repentance, the pardon of all the sins they commit through the whole course of their life? In short, the doctrine of a first and second justification, the one by faith, and the other by works, though patronised by many great names, being contrary both to scripture and reason, ought to be exploded.

The second opinion concerning the justification of believers in the present life, is, that the pardon granted immediately on their believing, includes not only their past sins, but all the sins which they may afterwards commit during the whole course of their life. But to this notion of justification, it may with great propriety be objected, that it represents men's future actions as judged, and their sins as pardoned, before they exist. Or, if this form of the doctrine is too absurd to be maintained, it must at least be allowed, that a justification which includes the pardon of all future sins, very much resembles a Popish bull of indulgence, and gives men too great a liberty of sinning; consequently it can be no doctrine of the gospel.-The Antinomians indeed endeavour to remove this objection, by asserting that the evil actions of believers are not in them sins, neither doth God consider them as such. Or, to use their own expression, God sees no sin in believers. But the impiety and folly of this assertion, is too glaring to need any laboured confutation. Sin is sin, by whomsoever, and at what time soever committed: and if not forsaken, will most certainly be punished.

2. My second argument to prove that men are not justified in the present life, shall be taken from experience; and it is this: Since justification is an act of God's free grace, in which he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous, if believers are pardoned in this life, they must in this life be delivered from the punishment of sin, that is, from diseases and death, and every evil which at the fall was inflicted on mankind, as the punishment of Adam's sin. The reason is, a pardon which leaves the sinner under any part of his punishment, is no pardon at all: at least it is not a full pardon. He may have an assurance of pardon given him in the promises of the gospel: but while any part of his punishment is continued, he can no more be said to be pardoned, than a prisoner can be said to be freed from his confinement, who is detained in prison. A believer also, may in the promises of the gospel have an assurance of God's love, together with peace of conscience in the prospect of pardon, provided he perseveres in faith and holiness. But still this is not pardon; for as was said before, pardon consists

in an actual deliverance from all the penal consequences of sin, both in the present, and in the future life.

Farther, one's acceptance as righteous in the sight of God, consists in his being rewarded as a righteous person. If so, this part of justification doth not take place at present. None of the children of Adam, were ever in this life thus accepted as righteous in the sight of God, except Enoch and Elijah, who on account of their singular faith and holiness, and to shew what justification is, were translated in the body to heaven; whereby they were freed from death, the punishment of sin, and put in the immediate possession of a blessed immortality, the reward promised to the righteous.-Since then, believers are neither delivered in this life from diseases and death, nor put in possession of the joys of heaven; but only in the promises of the gospel, have an assurance that these blessings shall be bestowed on them at Christ's second coming, it is evident from experience, that no believer is justified in the present life.

3. A third argument, to shew that belivers are not justified in the present life, arises from those passages of scripture, in which justification is represented as a thing future. Of these the principal are, Rom. ii. 5. Revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every one according to his works, Tc. Rom. viii. 24. We are saved in hope. Now hope seen, is not hope: For what a man seeth, how also can he hope for it? 25. But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with patience for it, Gal. v. 5. We, through the Spirit, look for the hope of righteousness by faith. Wherefore, righteousness is not counted to us through faith, in the present life; and our salvation is a thing future, being the object of our hope, and will not be accomplished till Christ's second coming.

4. A fourth argument is, if believers on their first act of faith are justified, that is, judged in the present life, and acquitted from the guilt of all the sins 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 Christ's second coming.

From these arguments I think it evident, that notwithstanding Moses hath spoken of the justification of Abraham, and Paul hath spoken of the justification of believers, in words sometimes of the present, and sometimes of the past time, these passages are to be interpreted like many other passages of scripture, in

which things future are represented as past, or present, to signify the absolute certainty of their happening. Thus Moses says, in his song, Exod. xv. 13. Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation; that is, thou wilt assuredly guide them.—In the prophetic writings, this manner of expressing things future, is common.-We find it used likewise by our Lord and his apostles, Matth. xxvi. 28. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many: that is, which is to be shed.-Luke xx. 37. Now, that the dead are raised; that is, shall be raised, Moses shewed at the bush.-John iii. 19. He that believeth not is condemned already: shall be condemned, if he does not repent.-Rom. viii. 30. Whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified. But as believers are not glorified in the present life, so neither are they justified.-1 Cor. xv. 2. By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory, &c. But how could persons be already saved, whose salvation depended on the condition of their keeping in memory the doctrines they had been taught?-2 Tim. i. 9. He hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling. Here the expression hath saved us, signifies only God's resolution to save us; as is plain from its being put before, his calling us to believe the gospel.-2 Pet. iii. 11. Seeing all these things are dissolved: namely, the heavens and the earth. These, the apostle represents as already dissolved, to shew the certainty of their dissolution at the second coming of Christ. See Prelim. Essay iv. 10.

