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teoufnefs, until he believed the free abfo-
lute promife of God to give him a nume-
rous offspring, who fhould poffefs the
land of Canaan; and to give him Ifaac,
with whom he was to eftablifh his cove-
nant in all points; particularly, that “in
"his feed all the nations of the earth
"fhould be bleffed." But this happened
many hundred years before the law of
Mofes; and even a confiderable time be-
fore circumcifion was inftituted; and con-
fequently was prior to his offering up his
fon, when the Apostle James fays "he was
"juftified by his works;" which can mean
no more, than that by this trial he fhowed
himfelf to be not only a true, but a
ftrong, believer: for Mofes fays exprefsly,
that he was juftified before that time; for
he fays,
"he believed God, and it was
imputed to him for righteoufnefs."
I cannot help being of opinion, that this
text might have been eafier and better un-
derstood, had lefs, or even nothing at all,
been faid about it; in which cafe, it is
very likely, moft people would have been.
fatisfied with what lies very plain in the
words, that on Abraham's believing the
free fovereign grant God had made him,

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he was treated in all refpects as a righteous perfon, or, in other words, justified from all things which were or could be charged against him to infer his condemnation. But as things now ftand, it is necessary we should know what righteous nefs is; what the imputing for righteouf nefs means; and what it was which is faid to have been imputed to Abraham for that purpose.

Righteousness and godliness are two words, which, when attributed to man, are promiscuously used in the facred writings to denote the whole of religion, and all the duties belonging to religion. The fubftance and matter of both is precisely the fame. But godliness is an abfolute term; whereas righteousness is relative, and refpects judicial procedure in fome court defigned for the administration of justice. That which we are most concerned in, is the judgement given, or to be given, by the great Sovereign of heaven and earth. Righteoufnefs, or juftice, is one of his most effential attributes; and the meafure or rule by which his judgement proceeds, is his own perfect wisdom. Hence we find his righteousness applied in a very

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extensive manner, not only to what we call justice, rewarding and punishing according to the merits or demerits of the party tried; but even to acts of mercy and grace, and whatever measures perfect wifdom chufes to follow; for wifdom and juftice, where both are perfect, can never take different fides.

Righteoufnefs, I mean the word, has, I believe, a double import: it has its name from right; and denotes, either one who does what is right, or one who has a right fome privilege or other and the Apostle John has taught us, that these two always go together, 1 John iii. 7. It must be fo; for though we read of God's justifying the ungodly yet he is no where faid to justify the unrighteous. But we are exprefsly enough told of two different kinds of righteousness, viz. the righteoufnefs of God, and one's own righteousness, Rom. iv. 3. We read likewife of the righteousness of faith, or which is by faith, and the righteousness of the law, or which is by works of law: and these stand opposed and contrary one to the other. And whatever fome learned men have thought fit to fay against imputation, VOL. III. Z

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we read oftener than once of "God's im"puting righteousness without works."

Much noife has been made in all the ages of the world, and never more than in this age, about the rule of right; for such a rule it is agreed there must be, a standard by which mens works are to be adjusted. The wifeft of the Heathen philofophers were greatly at a lofs in this refpect. They agreed pretty unanimoufly, that the mind of the Sovereign of the universe was the only just rule; but how to get at it, they were quite at a lofs; and indeed could do no more but guefs for they knew nothing of the eternal fitness of things which our moderns make fuch a flourish about; while, in truth, they neither know, nor can know, any more about it, than their predeceffors, except what they borrow from the revelation they have in their hands. This renders them abfolutely inexcufable; for therein we have the righteoufnefs God by faith revealed, with the utmost degree of evidence. All are concluded under fin; and it must be the higheft pitch of infolence and folly to expect even fo much as pardon, and much lefs eternal life, in any other way than by a fovereignly free grant

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and gift from the fupreme and only proprietor of life. And when he has been graciously pleased to make fuch a gift in his Son Jefus Chrift, the only right thing a finner can do, is, to flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope fet before him ; and thus to lay hold on eternal life, in a converfation fuch as becomes the gospel of Christ, under the direction of his Holy Spirit, which we have the fullest assurance God will give to those who afk him; efpecially when we find all attempts that can be made any other way are no less than direct acts of rebellion, and the highest infult that can be offered to God and his bleffed Son; and the folly is but little inferior to the infolence, unless they could overcome omnipotence, and force eternal life out of the hand of the Almighty.

By this faint sketch of the order which the great Sovereign of the universe, and fole proprietor of life, has established, for conveying fpiritual and eternal life to mankind dead in trefpaffes and fins, and which has been in force ever fince fin entered into the world, any one may be able to form a tolerable judgement of the imputation which Mofes and the Apostle fpeak

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