into a total despair, it would cause him to "take his flesh in his teeth, and to put his life in his hands," if Jesus the Mediator and Advocate at the throne, did not interpose between God and him. Therefore John saith, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins," 1 John ii. 1, 2, and Jesus, when he pleadeth, saith to his Father for the sinner, Job xxxiii. 24. "Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom." He represents to the Father his satisfaction, righteousness and holiness, and that he hath accomplished a perfect obedience for the sinner. Do the accusers allege, that the sinner is accursed, “because he hath not continued in all things written in the book of the law to do them," according to Gal. iii. 10. the Advocate shows that " he hath delivered him from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for him," Gal. iii. 13. Do they say that the sinner cannot live, because he hath not done those things, which are commanded, as the righteousness, which is of the law required of him, according to Rom. x. 5. Jesus sets his active obedience against this, that the sinner may be made righteous,” as Paul speaks, Rom. v. 19.

5. The Judge of the whole earth, determined to do right, passeth sentence in favour of the sinner. That we may have a proper idea of the nature of this sentence, we will consider, (a) the import of this sentence, (b) the causes of it, and, (c) the manner in which the sinner obtains an interest in it.

(a) The import of the sentence is favourable to the sinner. This doth not imply that the Judge saith, Thou hast not had, and thou hast not committed any sin, the accusations which have been exhibited against thee are false; for then "God's judgment would not be according to truth," contrary to Rom. ii. 2, and "God will not justify the wicked," in this manner, as he himself declares, Exod. xxiii. 7. But this sentence imports, (1) that God discharges and acquits the sinner from his deserved guilt by forgiving him his sin, and not imputing it to him: "As David also describeth the blessedness of the man, to whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin," this Paul teacheth us, Rom. iv. 6, 7, 8, from Psalm xxxiii. 1, 2. Therefore the Lord also saith to the sinner, Isaiah liv. 9, "I have sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee,” (2) This sentence consists also in adjudging to the sinner a right to life, which he had forfeited by his sins; for when "he obtains forgiveness of his sins, he also receives an inheritance among them who are sanc

tified," Acts xxiv. 18. Being justified, he becomes « an heir a cording to the hope of eternal life," Tit. iii. 7. And he thus als obtains a right to all the benefits of that great covenant of grace: for "Christ is made to him of God wisdom, righteousness, sanctifcation and redemption," 1 Cor. 1. 30. And he is thus as perfectly justified, as if he had never had, nor committed any sin; yea, as if he had fully accomplished all that obedience, which Christ hath accomplished for him," as the instructor speaks, according to the word of God; for Paul saith, 2 Cor. v. 21, "Him who knew no sin hath he," to wit, God, "made to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," By which means the accusers are silenced, according to what Paul saith, Rom. viii. 33, 34. "The righteousness of the law is fulfilied in the sinner," by his Surety, Rom. viii. 4, and Satan is rebuked. All this is beautifully exhibited to us in Joshua the high priest, as a pattern, Zech iii. 1-5.

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(b) But what influenceth the great Judge to this? what are the causes which move him to deal so favourably with such a vile sinner? Paul tells us this in one word, Rom. ii. 24. " They are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." On the part of the sinner it is "freely." The sinner hath nothing to move the Lord; all that he hath is abominable, hateful and loathsome. His misery would not move God to mercy, for his misery is not adapted to excite compassion, but abhorrence; his misery demands the righteous aversion of God, and the vengeance of God upon him, as we have shown upon the first part of the catechism. We think therefore that no doctrine can be more detestable in the sight of God and of his saints, than that a man is justified for aught that is in him, whether it be called good works, or faith; but we will speak more fully to this on the following Lord's day. What therefore moves the Lord? the apostle saith in the passage before cited, that on God's part it is "his grace," that is, his unmerited goodness to the unworthy sinner, by which he is moved from and of himself to manifest himself glorious in his incomprehensible kindness to the vilest. It is "the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness which the sinner receives," Rom. v. 15, 17. Doth any one think, it is impossible for God to clear the guilty, and that such grace would be dishonourable to God, and would injure his justice the apostle will satisfy him in the passage which we have quoted, when he saith, "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." This he accomplished by his satisfaction to the justice of God, through his active and passive obedience, whereby the justice

of God is satisfied. And therefore the manifestation of this grace to the sinner, is not dishonourable to God, but tends to the declaration of his righteousness, agreeably to what we have often cited from ང་ Rom. iii. 25, 26; for this must exhibit the glory of God in the most illustrious manner, that such a wonderful union hath been effected between the grace and the justice of God in his conduct toward the guilty sinner. And therefore it is an idle assertion of the Socinians, that if it be of grace, it cannot be by the righteousness and sanctifi cation of Christ; for it is grace in God to admit a Surety, to bestow one himself, and indeed his Son, and that on this and not on that and the other sinner. Therefore giace and satisfaction are very often joined together. See Rom. iii. 24, 25. Eph. i. 7. Coll. i. 13. And so the sinner is justified on the part of Christ upon account of his righteousness, according to the language of Paul, Philip. iii. 9, "Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." This righteousness of God, on account of which the sinner is justified, is not his divine and essential righteousness infused into the sinner, and so inherent in him, according to the opinion of Osiander; for this righteousness is infinite, and cannot be communicated to man; but it is the righteousness which he hath merited and obtained, and therefore his mediatorial righteousness, whereby "he is made righteousness to us," 1 Cor. i. 30. Further, the sinner is justified, not only on account of Christ's passive righteousness, but also on account of his active and obediential righteousness, as Paul teacheth us, Rom. v. 19. "By the obedience of one many shall be made righteous." Christ hath satisfied the justice of God by his obedience, as well as by his suffering, and the righteousness of the law required of the sinner obedience, as well as the suffering of punishment. Yea, Christ suffered in obedience to his Father, and this rendered his suffering a virtuous suffering. See Philip. ii. 8. And this is the meaning of the instructor, when he speaks of "the satisfaction, righteousness and holiness" of Christ, on account of which man is justified, as the satisfaction was effected by his righteousness and holiness.

