one from the other i.e. the Active Obedience of Christ and his Passive Obedience Now I say it is not safe for any to say we are Justified by the Passive Obedience of Christ only i. e. By his Death and Sufferings alone I say 't is very dangerous for any to believe thus For thus I argue Argument That alone by which the Law is fulfilled and God's Justice satisfied by that alone we are Justified But by the Righteousness of Christ that is to say the Righteousness of his Life which is his Active Obedience And by the Righteousness of his Death which is his Passive Obedience the Law is fulfilled and God's Justice fully satisfied Therefore by the whole Righteousness of Christ namely his holy Life and Meritorious Death we are Justified not by his Death excluding his holy Life but his holy Life and bitter Death justifies us and is the Meritorious Cause of our Justification And my Beloved consider 1. That the first part is proved thus There is no Justification before God without a perfect and compleat Righteousness as that which is agreeable to God's holy nature and which is agreeable to his holy Law and this I have already proved that a Man must be perfectly Just or declared so upon just Grounds or he cannot be Justified 2. Consider that there is no perfect Righteousness but that which exactly and fully fulfilleth the Law that is accepted of God and this is done I mean the Law fulfilled two ways 1. By a perfect and perpetual Conformity to the Law not only a perfect Conformity to it for the present but by a perpetual Conformity to it in doing all that the Laws injoyns according to the Tenure of it do this and live or do this and thou shalt be Justified I will defend you from all and every thing that can do you hurt 2. By a full Satisfaction and Compensation to the Sentence of the Law i. e. to bear and undergo the Penalty and punishment thereof which was Death and the Curse and Wrath of God this was our due and this Christ did in our stead as our Surety he did perfectly and perpetually keep the Law while he was on Earth in our Nature for us and he did fully satisfie and make Compensation to the Sentence of the Law he did undergo the penalty and punishment therein denounced which was our due 3. And that it must be thus evident because the Doctrine of Justification doth not make void the Law but establish it See Rom. 3. ult Faith or Justification by Faith doth not make void the Law but establish it The Law is Confirmed i. e. Established by our being Justified by the compleat Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ by the perfect and compleat Conformity of the Lord Jesus to the Law the Law is Established as Holy Just and Good But Christ did fully and perfectly keep the Law and make a full satisfaction to the Justice of God for the Breach of it He in every Precept Type Promise and Prophesie compleatly fulfilled it to justifie us thereby as our Surety Therefore 4. Consider that by the Passive Righteousness or Meritorious Death and Suffering of Christ we are not Justified this doth not justifie us alone that is singly considered and the reasons follow Reason 1. Because it is by his Suffering for us and in our nature as our head Surety and Representative bearing the penalty of the Law he frees us from Hell 2. Because by his Righteousness both Habitual and Actual he intitles us to Heaven neither of which we were capable to perform therefore his Passive Obedience alone doth not justifie for by his Passive Obedience bearing our Punishment he only frees us from Hell and by his Active Obedience in keeping perfectly and perpetually the Law he gives us a Title to the promise of Glory Now it is one thing to be freed from punishment and another to be raised again into the King's Favour and Presence Wherefore 3. As without the Imputation or Satisfaction of his Sufferings we could not be freed from Hell So without his perfect Obedience and Conformity to the holy Law imputed to us we could not be Justified and Saved By the former viz. the Sufferings of our Saviour He hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law and from the Wrath of God being made a Curse for us Gal. 3.13 And by the latter he makes us Partakers of the promised Blessedness or gives us a Title to or Interest in the promises of Eternal Life by performing for us in our nature that Righteousness which was the condition of the Promise Do this i. e. perform this there 's the Precept and thou shalt live that 's the Promise Now this Life is not only Temporal but Spiritual It is a Life of Peace in the Favour and Love of God a Life of great Consolation in God's Love and Favour Do this and thou shalt live This Christ did therefore the promise is ours he did it for us And God the Father to speak with Reverence is obliged to make good the promise We shall live Therefore 4. Consider as we are Justified from our Sins by the