5. The terms, by which it is expreffed in the Old Teftament, are, leaning on God ‡-on Chrift || — rolling, or cafting ourselves and our burden on the Lord *—resting on God +-cleaving to the Lord 1-as alfo by trufting, hoping and waiting, in places innumerable: and it may be observed, that those, who acted faith as it is thus expreffed, do every where declare themselves to be loft, hopeless, defolate, poor orphans; and hence they place all their hope and expectation on God alone.

All I infer from these things is, that the faith whereby we believe unto the Justification of life, is an act of the whole foul; whereby convinced finners go entirely out of themselves, to reft upon God in Christ, for mercy, pardon, life, righteoufnefs, and falvation, which is the whole of the truth we plead for.

CHA P. XVI.

The Doctrine further confirmed by Teftimonies of

WE

Scripture.

E now proceed to the confideration of those exprefs teftimonies of Scripture, which are given to this truth; especially those places where the doctrine is defignedly treated. From them we must learn the truth; into them muft our faith be refolved; and to their authority all the arguments and objections of men muft give place. And it is fcandalous to fee, among Proteftants, whole books written on Justification, wherein fcarcely one teftimony of Scripture is produced, unlefs it be to evade its force. And, in particular, as the apostle Paul hath most fully declared and vindicated this doctrine, fome authors are fo far from declaring their faith concerning it out of his writings, that they begin to reflect upon them, as obfcure and dangerous;

as

* Pfal. xxii. 8. and xxxvii. 5. † 2 Chron. xiv. 11. Pfal. xxxvii. 7. Deut. iv. 4. Acts xi. 15.

as though they were grown wiser than he, or that Spirit by whom he was infpired. But nothing can be more alien from the genius of the chriftian religion, than for us not to endeavour humbly to learn the mystery of the grace of God herein, in the declaration of it made by him. But the foundation of God ftandeth fure," whatever courfe men may take in their profeffion of religion".

Much weight in this cafe is deservedly laid on the Name of Chrift, given us Jer. xxiii. 6.-THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. As the name JEHOVAH is a full indication of his divine perfon-fo the addition of his being OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, fufficiently proves, that in, and by, him alone, we are made righteous.

Some of the Socinians would evade this teftimony, by obferving, that Righteousness, in the Old Teftament, is fometimes ufed for Benignity and Kindness, and fo they fuppofe it may be here: others refer it to the righteousness of God, in delivering and indicating his people but thefe are evafions of bold men, who care not, fo that they fay fomething, whether what they fay be agreeable to the analogy of faith, or the plain words of Scripture. Bellarmine, who was more cautious to give an appearance of truth to his answers, first gives other reasons why he is called the Lord our righteousness ; and then, whether unawares, or overpowered by the evidence of truth, grants that sense of the words which contains all that we plead for., Chrift, he fays, may "be called the Lord our righteousness, because he is the efficient caufe of our righteoufnefs, as God is faid to "be our strength and falvation." Again, "Chrift is faid to be our righteoufnefs, as he is our wifdem, our redemption,

66

66

The teftimonies I fhall produce are but few out of many. I shall omit those which have been, or may be, alledged on particular occafions. And in the expofition of them, I fhall attend to their manifeft fcope and defign; which is, to exalt the riches of God's grace, the glory and excellency of Chrift, and to debase finful man.

46

"redemption, and our peace; because he hath redeem"ed us, and makes us wife and righteous, and recon"cileth us unto God." But not trusting to these expofitions of the words, he adds-" Chrift is faid to be our righteousnefs, because he hath made fatisfaction for us to the Father; and doth fo give and commu"nicate that fatisfaction unto us, when he justifieth "us, that it may be faid to be our fatisfaction and righteousness. And in this fenfe it would not be abfurd, if any one fhould fay, that the righteous"nefs of Chrift and his merits, are imputed unto us, 66 as if we ourselves had fatisfied God *." In this fenfe, WE fay, that Chrift is the Lord our righteoufnefs; nor is there any thing of importance in our whole doctrine, which the Cardinal does not here admit, and that in terms which fome among ourselves fcruple and oppofe. I fhall therefore look a little further into this teftimony, which hath wrested so eminent a confeffion of the truth from fo great an adversary.

