then consequently none are justified but such as keep his commandments. Besides, here is the most palpable opposition to an imputative righteousness that may be; for Christ is so far from telling them of such a way of being justified, as that he informs them the reason why he abode in his Father's love, was his obedience; and is so far from telling them of their being justified, whilst not abiding in his love, by virtue of his obedience imputed unto them, that unless they keep his commands, and obey for themselves, they shall be so remote from an acceptance, as wholly to be cast out; in all which Christ is our example.

6. "Ye are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you."* We have almost here the very words, but altogether the same matter, which affords us thus much, that without being Christ's friends, there is no being justified; but unless we keep his commandments, it is impossible we should be his friends; it therefore necessarily follows, that except we keep his commandments, there is no being justified; or in short, thus; if the way to be a friend is, to keep the commandments, then the way to be justified is to keep the commandments; because none can obtain the quality of a friend, and remain unjustified, or be truly justified whilst an enemy; which he certainly is that keeps not the commandments.

* John xv. 14.

7. "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”* From whence how unanswerably may I observe, unless we become doers of that law, which Christ came not to destroy, but as our example to fulfil, we can never be justified before God; wherefore obedience is so absolutely necessary, that short of it there can be no acceptance. Nor let any fancy that Christ hath so fulfilled it for them, as to exclude their obedience from being requisite to their acceptance but as their pattern; "for unless ye follow me," saith Christ, "ye cannot be my disciples ;" and it is not only repugnant to reason, but in this place particularly refuted; for if Christ had fulfilled it on our behalf and we not enabled to follow his example, there would not be doers, but one doer only, of the law, justified before God. In short, if without obedience to the righteous law none can be justified, then all our hearing of the law, with but the mere imputation of another's righteousness, whilst we are actually breakers of it, is excluded, as not justifying before God. "If you fulfil the royal law, ye do well; so speak ye, and so do ye, as they that shall be judged thereby."

8. "If ye live after the flesh ye shall die; but if ye, through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." No man can be dead, and justified before God, for so he may be justified that

lives after the flesh; therefore they only can be justified that are alive; from whence this follows, if the living are justified and not the dead, and that none can live to God but such as have mortified the deeds of the body through the spirit, then none can be justified but they who have mortified the deeds of the body through the spirit; so that justification does not go before, but is subsequential to the mortification of lusts and sanctification of the soul, through the spirit's operation.

9. "For as many as are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God."* How clearly will it appear to any but a cavilling and tenacious spirit, that man can be no farther justified, than as he becomes obedient to the spirit's leadings; for if none can be a son of God but he that is led by the spirit of God, then none can be justified without being led by the spirit of God, because none can be justified but he that is a son of God; so that the way to justification and sonship is through obedience to the spirit's leadings, that is, manifesting the holy fruits thereof by an innocent life and conversation.

10. "But let every man prove his own work, then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. Be not deceived, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap."+ If rejoicing and acceptance with God, or the contrary, are to be reaped

* Rom. viii. 14.

+ Gal. vi. 4, 7.

from the work that man soweth, either to the flesh or to the spirit, then is the doctrine of acceptance, and ground of rejoicing, from the works of another, utterly excluded, every man reaping according to what he hath sown, and bearing his own burden.

11. "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."* He that will seriously peruse this chapter, shall doubtless find some to whom this epistle was wrote, of the same spirit with the satisfactionists and imputarians of our time-they fain would have found out a justification from faith in the imputation of another's righteousness; but James, an apostle of the Most High God, who experimentally knew what true faith and justification meant, gave them to understand from Abraham's selfdenying example, that unless their faith in the purity and power of God's grace, had that effectual operation to subdue every beloved lust, wean from every Delilah, and entirely to resign and sacrifice Isaac himself, their faith was a fable, or as a body without a spirit; and as righteousness therefore in one person cannot justify another from unrighteousness; so whoever now pretends to be justified by faith, whilst not led and guided by the spirit into all the ways of truth and works of righteousness, their faith they will find at last a fiction.

James ii. 21, 24.

12. “Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, as God is righteous, (but) he that committeth sin is of the devil."* From whence it may be very clearly argued, that none can be in a state of justification, from the righteousness performed by another imputed unto them, but as they are actually redeemed from the commission of sin; for "if he that committeth sin is of the devil," then cannot any be justified completely before God, who is so incompletely redeemed, as yet to be under the captivity of lust, since then the devil's seed or offspring may be justified; but that is impossible; it therefore follows, that as he who doeth righteousness is righteous, as God is righteous, so no farther is he like God, or justifiable; for in whatsoever he derogates from the works of that faith which is held in a pure conscience, he is no longer righteous or justified, but under condemnation as a transgressor, or disobedient person, to the righteous commandment; and if any would obtain the true state of justification, let them circumspectly observe the holy guidings and instructions of that unction, to which the apostle recommended the ancient churches, that thereby they may be led out of all ungodliness into truth and holiness, so shall they find acceptance with the Lord, who has determined never to justify the wicked.