is made to him who believeth. "He that believeth shall be saved; he hath eternal life, and shall never come into condemnation." He therefore who believes and exercises one act of true faith, however imperfect and weak, comes within the reach of this promise, is justified and shall be saved. The reason of it is, because the first act of faith as really unites the sinner to Christ, as many, or a course of acts do; and therefore is sufficient to render it fit and suitable that he should have an interest in his merit and righteousness.

It is true indeed, that in order to a person's continuing in a justified state, he must continue united to Christ, and therefore must persevere in his faith, in which the union on his part consists, and by which it is maintained: And in this respect the faith by which a man is justified, and obtains the promises of life, is a persevering faith. Though a man is pardoned and has a promise of eternal life, upon the first act of faith, yet this first act is not regarded by God, in his justifying him, as the only act; but it is viewed as connected with a continued series of the acts of the same faith to the end. And the first act entitles to life, as the first, or beginning of a continued course of exercises of the same kind, or as a persevering faith.

The first act of faith entitles to perseverance in faith, by virtue of a divine constitution and promise. God has promised that he who once believes shall continue to believe, so that his faith shall not fail: That they shall be "kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation."* If this were not the case, it would not be fit or congruous, that he who once believes should have the promise of salvation; and justification to eternal life would be suspended until the believer had persevered in faith.

In the first act of saving faith, the believer does virtually and implicitly, if not expressly, look to Christ and trust in him for perseverance, together with other blessings; and so it gives a title to this benefit, among othIn this view, perseverance in faith is implied in the first act, and as such, it is justifying faith, and has the promise of salvation. The scripture sets this point

ers.

1 Pet. i. 5.

in the same light.

"Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."* Here, saving faith is represented as persevering faith; and perseverance, as being that in faith, by which it becomes saving; for believing to the saving of the soul, is put in opposition to drawing back unto perdition; and therefore must mean a persevering faith.

In this view it may be seen why believers are daily to pray for the forgiveness of the sins, which they commit after they are in a justified state; and why God is represented as actually forgiving them; and that this forgiveness is suspended upon their renewed acts of repentance and faith. The believer, upon his first believing, has the forgiveness of all his past sins, and the promise that all his future sins shall be forgiven; so that he shall never come into condemnation, but is passed from death to life: But this justification is, the whole of it, in some sense, conditional; it is granted upon the supposition that he will persevere in a course of repeated acts of faith, and that his present union to Christ will never cease, but be an everlasting union: If this should cease to exist, and this were possible, all his past sins would be remembered against him, and he fall into condemnation, and under the curse of the law; nor could any of his sins, which he should commit in future, be forgiven. He has the promise of the forgiveness of all the sins which he shall commit, upon condition he does persevere in repentance and faith; therefore upon his renewed sinning, he renews acts of repentance and faith, and, in the exercise of these, asks for pardon, and upon this he is actually forgiven, and not before, agreeable to the divine promise. But as his perseverance in faith is made sure by the promise of God, in the covenant of grace, pardon of all his sins and eternal life are made sure to him, upon his first act of faith, and his justification.

VII. In the justification of the believer by the righteousness of Christ, it does not become his righteousness, so as that he is considered as having actually done and

Heh. x. 38, 39..

suffered, in his own person, what Christ did and suffered; for this is in no sense true, and cannot be made true. But he being in Christ, united to him by faith, the righteousness of Christ, what he has done and suffered for sinners, and in their place and stead, avails for the believer's justification, and he has as much advantage by it, in this respect, as if it were his own personal righteousness. It would be needless to mention this particular, if some had not entertained this notion of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, and represented it in this very absurd light; and drawn consequences from it, most contrary to the truth, and many express declarations of scripture.

