from the guilt of all the fins they have till then committed, they must be judged twice; contrary to the declarations of scripture, in which one judgment only, of the righteous as well as of the wicked, is spoken of; and that one judgment is foretold to happen at Chrift's fecond coming.

From these arguments I think it evident, that notwithstanding Mofes hath spoken of the juftification of Abraham, and Paul hath spoken of the juftification of believers, in words fometimes of the present, and fometimes of the past time, these paffages are to be interpreted like many other paffages of scripture, in which things future are reprefented as paft, or prefent, to fignify the abfolute certainty of their happening. Thus Mofes fays, in his fong, Exod. xv. 13. Thou haft guided them in thy Arength unto thy holy habitation; that is, thou wilt affuredly guide them. In the prophetic writings, this manner of expreffing things future, is common.-We find it ufed likewise by our Lord and his apoftles, Matth. xxvi. 28. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is fhed for many: that is, which is to be fhed.Luke xx. 37. Now, that the dead are raised; that is, fhall be raifed, Mofes fherved at the bush,-John iii. 19. He that believeth not is condemned already: fhall be condemned, if he does not repent.-Rom. viii. 30. Whom he called, them he alfo juftified; and whom he juflified, them he alfo glorified. But as believers are not glorified in the present life, so neither are they justified.1 Cor. xv. 2. By which alfo ye are faved, if ye keep in memory, &c. But how could perfons be already faved, whose salvation depended on the condition of their keeping in memory the doctrines they had been taught?-2 Tim. i. 9. He hath faved us, and called us with an holy calling. Here the expreffion hath faved us, fignifies only God's resolution to fave us; as is plain from its being put before, his calling us to believe the gofpel.-2 Pet. iii. 11. Seeing all these things are diffolved: namely, the heavens and the earth. Thefe, the apoftle reprefents as already diffolved, to fhew the certainty of their diffolution at the fecond coming of Chrift. See Prelim. Effay iv. 10.

Wherefore, fince it is ufual in fcripture, to speak of things future sometimes as prefent, and sometimes as paffed, it does not follow from Mofes faying, Abraham believed in the Lord, ar

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he counted it to him for righteousness, that Abraham was then justified: nor from Paul's speaking of believers as already juftified, that they are juftified in the prefent life. Thefe expreffions are to be confidered only as affurances, or promifes that Abraham, with all his feed by faith, fhall, at the general judgment, have their faith counted to them for righteoufness, and be rewarded as righteous perfons.-This is clear in the cafe of Abraham. For, as the counting of what Phinehas did to Zimri, for - righteousness, confifted in God's promising him the everlasting priesthood, fo the counting of Abraham's faith for righteous nefs, confifted in God's promifing him the inheritance of Canaan, and not in giving him the actual poffeffion of that inheritance. Farther, as Canaan was the emblem of heaven, the promise to give to Abraham and to his feed the inheritance of Canaan, was alfo a promife to give them the inheritance of heaven, provided they perfevered in their faith and obedience; for on that circumftance the title of Abraham himself to the heavenly inheritance was fufpended, Gen, xviii. 19. as was for merly obferved, p. 3.

From these things it is plain, that Mofes's words, Gen. xv. 6, He believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness, do not imply, according to their fecond meaning, that Abraham was then juftified or pardoned, any more than they imply, according to their first meaning, that he then obtained the possesfion of Canaan. They were a declaration only, or promise that Abraham fhould be pardoned, and put in poffeffion of heaven in due time. This being the true meaning of Mofes's words, the expreffions in St. Paul's writings, which feem to import that believers are juftified in the prefent life, being formed on Mofes's words, muft, like them, be understood as declarations or promises that believers fhall certainly be justified at the judgment; agreeably to the ufage of the inspired writers, who, to fhew the certainty of the future events of which they speak, reprefent them as already come to pass.