Wherefore, since it is usual in scripture, to speak of things future sometimes as present, and sometimes as passed, it does not follow from Moses saying, Abraham believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness, that Abraham was then justified: nor from Paul's speaking of believers as already justified, that they are justified in the present life. These expressions are to be considered only as assurances, or promises that Abraham, with all his seed by faith, shall, at the general judgment, have their faith counted to them for righteousness, and be rewarded as righteous persons.-This is clear in the case of Abraham. For, as the counting of what Phine has did to Zimri, for righteousness, consisted in God's promising him the everlasting priesthood, so the counting of Abraham's faith for righteousness, consisted in God's promising him the inheritance of Canaan, and not in giving him the actual possession of that inheritance. Farther, as Canaan was the emblem of heaven, the promise to give to Abraham and to his seed the inheritance of Ca

naan, was also a promise to give them the inheritance of heaven, provided they persevered in their faith and obedience; for on that circumstance the title of Abraham himself to the heavenly inheritance was suspended, Gen. xviii. 19. as was formerly observed, p. 3.

From these things it is plain, that Moses's words, Gen. xv. 6. He believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness, do not imply, according to their second meaning, that Abraham was then justified or pardoned, any more than they imply, according to their first meaning, that he then obtained the possession of Canaan. They were a declaration only, or promise that Abraham should be pardoned, and put in possession of heaven in due time. This being the true meaning of Moses's words, the expressions in St. Paul's writings, which seem to import that believers are justified in the present life, being formed on Moses's words, must, like them, be understood as declarations or promises that believers shall certainly be justified at the judgment; agreeably to the usage of the inspired writers, who, to shew the certainty of the future events of which they speak, represent them as already come to pass.

If the foregoing account of justification, and of the time when that blessing is bestowed on believers, be agreeable to scripture, the supposition of a first and second justification, framed for the purpose of reconciling the doctrine of Paul and James concerning the justification of believers, is inadmissible, being contrary both to scripture and reason. Besides, it is needless, the dottrine of the two apostles being perfectly the same. Wherefore, the expositions which Estius, Whitby, Locke, Taylor and other commentators have given of certain passages in the epistle 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 same judgment should be pronounced on all those explications of the doctrine of justification, 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 subtle distinctions, these being not easily understood by the common people, make little or no impression on their minds; while the consequences which flow from the doctrine they are intended to vindicate, being obvious and agreeable to men's passions, have the greatest influence to make them hope for salvation, notwithstanding they continue in their sins. But all hopes of this sort being expressly con

demned in the gospel, every explication of the doctrine of justification which warrants such hopes, I repeat it, ought to reject-, ed, not only as unscriptural, but as dangerous in the highest degree.

CONCLUSION.

Thus have I endeavoured to shew, that the belief of the doctrines of revelation, is not necessary to the justification of those who are destitute of revelation: and that neither the belief of any particular doctrine, such as, that Jesus is Christ the Son of God, nor of any determinate number of doctrines, such as those contained in creeds and confessions, is necessary to the justification of all who enjoy revelation; because all have not an equal opportunity of knowing, nor an equal capacity to comprehend these doctrines: But that justifying faith consists in one's believing such doctrines of religion as God hath given him an opportunity and a capacity of knowing; and in his being at pains to acquire such a knowledge of these doctrines as his talents and opportunities enable him to acquire; whether he hath nothing but his own reason and conscience to direct him, or hath these faculties aided by an external revelation: Consists also 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 justification, 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 those assistances which God grants to the sincere; 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 posterity, will be accounted to them for righteousness through the merits of Christ.-I have likewise shewed, that the inspired writers have ascribed men's justification to good works, as expressly as to faith; not however as if either had any meritorious influence in procuring justification, but as conditions equally required by God, and equally necessary to render men capable of eternal life, and so inseparably connected, that it is impossible for the one to exist without the other.Farther, I have proved, that the common opinion concerning the justification of believers in the present life, from which so many