has vouchsafed to give it an answer. They object to this scripture doctrine, That it makes void the law, and renders an holy life needless. To which calumny God answers in the text. When he sends down a shower of righteousness from above, he says, let the earth open, and receive the heavenly blessing. But to what end? That it may continue as barren and unfruitful as before? No, but that such effects may follow in the spiritual world, as always do in the natural, when reviving showers descend upon the dry thirsty ground. Do not they always make the earth fruitful? So does the righteousness of Christ, as I proposed to shew under my fourth and last remark, which was to prove what are the constant fruits of it.

"I Jehovah have created it," says God in the text. The righteousness of God is a new creation. And why are we created anew in Christ Jesus? That we may live still to the flesh and its corrupt appetites? No: for then we should be created anew in the devil, and not in Christ Jesus: but we are created anew unto good works. The righteousness of Christ is to deliver us from our sinful nature, and not to encourage us to live in it for this is the will of God, even our sanctification. He gives us righteousness from heaven, that it may raise us up to heaven: for as it comes from God, it will carry us up to God. It will not remain in us as a dead and barren principle, but will make us fruitful in good works, even that we may be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God the Father. This is the scripture account of the doctrine, and it is also the doctrine of our church. We read in the first part of the homily upon faith, "That as the light cannot be hid, but will shew forth itself at one place or another : "so a true faith cannot be kept secret, but when ❝occasion is offered, it will break out, and shew itself by good works. And as the living body of a man ever "exerciseth such things as belong to a natural and "living body, for nourishment and preservation of the

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same, as it hath need, opportunity, and occasion, even so the soul, that hath a lively faith in it, will "be doing always some good work, which shall de"clare, that it is living, and will not be unoccupied. "Therefore when men hear in the scripture so high "commendations of faith, that it maketh us to please "God, to live with God, and to be the children of "God: if then they fancy, that they be set at liberty com doing all good works, and may live as they list, they trifle with God, and deceive themselves. And "it is a manifest token, that they be far from having "the true and lively faith, and also far from knowing "what true faith meaneth."

These are the words of our reformers-They speak of the true justifying faith agreeably to the sense of scripture, describing it to be an active operative grace, producing all the fair and ripe fruits of an holy life— These flow as constantly from it, as light does from the sun. If any man says he hath this faith, and does not make it manifest by these fruits, he deceiveth himself, and the truth is not in him. His faith is dead. no better than what the devils have, and unless it please God to open his eyes and to undeceive him, he will soon have his portion amongst them, who believe and tremble.

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I have now finished the practical remarks which the text offered to our consideration, and I hope my brethren, they have appeared to you with convincing evidence. The present and the eternal welfare of your own souls, as well as of theirs which are committed to your care, require you to meditate seriously upon this fundamental doctrine of Christianity. Our whole re ligion stands upon this great truth, that the righteousness for which we sinners are accepted as righteous at the bar of justice is not our own, but Christ's-wholly wrought out for us by his obedience and sufferings, and received of us by faith without any of our works or deservings. St. Paul has written two epistles in defence of this doctrine. If any man can read' them

without being convinced of the truth of it, he is out of the reach of argument. When the church of Rome denied the truth of it, and was fallen into the damnable doctrine of works being meritorious towards our justification, which is the ground-work of all their gross heresies and superstitions, it pleased God to raise up the reformers, who laboured chiefly to overthrow this fundamental error, and he blest their labours with suc cess. By their means, the knowledge of the pure pel of Jesus Christ was spread abroad, and reached unto this land. Our church was happily reformed, as from all the errors of popery, so from the doctrine of the merit of works in particular. Long it stood upon the principles of the reformation, and these principles, glory be to God's good providence, are still in our articles, and homilies, and liturgy. But where else shall we find them? Who maintains them? Who writes, who preaches in their defence? Alas, they who should be their friends, betray them: for is there a more generally received opinion than that good works are the terms of our acceptance with God? Is not natural religion founded upon this opinion? And so far as men build upon it, they depart from the great dcctrine of the reformation, and return back to popery. Is this our religious situation, or is it not? Let matter of fact speak. Are the celebrated books, in which youth are now lectured, written in the protestant spirit against the merit of works, and tending to establish the righteousness of Christ? Is this also the general scope of our preaching? Is it our righteousness, or God's that we seek to establish? Let experience answer. And it answers loud enough-We hear man's righteousness echoed from the pulpit and from the press-and in this protestant church-in this sound and best constituted church upon earth, too many of her sons have learned to reject the fundamental doctrine upon which she was established. When we are thus departing and falling away from our first principles, it seemed to me necessary to call upon you, as

Christian men to embrace, and as members of our church, to defend them. Whoever amongst us seeks justification through Christ's righteousness cannot be offended at what I have said-and I would offend those who seek for justification without Christ's righ teousness. I would gladly stir them up and provoke them to examine their principles, and to try whether they can trust their eternity upon them. If they trust to own righteousness, they are lost for ever. there be truth in God-if there be any reliance upon his word, there is no righteousness but Christ's, wherein sinners can appear without spot of sin at the bar of justice. This is the only clothing which can hide all their original and actual pollution. Trust to it, and God the Father will see you perfect in beauty, through the comeliness which Christ will put upon you. Reject it, and think of appearing before him with the least stain of sin, he is of purer eyes than to behold you. The least stain makes you unrighteous, and it is decreed, that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Oh that his good Spirit may practically convince every one who hears me this day, of his want of some better righteousness than his may own, and enable us to wait upon the Lord our righteousness, until the text be fulfilled in us-May he command the heavens from above to drop down, and the skies to pour forth righteousness-and may he command the earth, even our earthly sensual hearts, to open and to receive it, that salvation and righteousness may spring up together, with all their fair and ripe fruits. Grant this blessed God and Father to this whole congregation, through the all-perfect righteousness of thy Son Jesus Christ, and by the influence of the holy Spirit upon our hearts, turning us from sin to righteousness, that the Father, Son, and holy Spirit may be glorified in us, and by us, in time, and in eternity. Amen and Amen.

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