Blood of Christ that we might not be damned So we are just by the actual Righteousness of Christ that we might be Saved or Glorified The first defends us from the Curse and Wrath of God the seconds intitles us to the Mercies and Blessings of God or as we were Reconciled to God by the Death of Christ so we are as well Justified and Saved by the Life of Christ i. e. by that Life that he lived for us while on Earth the Benefits and Blessings of which he pleads now for us in Heaven for it is to this end he lives now for us in Heaven There not only doth he plead his bitter Death and Passion but also his holy Life which was a perfect Conformity to God's Law Vide Rom. 5.10 For if while we were Enemies we were Reconciled to God by the Death of his Son much more being Reconciled we shall be saved by his Life So it is by his Life that we are saved because he now lives to plead the virtue of his Death and of his Undertakings for us By this you may see the Doctrin of St. Paul is Confirmed Rom. 5.19 For as by the Disobedience of one Man even Adam against the Law many were made Sinners by Imputation so by the obedience of one Man even Christ the second Adam shall many be made Righteous Having thus opened the point that which I am to prove is this viz. That Christ's Death is the Meritorious or procuring Cause of our Justification That Christ's Sufferings did merit this Favour at the Hand of God nor us and defends us from the Curse and Wrath of God Now that which we affirm is this That what Christ did and suffered he did it as a common Head Representative and Surety for all the Elect which are his Mystical Body But there is an unsound Notion spread abroad
considered that Man is in a lost and undone State i. e. all Mankind by reason of the Fall and Transgression of our first Parents are brought into a state of Sin and Death besides our own actual Sins by which we have aggravated our Misery and strengthened those Cords that bound us under the wrath of God This must be taken in that all Men are concerned with Adam as considered in his Loyns and his Apostasie from God He was a publick person and did personate all Mankind that should proceed from him His Standing was our Standing his Fall was our Fall his Gain had been our Gain Our Stock was all put into his Hands and into his keeping and he proved Bankrupt and broke and lost all and we by his Sin are brought into a state of Sin prone to Sin and bound over to eternal Wrath having rebelled against God and grieviously offended that holy Law-giver This the Apostle shews at large in the same Chapter from Verse the 10. to 19. how miserable we are by Nature how sad and woful our case is by reason of Sin 2. This must also be considered that Mankind You and I every one of us by Nature are Children of Wrath and stand charged at God's Barr where we must plead and either must be Justified or Condemned we having proved Traytors and Rebels to the Sacred and Divine Majesty and he will call us and most Righteously will he judge us and we must plead He will call us to an account for our Sins and Rebellions because they were against him Now when the Sinner comes and appears be-before God and is accused and charged with horrid Guilt and Crimes even of the highest and greatest Treason and Rebellion that ever was committed I say when the Sinner shall appear before God and is thus charged what will he then plead For he must plead either guilty or not guilty Now to prove that he is guilty there appears against him three substantial Witnesses First God himself is a Witness against the Sinner Mal. 3.5 I will be a swift Witness against the Sorcerers and against the Adulterers c. saith God He that knows every vain Lust and unprofitable Thought he that sees in the dark as clearly as at Noon-day and hath an account of all the works of Iniquity In whose memory is recorded all the Thoughts that ever thou didst think all the words that ever thou didst speak he will be a swift Witness against thee that thou art guilty of many grievious Sins And his dreadful Justice will pursue thee as the Avenger of Blood did persue the Man-slayer under the Law So I say will God's Justice persue the Sinner and by substantial Evidences will manifest that the Sinner is grieviously guilty Secondly as God will be a witness against thee so the Law will accuse the Sinner The Law is broken and trampled upon and that will rise up against the Sinner and will plead against him that it was despised and trampled under foot There is one saith Christ that accuses you even Moses in whom you trust The Jews trusted in their own works that were agreeable to the Law they rested on their external Obedience to the Law of Moses And this saith Christ will plead against you Though you trust in him yet this very Law will condemn you Moses accuses or his Law accuses every Soul who continues not in all things