The Gospel shews us that even under its light we stand in need of God's grace; "It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure;" "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to do any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God +." How the impressions of God's grace are made upon our minds, we know not, no more than we know of the wind blowing where it listeth. But it is nevertheless done. That there is a preventing (id. est. a leading or directing,) grace, by which the will is moved and disposed to turn to God, appears from many passages of Scripture; e. g. we read ‡, that" God opened the heart of Lydia, so that she attended to the things spoken of Paul." The conversion of Saint Paul is a strong instance of it. Christ also tells us, "None can come to me except the Father draw him." This Grace of God, however, is not irresistible, for we find St. Paul saying, "Quench not the Spirit ;" and Stephen rebuked the Jews, because they did "always resist the Holy Ghost §:" but it may inspire us with good thoughts, dispose us to do our duty, and give us that measure of help, which our depraved nature stands in need of, to enable us to please God. It does not destroy our free-agency, for we may listen to it or not as we

please; only God is always ready to hear us, when we ask sincerely, promising to give his holy Spirit to every one that asketh aright. "Let us (therefore) work out our own salvation, for it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure *"

SECT. III.-ART. XI.

OF THE JUSTIFICATION OF MAN.

We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings; wherefore that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the homily of Justification.

The term Justification, in Scripture, means a person's being accounted righteous, or being placed in a state of imputed righteousness before God, though strictly speaking he is not really such in himself. Justification has reference to this present life, salvation refers to the next; e. g. " Being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him +."

This doctrine of justification by faith, was directed against the Roman Catholic belief of the efficacy of human merit. The Latin Article says,

* For more on this point, see the 17th Article. + Rom. v. 9.

"Tantum propter meritum Domini ac Servatoris Jesu Christi per fidem, non propter merita et opera nostra;" "only on account of Christ's merits through faith, not on account of our own works," where there is no opposition of faith to works; but the merit of Jesus Christ is opposed to the merit of our works.

Faith is the means; the blood of Christ is the only meritorious cause. And as God, of his free goodness, without any previous holiness or obedience on our part, hath offered a covenant, by which those that believe and accept it shall be absolved from sin, and put in a state of acceptance with Himself; He is therefore said to justify us freely by his Grace, through the redemption in Christ Jesus, there being nothing on our part to deserve or procure it.

When, however, according to St. Paul, it is asserted, that "a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ;" we must also recollect that he says, "faith without works is dead." To reconcile the last quotation but one,

the whole

* Burnet here explains faith to mean generally complex of Christianity,' as the law means 'the whole complex of the Mosaic dispensation;' so that faith, in this enlarged sense of it, must receive not only the doctrines and blessings, but also the precepts of the Gospel; acknowledging Christ in His threefold character of Prophet to teach, Priest to save, and King to rule over us.

"A man is justified by

with what St. James says, works, and not by faith only," we must recollect that Paul had, in the course of his argument, di vided all mankind into two classes; those who were

in the law,' and those who were without the law,' that is, Jews and Gentiles; and it is evident that in the passage under consideration he addresses himself to those Judaizing Christians who contended for the observance of the whole ceremonial law, on the part of Gentiles, as being essential to justification.

Hence, by justification he clearly in this place means, the entrance upon a state of justification; and from this he excludes the Mosaical outward rites and ceremonies, as unnecessary. This being, however, soon perverted to signify, that faith alone, without the practice of moral virtue, would be all that was necessary, Saint James writes, that

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a man is justified by his works, and not by faith only;" he does not say by works of the law, but only by his works. Now faith, in this latter passage, evidently means a bare belief in Christianity, dwelling only in the understanding; and not that good proper faith influencing the heart, which worketh by love. Paul shews that faith places a man in a justified state; James tells us that good

works are necessary, to keep him in that state. As a proof that St. Paul means thus, we may observe that whenever he treats upon justification, he insists particularly upon good works, as absolutely neces sary to final salvation; "If I have all faith, and not charity, I am nothing."

In considering this article, it will be well to bear in mind, that as there are two sorts of faith, living and dead; the one a dry, historical sort of faith, such as even devils possess; the other an influential one, operating on our lives: so there are two sorts of works,-moral and ceremonial. It is observable also, that St. Paul never says man is not justified by works, but always, by the works of the law.

This doctrine is full of comfort, because if we had nothing to depend upon but our own inherent merits and justice, we should have reason to be alarmed; but as faith is the condition appointed by God for our salvation, we rest upon his infallible promises, that so we shall be finally accepted.