Behold, the days come, faith the Lord, that I will raife up unto David a righteous branch; and this is his name, whereby he fhall be called, The Lord our righteoujnefs; ver. 5, 6. It is confeffed among chrif. tians, that this is an illuftrious renovation of the first promife, concerning the Incarnation of the Son of God and our falvation by him. This promise was first given when we had loft our original righteousness, and were confidered only as "thofe who had finned, and come short of the glory of God." In this ftate, a righteousnes was abfolutely neceffary to our being again accepted of God; for without a righteousness, yea, that which is perfect and complete, we never were, nor can ever be accepted. In this ftate it is promifed, that He fhall be our righteoufnefs. That he is fo, there can be no queftion: The whole inquiry is, How he is fo?" As he is the efficient caufe of our righteousness;" that is, of

Bellarm. de Juftific. lib. 20. cap. 10.

Our

our perfonal inherent righteousness, fay the moft fober of our adverfaries. But this righteoufnefs may be confidered, either in tjelf, as an effect of God's grace, and fo it is good, and holy, though not complete and perfect; or, it may be confidered as it is ours, inherent in us, accompanied with the remaining defilements of our nature; and in this refpect, as this righteoufnefs is ours, "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteoufneffes are as filthy rags ;" and Chrift cannot from hence be called "the Lord our righteousness," feeing it is all as filthy rags. It must therefore be a righteousness of another kind, from which this denomination is taken, and on account of which this name is given to him. Wherefore, he is our righteousness, as all our righteousnesses are in bim: and fo the church, which confeffeth all her own righteousneffes to be filthy rags, faith alfo-" In the Lord have I righteoufnefs *;" which the Apoftle thus expreffeth-" That I may win Chrift, and be found in him, not having mine own righteoufnefs, which is of the law" (in this cafe as filthy rags)," but that which is through the faith of Chrift, the righteousness of God, which is by faith t." Hence it is added 1- "In the Lord fhall all the feed of Ifrael be justified”—because he is, in what he was, and did, as given to and for us, our righteousness, and all our righteousness is in him; which totally excludes our own perfonal inherent righteoufness from any intereft in our Juftification, and afcribes it wholly to the righteoufnefs of Chrift.

Agreeably hereto, is that emphatic expreffion of the Pfalmift- I will go in the ftrength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteoufnefs, of thine only." Here he excludes all confidence, except in the righteousness of God alone. For this the Apoftle affirms to be the defign of God, in making Christ our righteousness," that no flesh should glory in his prefence;"

*Ifa. lxv. 24. † Phil. iii. 9.

+ Ifa. xlv. 25.

Pfal. lxxi. 16.

fence;" for it is only by faith, making mention of God's righteoufnefs alone, that all boafting is excluded †."

The Scripture alfo eminently declares, how he is "The Lord our righteoufnefs;" namely, in "making an end of fin; making reconciliation for iniquity; and bringing in everlafting righteoufnefs ;" for by these things is our Juftification completed.

Wherefore, feeing we had loft original righteouf nefs, and had none of our own remaining, and stood in need of a perfect righteoufnefs to procure acceptance with God, and fuch as might exclude all occafion of boasting in ourselves; the Lord Christ being given and made unto us, "The Lord our righteoufnefs," in whom we have all our righteoufnefs, (our own, as it is ours, being as filthy rags in the fight of God) and this by making an end of fin, and reconciliation for iniquity, and bringing in everlasting righteousness.It is by his righteousness, by his only, that we are juftified in the fight of God, and do glory. This is the fubftance of what we plead for; and thus it is delivered in the Scripture, in a way bringing more light and fpiritual fenfe into the minds of believers, than those philofophical expreffions and distinctions, which vaunt themselves with a pretence of propriety and accuracy.

CHA P. XVII.

Teftimonies of the Evangelifts, confidered.

THE

HE reafons why the doctrine of Juftification is more fully and clearly declared in the following writings of the New Teftament, than in thofe of the Evangelifts, have already been stated; yet, in them alfo it is fufficiently attefted. A few of the many teftimonies contained in them fhall be confidered.

#

1 Cor. i. 29-31. † Rom. iii. 27.

MATT.

Dan. ix. 24.