II. Which brings me to the next thing to be, enquir'd into, i. e. What Righteousness of CHRIST it is which is made ours.

Now here it will be neceffary to confider CHRIST as to his Two Natures, his Godhead, and his Manhood; which tho' they are plainly to be diftinguished, yet impoffible to be divided. To each of thefe Natures belongeth a Righteousness, whichR ighteoufnefs is Effential to that Nature, fo that it is as eafie to caufe the Nature to be extinct, as to feparate righteoulnefs from it; As he was GOD, he was Righte ous, yea, Righteousness it felf; it is as impoffible for GOD not to be Righteous, as not to be; he is the Righteous Lord who loveth Righteoufnefs .As he was Man he was Righte ous alfo, being blamelefs and without Spot, free from all Imputation of Sin, hence he chal lenges the Jews, which of you convinceth me of Sin, John S. 46. In all his Life he was unblameable, and unreproachable, Sporlefs, and free from all Infection of Sin, 1.Pet. 1. 19. a Lamb without Blemish, and without Spot, Heh. holy, harmlefs, undefiled, feparate from Sinners, As to Orignal Sin, he had none in him, John 3. 5. And as to actual Sin, he never did or fpoke any evil, 2. Pet. 2. 22. Nay, he never finned fo much as in Thought, but was abfolutely, and in all respects without Sin, Heb. 2. 15.

7, 26,

Some alio fpeak of a Righteoufness which confifts in the Union of both Natures, which was effential to his being capable of the Mediatory Office which he was intrufted with,

But

But in none of these Sences is he called the Lord our Righteoufnefs: Because we are not made par takers of thefe Righteoufnelles, none of them are put upon us, fo as we are made Righteous there by For they are effential to his Natures and Ofice, and focannot be communicated to another For if he part with his firft Righteousness, he parts with his Godhead; if he parts with his fecond Righteoufnefs, he parts with the Purity of his Manhood; if he parts with the third he parts with that Perfection which Capa-s titates him for the Office of a Mediator; yet each of thefe has their Usefulness to us, to render that Righteousness which is made ours effica cious for our Juftification. The Righteoufnels of his Godhead gives Virtue, the Righteousness of his Manhood gave Capacity, and the Righteouf of his Office gave Authority to that Righteoufnels which is made ours, as one expreflès it, but now this Righteoufnefs of Chrift which is made ours, is a Righteoufnefs of Performance;and this is either imputed or imparted, the one for our Juftification, the other for our Sanctification. 1. There is an imputed righteousness which is ours for Juftification: His whole Obedience to the Law of GO D, both active and paffive, that which he did and fuffered, as being in the room and place of Sinners is imputed to them for their Juftification: For as all the Sins of his People were laid upon him, and he ftood in their Law-Place, and facisfied divine Juftice in their room and ftead, fo what he did and fuffered is as really accounted theirs, as if they had

done

done and fuffered it in their own Perfons. Thi is a Righteoufnefs CHRIST had no need either as God or Man, or as Mediator wit reference to himself, and therefore it is mad over unto his People. This is that the Apoft fpeaks of, Rom. 5. 19. As by one Man's Difob dience many were made Sinners: So by the Obedien of one fhall many be made Righteous. As we wen doubly indebted to GOD, fo Chrift performers a two-fold Obedience for us; as rational Creature we owed perfect Obedience, and as finful Crea tures we owed Eternal Sufferings; the Firti a Debt to GOD's Holiness, and the Second is a Debt to his Juftice. Now CHRIST ful filled all righteoufnefs for us in both refpects

1. His active Obedience is one Part of our Righteoufnefs. The LORD JESUS in his own Perfon, while he was here upon Earth did fully obey the Law, perfectly conform to it in all its holy Commands; which perfect Obedi ence to the Law is made over, reckoned, and imputed to his Members, as if they themfelves had in their own Perfons performed it.

Hence faith the Apoftie, Rom. 8. 3, 4. For

what the Law could not do in that it was weak thro' the Flesh, GOD fending his own Son, in the likeness of finful Flefb, and for Sin condemned Sin in the Flesh, that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us.

The Righteoufnefs of the Law is not fulfilled in Believers fubjectively, inherently, and perfonally, but legally and imputatively, they being in CHRIST as their Covenant, Head, and

Surety

rety; hence it's faid, that the Righteoufnefs the Law might be fulfilled in us, not by us. now there is but two ways whereby the Law it be fulfilled, either by Believers themselves, de fome other; but feeing Believers cannot do by themfelves, it must be done by CHRIST them, and imputed to them. Now CHRIST his active Obedience fulfilled the Law of GOD every Branch of it; he walked in all the ommandments of GOD; he performed per-. tly, both in Word and Deed, whatsoever the aw required; his whole Life was a conftant ourfe of Obedience; he was Obedient unto leath, Phil. 2. 8. Or until Death, as fome ender it. Thus he told John Baptift, that it ecame him to fulfil all Righteoufness, Matt. 3.

2. His Paffive Obedience is another Part of our Righteoufnefs, i. e. the Sufferings ofCHRIST's oul, and Body; the curfed Death which he nderwent upon the Crofs; there it was that' ur Sins were laid on him, and he bare the Punishment of them, even that Wrath and Curfe, which otherwife fhould have been born by us, 1 Pet, 3. 18. CHRIS7 alfo hath once fuffered for Sins, the just for the unjust, Chap. 2. 4. Who his own felf bare our Sins in his own Body, on the Tree: For the Lord laid on him the Iniquity of us all, Ifa. 53. 6. The Sins of all his People, paft, prefent, and to come, was imputed unto CHRIST, and he fuffered Pe nal, tho' not Local Hell for them. His Death Was in the nature of a Propitiation; the fame

tha

that was due to us for our Sins, and for the Satisfaction of Divine Juftice, was laid upon him; He fuffered the Punishment of Senfe, which made him cry out my Soul is exceeding for rowful, even unto Death, And the Punishment of Lofs, which made him cry out, my GOD, my GOD, why haft thou forfaken me; hence the Apoftle fays, Rom, 3.25. That GOD hath fet him forth to be a Propitiation, through Faith in his Blood, to declare his righteoufnels for the Remiffion of Sins that are paft.

CHRIST having died and fuffered, Pardon is procured, and this righteoufnefs declared and there is a further Manifeftation of it in his Refurrection and Afcention, Rom. 4 25. Whe was delivered for our Offences, and was raifed a gain for our Fußification, John 16 10. We are told the Spirit fhall reprove or convince the World of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye fhall See me no more.

Now this active and paffive Obedience of CHRIST did Two things for us, it fatisfed and it merited, and tho' thefe Two are not to be feparated, yet I humbly conceive there. is a difference to be made between Satisfaction and Merit Satisfaction hath Relation to fomething paft, which Juftice required him to make Com penfation for, Merit feems to have relation to fomething to be enjoy'd for the time to come which a Price is paid for; as a Man may not on ly undertake to fatisfie a Creditor for another Man's Debt, but allo purchase for him an In heritance, fo CHRIS 7 hath not only paid

the