VIII. In pardoning and justifying the believer, his sins are not so blotted out, or covered, as not to be any more seen or remembered. When sins are once committed, they never can become no sins; it will be for. ever true, that they were committed. These facts, or the nature of them, cannot be annihilated or altered. And it is impossible that they should be forgotten by God, or out of his sight, while he exists the OMNISCIENT. And the believer's knowledge that he is justified has no tendency to make him forget his sins; but the contrary, viz. to fix them on his memory, to think much of them, confess them, and humble himself for them, and admire the grace of God in his forgiveness, for the sake of Christ. If he could forget his sins, he would forget that he was pardoned; for the latter supposes the former, and is founded upon it. Paul, remembered and repeatedly mentioned his sins, and ranks himself among the chief of sinners, after he knew he was pardoned, and had obtained mercy. And if he could lose the idea of his sin and guilt, he would have no idea of the mercy of God to him, as long as he exists. His sin, in persecuting the saints, and the sins of other justified persons, on scripture record, are so far from being forgotten, covered or hid, that they are published to the world, and will be eternally known and remembered. The scripture speaks of forgiving sin, by such phrases as these, Not remembering them any more-covering them-casting them into the depths of the sea, &c. These are strong metaphorical expressions, to denote

that God does not, and never will suffer them to rise and be brought against the believer, to condemn him, or do him any hurt. In this sense they are annihilated, blotted out, and never shall be remembered any more. That these expressions cannot be understood in any other sense, or be literally true, appears from the observations which have been made under this head.

He is

IX. The justification of the believer by the righteousness of Christ does in no measure free him from obli. gation to be perfectly holy in his own person; but increases it, and his criminality in not being so. freed from the curse of the law, for not being perfectly and perseveringly holy, and from obligation to perfect obedience, in order to be justified; for he is already justified, without this. In this respect, he is not under the law, but under grace. But still he is under obligation to love God with all his heart, and his neighbour as himself. His faith is a conformity to these commands, as including repentance and love, and he cannot be perfectly holy, to which he is under indispensable obligation, till he comes to a perfect conformity to this law: For by this only, he can be holy, as God is holy. It is impossible he should not be under obligation to obey this law perfectly; for it is founded in reason, and cannot be altered or abated; and must therefore forever be the rule of the duty of creatures; and every thing in them which is contrary to this law, or a disregard of it, is sin. Christ did not come to destroy, or make void the law, in this respect; but to fulfil it: And his fulfilling or obeying it, and suffering the penalty of it, does not release the believer from obligation to obedience to it ; for this is impossible, because it would be infinitely wrong. Yet some have been so wild in their notions, and so absurd and infatuated, as to suppose he has done it!

It has been observed, that gospel holiness, or the holiness of faith, differs from legal holiness, or the holiness. of man before he fell into sin, and that of the angels; and the difference has been particularly stated in the foregoing section. Nevertheless, the holiness necessary to justification by law, or the covenant of works, and that of the believer under the covenant of grace, are of the same nature and kind, and consist in obedience and

conformity to the same law, in love to God, and to our neighbour Though the latter may require exercises in some respects different, and towards new and different objects and truths, which could have no place or exist. ence, under the former, such as sinful man, redemption, the character of Jesus Christ, his sufferings and works, &c.

And it is worthy of observation here, that the holiness. of faith, and of the redeemed, so far as for the reason above mentioned, it differs from legal holiness, or that under a covenant of works, has a peculiar beauty and excellence, and renders him who possesses it, more happy than he could be under a covenant of works, though perfectly holy.

The redeemed are raised from the dark regions of infinite guilt and wo; delivered from sin, in which they were totally involved; and translated from the power and kingdom of Satan, into the eternal kingdom of Christ, to sit down and reign with him on his throne. And this deliverance, happiness and honour, is not from themselves, in the least degree; but from the free sovereign grace and wonderful love of God; and by the incarnation of the Son of God, and his taking the place of sinners, and dying for their redemption. All this makes an amiable and glorious display of the love and wisdom of God, which could not have been made, had not redemption taken place. And all this new and wonderful scene lays a foundation for answerable exereises by the redeemed, in the deepest humility, in a sense and acknowledgment of their unworthiness, and absolute dependence on free sovereign grace for all the good, both negative and positive, comprised in redemption; and in the sweet love of benevolence, delight and gratitude, answerable to the divine love and holiness manifested in the redemption of sinners, and his unspeakable love and grace to them, by which they are laid under peculiarly great, and the most agreeable, everlasting obligations to gratitude and praise.

In these respects, and by their everlasting and peculiarly near and dear relation to Christ, and union with him, by which they are the bride, the Lamb's wife, the redeemed church will shine in a peculiarly beautiful holi.