If the foregoing account of juftification, and of the time when that ble fling is bestowed on believers, be agreeable to fcripture, the fuppofition of a first and second justification, framed for the purpofe of reconciling the doctrine of Paul and James concern

ing the justification of believers is inadmiffible, being contrary both to fcripture and reafon. Befides, it is needlefs, the doctrine of the two apoftles being perfectly the fame. Wherefore, the expofitions which Eftius, Whitby, Locke, Taylor and other commentators have given of certain paffages in the epiftle to the Romans, in as far as they are built on the supposition of a twofold justification, ought to be rejected as not agreeable to the truth of the gospel.-The fame judgment should be pronounced on all those explications of the doctrine of juftification, which have any tendency to weaken the obligation of good works. For although the abettors of these explications, attempt to remove that inconveniency by a variety of fubtle diftinctions, these being not eafily understood by the common people, make little or no impreffion on their minds; while the confequences which flow from the doctrine they are intended to vindicate, being obvious and agreeable to men's paffions, have the greatest influence to make them hope for falvation, notwithstanding they continue in their fins. But all hopes of this fort being exprefsly condemned in the gospel, every explication of the doctrine of justification which warrants fuch hopes, I repeat it, ought to be rejected, not only as unfcriptural, but as dangerous in the highest degree.

CONCLUSION.

Thus have I endeavoured to fhew, that the belief of the doctrines of revelation, is not neceffary to the juftification of those who are deftitute of revelation: and that neither the belief of any particular doctrine, fuch as, that Jefus is Chrift the Son of God, nor of any determinate number of doctrines, fuch as those contained in creeds and confeffions, is neceffary to the justification of all who enjoy revelation; because all have not an equal opportunity of knowing, nor an equal capacity to comprehend thefe doctrines: But that juftifying faith confifts in one's believing fuch doctrines of religion as God hath given him an opportunity and a capacity of knowing; and in his being at pains to acquire fuch a knowledge of thefe doctrines as his talents and opportunities enable him to acquire; whether he hath nothing but his own reafon and confcience to direct him, or hath these

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Effay VI. faculties aided by an external revelation: Confifts alfo in habitually recollecting these doctrines, so as to be influenced by them, not to a single act of obedience only, but to an habitual compliance with the will of God, as far as he knows it. This idea of justifying faith, I have been at pains to explain and establish by the example of Abraham's juftification, because it accords perfectly with all the things said of justifying faith in the scriptures, and is what men in every age and nation may acquire with thofe affiftances which God grants to the fincere; and because it is such a faith as qualifies men for heaven, and which, according to the tenor of the new covenant made after the fall with Adam and all his pofterity, will be accounted to them for righteoufnefs through the merits of Chrift.-I have likewife fhewed, that the infpired writers have afcribed men's juftification to good works, as exprefsly as to faith; not however as if either had any meritorious influence in procuring juftification, but as conditions equally required by God, and equally neceffary to render men capable of eternal life, and fo infeparably connected, that it is impoflible for the one to exift without the other.Farther, I have proved, that the common opinion concerning the juftification of believers in the present life, from which so many dangerous confequences have been deduced, is founded in a misunderstanding of the fcripture phrafeology, and is not agreeable either to reafon or experience: not to reason; for how can a man be justified till his trial is finished, and there is an opportunity of judging of his whole conduct? nor to experience; for where is the believer, who in the prefent life is freed from any of the temporary penal confequences of fin, and is put in poffeffion of the reward which God hath promifed to bestow on them whom he accepteth as righteous? The judgment and acquittal of believers, will not happen till Chrift returns to judge the world; at which period believers of all ages and nations being raffed from the dead, will, by Christ's sentence as judge, be freed for ever from mifery and death, and be put in poffeffion of eternal life.

To conclude, I have thus largely treated of juftification by faith, not only because it hath been the fubject of much controversy in modern times, but because wrong notions concerning that important article of Chriftianity, have a tendency to weaken the

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obligations of morality: Whereas, right conceptions concerning it, afford the strongest motivés to an holy life, throw a great light on the revelations of God, and fhew the method of falvation discovered in these revelations, to be confonant to the best ideas men can form of the character of God as the righteous Governor of the universe.

PREFACE