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'Spirit of our God.' The poor Sinner comes unto the Throne of Grace, on that Occasion, a guilty, felf-condemned, and Law-condemned Creature: Ezra ix. 15. O Lord God of Ifrael, behold, we are before thee in our trefpaffes for we cannot ftand before thee, because of this.” Rom. iii. 19. forecited. verf. 23. 24. "All have finned, and come fhort of the glory of God: Being juftified freely by his Grace, through the redemption that is in Jefus Chrift.' A Law-condemned Sinner can be juftified by a holy God there, by an Act of free Grace.

Our Juftification is an Act of God's free Grace: And by God's free Grace is meant, his free Favour and Good-will. Howbeit, it is an Act of free Grace, not in refpect of Chrift, but in refpect of us, Rom. iii. 23. 14. above cited. It is purely an Act of free Grace to us, infomuch that we are juftified before we have done any good Work at all: Rom. iv. 5. To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that juftifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.'

The Parts of the Act of our Juftification, paffed by God the righteous Judge, are two; namely, his pardoning all our Sins, and. his accepting us as righteous in his Sight.

Pardon of Sin is the freeing of the Sinner from the Guilt of his Sin: Matth vi. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.' The Guilt of Sin that lies upon us, till fuch Time as we are juftified, is the Guilt of revenging Wrath, John iii. 18. forecited. verf. 36. He that believeth not the Son, shall not fee life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.' The Pardon, then, given to a Sinner in Juftification, is the freeing him from

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the Guilt of the revenging Wrath of God, formerly lying on him: Job xxxiii. 22. Yea, his foul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the defroyers.' verf. 24. Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ranfom.' John v. 24. Verily verily I fay unto you, He that 'heareth my word, and believeth on him that fent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is paffed from death unto life.' And the Sinner once justified, can never fall under the Guilt of revenging Wrath again: Rom. viii. 1. 33. 34. John v. 24. If. liv. 9. forecited. Now, in our Juftification God pardons us all our Sins, paft and prefent: Mic. vii. 19. Thou 'wilt caft all their fins into the depths of the fea.' Col. ii. 13. And you being dead in your fins, and the uncircumcifion of your flefh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trefpaffes. Rom. iv. 7. Bleffed are they whofe iniquities are forgiven, and whofe fins are covered. And the State we are put into, with refpect to after Sins, is, that God will not impute them, as to the Guilt of revenging Wrath: Rom. iv. 6. ' Even as David alfo describeth the blessednefs of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.' verf. 8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute fin.' The procuring Cause of the direct Pardon of the one, and of the not-imputing of the other, is the Righteoufnefs of Chrift upon us: Rom. iii. 22. The

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righteoufnefs of God is by faith of Jefus Chrift, into all, and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference.' Compared with Gal. iii. 'Chrift hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for us.' The Guilt

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which the Juftified do incur by their after Sins, is the Guilt of fatherly Anger: Pfal. lxxxix. 30. 31. 32. 33. If his children forfake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my ftatutes, and keep not my commandments: then will I vifit their tranfgreffion with the rod, and their iniquity with tripes. Nevertheless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor fuffer my faithfulness to fail."

Acceptance with God in Juftification, is not the Acceptance of our Works, but of our Perfons: Eph. i. 6. He hath made us accepted in the beloved. Compared with Rom. iii. 28. There'fore we conclude, that a man is juftified by faith, without the deeds of the law.' No Work of ours can ever be accepted of God, in point of Juftification: Gal. i. 16. Knowing that a man is not justial. ii. 16 fied by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jefus Chrift: Even we have believed in Jefus Christ; that we might be justified by the faith ⚫ of Chrift, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law fhall no flesh be justi'fied.' Nor can any Work of ours be accepted in any Cafe, till once we are juftified: Heb. xi. 6. • Without faith it is impoffible to please God: for he that cometh to God, muft believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently feek him.' Gen. iv. 4. 5. And the Lord had refpect unto Abel, and to his offering: but unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect.' Compared with Heb. xi. 4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent facrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God teftifying of his gifts.' God's Acceptance of our Perfons in Juftification, is his

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accepting us unto eternal Life, adjudging it to us: Rom. v. 17. They which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteoufnefs, fhall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. verf. 18. By the rigteoufnefs of one, the free gift came upon all men unto juftification of life.' Tit. iii. 7. That ⚫ being justified by his grace, we should be made "heirs according to the hope of eternal life.' Hab. ii. 4. The juft fhall live by his faith.' He ac cepteth us unto eternal Life, as Perfons righteous in his Sight, Rom. v. 17. 18. above cited. verf. 19. By the obedience of one, fhall many be made righteous.' verf. 21. 'Grace reigns through righte oufnefs unto eternal life, by Jefus Chrift our 'Lord. Gal. iii. II. But that no man is juftified by the law in the fight of God, it is evident: for, The juft fhall live by faith.' Compared with verf. 12. And the law is not of faith; but, The man that doth them, fhall live in them. By the Righteous in God's Sight, is meant Perfons truly righteous in Law, in the View of his piercing Eye": Gen. vii. 1. And the Lord faid unto Noah,--Thee ⚫ have I feen righteous before me in this generation. 2 Cor. v. 21. God hath made Chrift to be fin for us, who knew no fin; that we might be made the righteoufnefs of God in him.' And they are Perfons truly righteous in Law, who have a Righteoufnefs fully anfwering the Demands of the Law for Righteoufnefs: Phil. iii. 9. And

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be found in him, not having mine own righte " oufnefs, which is of the law; but that which is · through the faith of Chrift, the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith.' Rom. viii. 3.4. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God fending his own Son, in K 2

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the likeness of finful flesh, and for fin condemned fin in the flesh: that the righteousnefs of the law < might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.'

As to what we are juftified for; we are justified only for the Righteousness of Chrift imputed to us, and received by Faith alone. One coming unto the Throne of Grace, a Law-condemned Sinner, is capable of being juftified there, pardoned and ac- cepted, as truly righteous, inafmuch as uniting us with Chrift there, Chrift's Righteousness is his, and upon him that Moment: Phil. iii. 9. forecited. Rom. iii. 22. The righteoufhefs of God is by faith in Jefus Chrift unto all, and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference.'

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That for which God juftifies us, is not any thing wrought in us, or done by us: Tit. iii. 5. Not by works of righteoufnefs, which we have done, but according to his mercy he faved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghoft.' Eph. i. 7. In whom we have 'redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of fins, according to the riches of his grace.' But it is the Righteousness of Chrift imputed to us: Phil. And to make all men fee what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who < created all things by Jefus Chrift.' Compared with Rom. iv. 6. Even as David alfo defcribeth the • bleffedness of the man unto whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without works. And it is his Righteoufnefs only, without any Mixture of Righteoufnefs inherent in us: Rom: v. 18. 19. forecited. The Righteoufnefs of Chrift for which we are juftified, is not his effential Righteousness, which

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