contained therein to do them Gal. 3.10 That Soul must perseveringly continue in doing all things that the Law requires that expects to be Justified by it For if you step but one Inch awry you are under the curse of the Law and the Law broken will be a swift Witness against the Law breaker The Law was added because of Transgression Gal. 3.19 Not only to deterr and restrain from Sin but it was added to condemn even to aggravate the heinous Crimes and abominable Offences on the Soul of the Sinner The Law was added to make Sin appear exceeding sinful it was not given that we might be Justified by it but to shew us the need we have of another Righteousness and the deplorable state we were brought into by the breach of it Not but that the Law is holy just and good What shall we say then saith St. Paul is the Law Sin God forbid because the Law is said to discover Sin and to strengthen Sin is it therefore Sin God forbid Nay saith he I had not known Sin by the Law i. e. I had not known Sin so fully and so clearly The Law of Nature it is true doth convince of all Immoral Acts of Sin but not so fully as the written Law doth especially as it opened in the Gospel The Law written in Men's Hearts cannot convince them of all Sin nor of any Sin so fully and so clearly as the Law opened in the Gospel We had not known the Spirituality of the Law in that degree had it not been for the Law The Law is called The strength of Sin 1 Cor. 15.59 How the strength of Sin Yes because it makes Sin more strong against the Sinner so that he sees he cannot help himself for the Law curses him And therefore in this case the Law is said to strengthen Sin Why because it strengthens the accusation of Sin it strengthens the guilt of Sin therefore it is said that the Law is the strength of Sin Thirdly This must also be considered every Man's Conscience will also naturally accuse him not only God will be a swift Witness against the Sinner and his Law but the Sinner's own Conscience doth accuse him now and it will accuse him at the great Barr of God's Justice if the Soul be not Justified Rom. 2.14 15 16. The Apostle speaking of the Gentiles saith he For when the Gentiles which have not the Law do by Nature the things contained in the Law these having not the Law are a Law unto themselves which shew the work of the Law written in their Hearts their Conscience also bearing Witness and their Thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another in the day when God shall judge the Secrets of Men by Jesus Christ So that you see that Conscience will accuse the Sinner if he be not Justified Then Conscience will receive a clear Light that he may Sum up all the Crimes and wicked Acts and Speeches and Thoughts that ever the Sinner was guilty of If therefore the Sinner should deny the matter of Fact that he is not guilty or that he is not guilty to such a degree yet you sind God hath Witnesses for it Then will be Conscience ready to prove it against you and we need have no other Witness to prove the Charge against us then our own Consciences for that will be more then a Hundred Thousand Witnesses But 3. It is necessary to Consider what the guilty Sinner must do in this case Suppose the Judge of Heaven and Earth should say Sinner what hast thou to say why the Sentence of
Eternal Death and Wrath Why the Sentence of Eternal Burnings should not pass on thee What hast thou to say What hast thou to Plead Consider my Beloved what you would say 1. Would you fly to the Law Thither the Poor Jews fled for Refuge but Christ told them that that would Accuse them instead of Excusing them By the works of the Law shall no Flesh having be Justified If you had kept it all the Days of your Lives if it were possible and had never broke it actually yet the Imputation of Adam's guilt had bound you over to eternal Wrath if this were not prevented by the Grace of God Then where would go I say for the Law accuses you and cries for Vengeance because it is broken Sinner what dost thou say Thou can'st not plead the Law for thy Conscience will accuse thee that thou hast not kept that Or 2. Will you plead the goodness of your own Hearts What is that you will plead if God should call you to an account If he should ask thee I say what thou hast to say for thy self what will you plead that your Hearts are good as some Ignorant Creatures have done That you have as honest Hearts as any Men though you do not make that Show Alas The Heart of Man is deceitfull above all things and saith the wise Man He that trusteth to his Heart is a Fool This will fool thee at last and the Lord he searches the Heart and he knows what a deceitful Heart thou hast and wilt thou set the stress of thy Salvation on the Rottenness of thy wicked Heart he will find out the Rebel if he searches the Family he will find out the Achon he will find out all thy Sins and discover the