(c) But how doth the sinner obtain an interest in this favourable sentence? It is effected, (1) by God's imputation of Christ's righteousness to man, (2) By the faith of man, whereby he appropriates that sentence and the righteousness of Christ to himself.

1. When God justifieth man on account of the righteousness of Christ, he imputes that righteousness to man as his righteousness, that is, he bestows it on him, by which therefore Christ's satisfaction,

righteousness and holiness becomes his righteousness before God, as the instructor speaks in the sixty-first question. And thus the sinner is considered as perfectly righteous by this imputation, as if he had never committed any sin; yea, as if he had fully accomplished all that obedience, which Christ hath accomplished for him." The Papists and Remonstrants, deny this imputation of Christ's righteousness, that they may teach justification on account of our own works and faith; but we maintain it, because David, as Paul teacheth us, Rom. iv. 6, "pronounces the man blessed, to whom God imputeth righteousness without works." See also vrs. 4, 9, 11, concerning the imputation of righteousness This righteousness cannot be any other than the righteousness of Christ, because all our own righteousness is excluded there, as also Philip. iii. 9. Surely this imputation is not so absurd, as our adversaries pretend, since the sins of believers were imputed to Christ, "that they might be made the righteousness of God in him," 2 Cor. v. 21, and that "the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in them," Rom. viii. 3, 4. Why should not the righteousness of Christ be imputed to us, as well as the sin of Adam is imputed to us? Paul shows this consequence very clearly, Rom. v. 15, 19. In what other way doth the righteousness of Christ become ours? for "he is the Lord our righteousness," Jer. xxiii. 6. And "he is made of God to us righteousness," 1 Cor. i. 30. Do not the Papists teach that the supererogatory works of the saints are imputed to others? and cannot the righteousness of Christ be imputed to the sinner? do not the Remonstrants acknowledge that the merits of Christ are advantageous to believers? but how can they be so, except by imputation ?

2. We obtain an interest in this sentence and this righteousness also by faith, whereby we make these things our own. And indeed by faith only, without works: "We conclude then," to adopt the words of Paul, Rom. iii. 28, "that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." The apostle teacheth the same also, Gal. ii. 16. Faith is indeed not without works; or "it is dead, when it is alone," James ii. 17, 18, and it is itself a good work, John vi. 29, but it is not considered so here, because it is very carefully distinguished from works, yea, set in opposition to them, as we see in the text, and Rom. iii. 28, and Gal. ii. 16.

111. We obtain an occasion of discussing this matter more fully in the sixty first question, which demands of the pupil his reason for that he is righteous by faith only." This question is asked, "pas's conceive that we are acceptable to God on ac

thiness of our faith, which possesseth so great a

worthiness, because it is the root of other virtues, and produces others. The Remonstrants will have that faith justifieth man, because God reckons it by a gracious estimation, as a perfect observation of his law. But the instructor saith, "that I am not acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith" and he proves it, when he saith, "that only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is his righteousness before God," which he had explained in the sixtieth question, and which hath been proved by us. Therefore the believing sinner cannot be acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of his faith. This appears so much the more, because faith denies its own work and worthiness, and seeks all its worthiness in the righteousness of Christ. See this, Phil. iii. 8, 9. The Remonstrants will not indeed seek any wor thiness in faith, but only a gracious estimation of God, whereby he reckons faith a perfect observation of his law: yet then their righteousness is not in Christ, but in faith, which God esteems so worthy; but when they speak thus, they deny the whole gospel, which doth not place the righteousness of the sinner in faith, as the work of the sinner, but only in Christ. It is also impossible, that God should esteem faith a perfect observation of the law; for then "the judg ment of God would not be according to truth," contrary to Rom. ii. 2. Paul saith indeed, that "faith is. counted for righteousness," Rom. iv. 5, but in that passage, faith is put by a metonymy for Christ, because he is the object of faith, we unite ourselves to him, and seek our righteousness in him by faith. And thus faith is spoken of in other passages in such a manner, that we must understand by it the object of faith, either the doctrine of faith, or Christ; so Paul saith, Gal. iii. 23, 25. "Before faith came, we were kept under the law but after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." And Paul considered the matter thus also in Rom. iv. 5. He would otherwise contradict himself, for he speaks of an ungodly person, who worketh not, and to, whom righteousness is imputed without works. See vrs. i. 8,

But the difficulty still remains, how faith acts in justification, The instructor explains this, when he saith, "that I cannot receive and apply the same to myself any other way than by faith only." For faith serves here like an instrument, with which we do something, like a hand, with which we lay hold on that which is offered to us, make it our own, and unite it to ourselves. That faith hath such a power, we have shown from John i. 12, on the seventh Lord's day. We are to understand this so, that the Judge proffering his Son, his righteousness, and the gracious sentence in him, the sinner accepts.