefits first; Surely we fay with his person, and then with his portion; well then, if faith deales with the perfon of Chrift immediately,then it appears that a man must believe, and fo be justified, forafmuch as justification is an action of God imputing the righteouineffe of Christ, and not imputing fin, which are the generall benefits. (as I may fo (peak) of Chrift. It is not handfome to conceive that God fhould firft pardon me, and then I believe, or that I should have the righteoufneffe of Chrift before I have Chrift himself, which must be,if there be a priority of juftification before faith. For my part I conjecture that they are Semultaneous things (that is)

L

they

they go both together. If yet any men will be acute, let them be fo: The perill is little on either fide; fo that I have faith, and then am juftified; or fo that I am juftified, and then have faith, or fo that I have faith to be juftified, will in the fubftance and event,redound all to one.

Two things in

fin.

Remiffion

what.

SECT. IV.

R Emission of finnes belong to justification: (that is) when God

Lins.

juftifieth the perfon, he doth abfolve or forgive him his

There be in fin two things.

One is the ftaine, pollution, defilement of it, and corrupt inclination; with this fuftification deales not, but San&tificati

an.

Another is the gilt and punishment; and with this doth fuftifi cation deal. Suppofe you faw a fick thief, there are two forts of perfons to deal with him; a Phyfitian, because he is fick, and a Judge because he is a thief; If the Judge acquit or pardon him, this clears him as a thief and guilty perfon, if the Phyfitian heal and cure him, this refpects him as a fick and difeafed perfon, the cafe is our own. Now I fay that God in juftification remits or abfolves the finner. Two things are here confiderable, First,quid; fecondly, quoufque.

Firft, quid, what this remiffion is; I answer, it is an exempting of the finner from guilt redounding to punishment: If any man fin, guilt cleaves univerfally to the fin, but then in Justification it Thall not be imputed, it fhall be taken away in respect of efficacy and redundancy. Suppofe a perfon areigned, and caft for a murder, and the King gracioufly fteps in and pardons him; though this pardon makes not the murder formally to be no murder, and though it makes not the murder now meritoriously deadly, yet it doth hold off the efficacy of that gilt, that now it fhall not prove death to this perfon, because be pardons him. So in Juftification, where God pardons the finner, he doth not make finne to be no finne, or that there should not be any natu ral condemnability in finne, but that it shall not effectually re

dound