naughtiness of thy Heart there is no Place to hide thy Villany in there is no corner so secret as to hide thy cursed Evils from him nothing can hide the cursed Plagues of our Hearts from Gods Eyes therefore those that trust to their own Hearts will miserably deceive themselves Or 3. Will you plead the good deeds you have done Will you plead your Prayers and say Lord I have many times kneelled down and cryed to thee Will you plead your Religious duties Will you plead your observation of Ordinances Why alas You are mistaken it is not your Religious duties that are performed from a wicked Heart that will do it Nay Religious Duties performed from a right Principle will not defend you from God's Justice because your Doings cannot satisfie God's Justice for your horrid Crimes and Rebellions against him Or 4. Will you cry for Mercy and Pardon Lord pardon me I commit my self to thy Mercy I throw my self on thee Lord have Mercy upon me and open unto me Will this I say be a Plea Mercy Mercy Mercy O! this is that the Sinner thinks is the only Plea nothing but Mercy Lord for I am guilty Therefore the Sinner concludes he 'll cry Mercy But pray take heed you do not miss it here you must consider upon what account God pardons our Sins You are grievously mistaken if you think he 'll pardon your Sins because you cry Mercy You must consider I say on what account the Lord receives Sinners into his Favour for the Justice of God brings in his Plea My Justice is despised my Name is dishonoured and I must have satisfaction my Faithfulness that must be satisfied for I have said and I will not lie that the Sinner shall surely dye for the Breach of my Law The holy God hath vow'd Psal 95.11 such is his pure nature that he will have satifaction for the Wrong done to him His Mercy cannot take place till his Justice is satisfied While his Justice is broken his Mercy cannot be Reconciled Therefore in this case there must be Satisfaction and it is not crying Peceavi that will satisfie his Justice nay God will have Blood and without Blood thy Sins cannot be remitted thou art guilty of Death and thou must dye There can be no satisfaction given to God's Justice by acknowledging thy Fault nor by weeping or pouring out an Ocean of Tears for the Lord saith in his word that the Sinner must be Justified or not pardoned John 3.16 Rom. 5.1 The Sinner must be Justified or Condemned And the Law stands up and puts in his Plea against the Sinner and saith I am broken in pieces by this Rebel for he never observed me nor took any notice of me Thou holy God hast appointed me as the Canon and Rule that this Creature should have Steer'd all the actions of his Life by but he hath slighted and disregarded me and I must have satisfaction for thou hast said Cursed is every One that continues not in all things that are written in the Law to do them Now therefore you see that satisfaction must be made or the Sinner must be damn'd 5. It is necessary to Consider also that since we must be Justified so well as Pardoned we must of necessity then plead guilty and our plea must not be Mercy for the sake of Mercy For that is to beg as a good Man says and not to plead nor were it at all to be Justified but only forgiven I say to be pardoned without satisfaction is not to be Justified but only forgiven We must therefore be acquitted and Justified And how or after what manner shall we do this Let us consider whither this can be done by any thing that is in us can Faith Justifie us in the sight of God Can our Repentance do it Can habits of Grace as one words it do it Do these acquit us Do any Works of Righteousness which we have done do or can do justifie us O Consider my Beloved if it be not the Obedience Righteousness Satisfaction and Merits of the Lord Jesus it must be something else It is either something done by us or something wrought in us or something done without us by the Lord Jesus that Justifies us it is either a Righteousness wrought in us or it is a Righteousness wrought by another and Imputed to us it must be one of these Secondly the Debt must be paid either by laying it down our selves or by having a Surety that will lay it down for us Therefore if you would understand the Doctrine of Justification aright so as to place your Consciences and your Persons in a due manner in the presence of God and et his Bar. Then 1. You must have the sence of your Apostacy from God on your Hearts you must not only have the notion of it but you must have the Feeling Apprehensions of it upon your Hearts 2. You must have the Apprehension of the want of that Righteousness in your selves that will Justifie you before God I say If you would fly to that Righteouness that Justifies the ungodly then you must first come to see the want of that Righteousness in your selves that will Justifie you in the Sight of God The Reason why Persons fly not