ground of our justification? Again, Building up yourselves on your most holy faith.-What more can be faid of the foundation that God has laid in Zion, than that it is most holy, and that we may fafely build upon it? And again, The juft fhall live by faith.-What more can be faid of the fource of life?-What more can be faid of the bread that came down from heaven, than that we fhall live by it?-To fay that a man, a finner, fhall be justified by faith, is feemingly afcribing to faith the greatest poffible merit; nothing higher in terms can be expreffed; for, in this work of juftifying finful men before God, there is neceffarily contemplated the greatest possible display of divine virtue. 3. It is grofsly abfurd to confider our faith, 1. e. our exercise of faith, in the view of its being an inftrument in the matter of our juftification, or spiritual life; for our own faith is fimply the act of receiving or eating the divine food; and nothing could be more abfurd than to conceive, and more improper than to speak of our act of receiving and eating food, as being an inftrument by which we lived. To mean our own faith, when we fay that we live by faith, is to confound ideas and pervert terms.-Should a man be asked, what he lived by, or, by what means he was fupported; would it not feem like making a jeft of the question, if he fhould answer, that he lived by the act of eating; or that he was fupported by the means of eating and drinking? Would fuch an answer become one, especially one who lives upon grace?-But S s there would be as much fenfe and propriety in this answer, as there is in the conftruction which fo commonly has been forced upon the divine declarations, that we live by faith, and are justified through faith; for, if our faith be meant, which is only our act of receiving or feeding upon the bread of God, then, when we are afked the great question, what are we juftified by? or by what means we live to God? inftead of the acknowledgement of the truth of God in Chrift, to the praife of the glory of his grace, we may answer, that we live by ourselves, by our own believing exercises; and that our spiritual fuftenance is derived by our own means, in the way of spiritually eating and drinking 4. When, therefore, faith is confidered properly, as that by which we are justified and live to God, it is faith the fubftance of things hoped for; there is virtue in this; through this we may be juftified; this can fupport life; this is meat indeed, and drink indeed! and this is given to us in Chrift. Or, if faith be regarded as being an inftrument, &c, it must be underflood, not of our exercife, but in the view of its being the evidence of thmgs not feen. This evidence, once delivered to the faints, as the fubftance of things is invelled in it, is properly ftyled faith; and this, with propriety, may be confidered as an inftrument, the great inftrument in the work of our falvation. This is precious faith.-In this view faith is to be held in the highest confideration; it comprifes all the glory of God's righteoufnefs; there is infinite virtue and meFit in the word of faith, Rom. x. 6, 7, 8. Bist the righteoufnefs which is of faith fpeaketh on this wife, Say not in thine heart, Who fhall afcend into heaven? that is to bring Chrift down from above, Or, who fhall defcend into the deep? that is to bring up Chrift again from the dead. But what faith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is the word of faith which we preach. Therefore, By grace are we faved, through faith; and that not our own faith, but the word of faith, which is the gift of God. Many, in advancing their own righteousness, to the rejection of the righteoufnels of God, will proceed in an indirect and plaufible way; they will go about to establish their own righteousness. And, it it is apparent, that those who substitute their own faith in the place of the juftifying faith of Chrift, do as effectually fruftrate the grace of God, as do those who choose to proceed in the more direct and open way of propofing their own works in that place. This fpecious fcheme is by far the most dangerous; for whilft the effect is the fame as that which avows the works of the law, the delufion of it is much harder to be detected; it equally establishes the righteoufnefs of the creature, whilft, at the fame time, it admits of words being ufed which found evangelical.-Faith is preached, faith is recommended; but the fenfe of the term being fixed, and our own righteousness being meant by it, it is coming as far fhort of the eternal foundation, and as really fubftituting the fand of our own righteoufnefs, to preach and re commend faith in the view of juftification, as it would be to preach and recommend, in that view our humility, or our love to God and our neighbors, or any thing whatsoever, which may be confidered as forming, in partor in whole, the subject of moral duty. When the queftion is asked, respecting a trial in a court of law, by what is a man condemned or juftified? the enquiry is naturally underflood to be, by what law and evidence is he condemned or juftified?-This is the great question before us, by what law and evidence fhall a man be justified in the fight of God? By the law of works we cannot be juftified, for the tranfgreffion is proved, and by this law we must die; and if no other law can be found, our cafe must be given up as hopeless. Therefore, the apoftle to the Romans, in treating of this fubject, brings into view two diftinct laws, with evidence in relation to each, viz. the law of works, by which death reigns through Adam's tranfgreffion, and both Jews and Gentiles are proved to be - under fin; and the law of faith, by which grace reigns through Chrift's righteousness, the righteousness of faith, and all who are under it, are proved to be under grace.-Thefe laws he compares; and having, for a trial of their ftrength, put their refpective governments at illue, he finds them very unequally matched; and that the law of life in Chrift Jefus, has made its fubjects free from the law of fin and death; and is able to protect them fafely from all its tremendous claims and charges. The fcriptures fpeak of faith as being a fubftantial law, with which the righteousness, of Chrift, in laying down his life, entirely comports as the evidence, to give it exercise; by the strength of which law and evidence, grace takes the throne, and prevails against fin and death, and finally triumphs and reigns unto eternal life.-Who fhall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that juftifieth.-Faith, the fubstance of things hoped for, as has been fhewn, is infeparable from the divine existence. Here, then, is our law; it is God himself.-Who is he that condemneth? It is Chrift that died, yea, rather that has rifen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who alfo maketh interceffion for us.Here, alfo, is our evidence; the evidence of things not seen the evidence that fully comports with the law of faith-it is a crucified and a rifen Saviour. - How long, alas! will men deceive themfelves with their own righteoufness? O the blindness and ftupidity of their prefering for juftification their own faith, in the place of the covenant righteousness of the Father and Son, the everlasting law and evidence of the truth of God and Chrift! Woe unto them that put darkness for light, and light for darkness. How is it poffible that men fhould conceive of their own faith as being a law, or evidence, or any thing of a nature by which they could be juftified! When people, who have Bibles, can make fuch a mistake, we may ceafe to wonder at the heathen who mistake a block, carved out by their own hands, for God their |