shewed to our first parents, when he acted in grace towards them after the fall.

There it is stated, "the Lord God made unto Adam, and unto his wife, coats of skins, and clothed them, Gen. iii. 21.

Whence note,

(1.) That Adam and his wife were naked both in God's eye, and in their own. ver. 10, 11.

(2.) That the Lord God made coats of skins.

(3.) That in his making of them, he had respect to Adam and to his wife, that is, he made them.

(4.) That when he had made them, he also cloathed them therewith.

They made not the coats, nor did God bid them make them; but God did make them himself to cover their nakedness with. Yes, when he had made them, he did not bid them put them on, but he himself did clothe them with them: For thus runs the text; "Unto Adam, also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them." O! it was the Lord God that made this coat with which a poor sinner is made righteous! And it is also the Lord God that putteth it upon us. But this our Pharisee understandeth

not.

But now, if a man is not righteous before he is made so, before the Lord God has by the righteousness of another made him so; then whether this righteousness comes first or last, the man is not righteous until it cometh; and if he be not righteous until it cometh, then what works soever are done before it comes, they are not the works of a righteous man, nor the fruits of a good tree, but of a bad. And so again, this righteousness must come before a man be righteous, and before a man does righteousness. Make the tree good, and its fruit will be good.

Now, since a man must be made righteous before he can do righteousness, it is manifest his works of righteousness does not make him righteous, no more than the fig makes its own tree a fig-tree, or that the

grape

grape doth make its own vine a vine. Hence those acts of righteousness that Christian men do perform, are called the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God, Phil. i. 11.

The fruits of righteousness they are by Jesus Christ, as the fruits of the tree are by the tree itself; for the truth is, that principle of righteousness, of which mention has been made before, and concerning which I have said it comes in, in the second place; it is also originally to be found for us no where but in Christ.

Hence it is said to be by Jesus Christ; and again, "of his fulness have we all received, and grace for grace," John i. 10. A man must then be united to Christ first, and so being united, he partaketh of this benefit, to wit, a principal that is supernatural, spiritual, and heavenly. Now his being united to Christ, is not of or from himself, but of and from the Father, who, as to this world is the husbandman; even as the twig that is grafted into the tree officiateth not, that is, grafteth not itself thereunto, but is grafted in by some other, itself being utterly passive as to that. Now being united unto Christ, the soul is first made partaker of justification, or of justifying righteousness, and now no longer beareth the name of an ungodly man; for he is made righteous by the obedience of Christ, he being also united to Christ, partaker of the root and fatness of Christ; the root, that is, his divine nature; the fatness, that is, the fulness of grace that is laid up in him to be communicated unto us, even as the branch that is grafted into the olive-tree, partaketh of the root and fatness of the olive-tree. Now partaking thereof, it quickeneth, it groweth, it buddeth, and yieldeth fruit to the praise and glory of God, Rom. xi. 17.

But these things, as I have often said, the poor Pharisee was ignorant of, when so swaggeringly he, with his "God, I thank thee," came into the temple to pray: And indeed, in that which hath been said, is something of the mystery of God's will in his way with

his elect; and such a mystery it is, that it lieth hid for ever to nature and natural men; for they think of nothing less than of this, nor of nothing more, when they think of their souls and of salvation, than that something must be done by themselves to reconcile them to God. Yea, if through some common convictions their understanding should be swayed to a consenting to that, that justification is of grace by Christ, and not of works by men; yet conscience, reason, and the law of nature, not being as yet subdued by the power and glory of grace unto the obedience of Christ, will rise up in rebellion against this doctrine, and will overrule and bow down again to the law, and works thereof, for life.

4. Righteousness by imputation must be first, because, else faith, which is a part, yea, a greater part of that which is called the principles of grace in the soul, will have nothing to fix itself upon, nor a motive to work by. Let this therefore be considered by those that are on the contrary side.

Faith, so soon as it has a being in the soul, is like the child that has a being in the mother's lap: it must have something to feed upon, not something at a distance, afar off, to be purchased, (I speak now as to justification from the curse) but something by promise made over of grace to the soul, something to feed upon to support from the fears of perishing by the curse for sin. Nor can it rest content with all duties and performances that other graces shall put the soul upon; nor with any of its own works, until it reaches and takes hold of the righteousness of Christ. Faith is like the dove, found no rest any where until it returned to Noah into the ark. But this our Pharisee understandeth not.

Perhaps some may object, That from this way of reasoning is apparent, that sanctification is first, since, the soul may have faith, and so a principle of grace in it; and yet, as yet it cannot find Christ to feed and refresh the soul withal.

Ans.

Ans. From this way of reasoning, it is not at all apparent that sanctification, or a principle of grace is in the soul before righteousness is imputed, and the soul made perfectly righteous thereby. And for the clearing up of this, let me propose a few things.

Justifying righteousness, to wit, the obedience of that one man Christ, is imputed to the sinner, to justify him in God's sight; for his law calls for perfect righteousness, and before that be come to, and put upon the poor sinner, God cannot bestow other spiritual blessings upon him; because by the law he has pronounced him accursed; by the which curse he is also so holden, until a righteousness shall be found upon the sinner, that the law and divine justice can approve of, and be contented with. So then, as to the justification of a sinner, there must be a righteousness for God; I say, for the sinner, and for God: for the sinner to be clothed with, and for God to look upon, that he may, for the sake thereof, in a way of justice, bless the sinner with forgiveness of sins: For forgiveness of sins is the next thing that followeth upon the appearance of the sinner before God in the righteousness of Christ, Rom. iv. 6, 7.

Now, upon this forgiveness follows the second blessing. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; and so, consequently, hath obtained for us the forgiveness of sins: for he that is delivered from the curse, hath received forgiveness of sins, or rather is made partaker thereof. Now, being made a partaker thereof, the second blessing immediately follows, to wit, the blessing of Abraham, that is, the promise of the Spirit through faith, Gal. iii. 13, 14.— But this our Pharisee understandeth not.

But now, although it be of absolute necessity that imputed righteousness be first to the soul; that is, that perfect righteousness be found upon the sinner first by God, that he may bestow other blessings in a way of justice.

Let

Let God then put the righteousness of his Son upon me; and by virtue of that, let me be made to see myself a sinner, and Christ's righteousness, and my need of it, in the doctrine of it, as it is revealed in the scriptures of truth. Let me then believe this doctrine to be true, and be brought by my belief to repentance for my sins, to hungering and thirsting vehemently after this righteousness; for this is the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Yea, let me pray, and cry, and sigh, and groan day and night, to the God of this righteousness, that he will of grace make me a partaker. And let me thus prostrate before my God, all the time that in wisdom he shall think fit: and in his own time he shall shew me that I am a justified person, a pardoned person, a person in whom the Spirit of God hath dwelt for some time, though I knew it not.

So then, jutification before God is one thing, and justification in mine own eyes is another: Not that these are two justifications, but the same righteousness by which I stand justified before God, may be seen of God when I am ignorant of it: yea, for the sake of it I may be received, pardoned, and accounted righteous of him, and yet I may not understand it. Yea, further, he may proceed in the way of blessing, to bless me with additional blessings, and yet I be ignorant of it.

So that the question is not, Do I find that I am righteous? but, Am I so? Doth God find me so when he seeth that the righteousness of his Son is upon me, being made over to me by an act of his grace? For I am justified freely by his grace, through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the redemption of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God, Rom, iii. 24. But this our Pharisee understandeth not.

I am then made righteous, first by the righteousness of another; and because I am thus righteous, God ac cepteth