This will appear evident, if we confider in the first place, that these Apostles are treating of a different faith. The one of them has not the fame idea, and does not mean the fame thing with the other, when they discourse of faith and its influence upon our juftification.-You remember I have formerly fhewn you at large, in a letter purposely written on that fubject, that there are two forts of faith mentioned and described in the Scripture. By the one we are, and by the other we are not justified before God. Now the Apoftle Paul fpeaks of the former of these, and the Apostle James of the latter. There is therefore the greatest truth and propriety in what each of thefe Apostles fpeak of faith, taking it in the notion which they refpectively intend. It is true, that by the faith of God's elect we are juftified and faved: It is also true, that the faith of the vain man, or empty profeffor, a bare notional, hiftorical, fruitless faith will not fave us.-The Apostle Paul speaks of a living faith, by which the juft fhall live, Rom. i. 17. The Apostle James fpeaks of a dead faith, which is but as a body without the fpirit, ver. 17. 26.—The Apostle Paul fpeaks of a faith which worketh by love, Gal. v. 6. The Apostle James speaks of a faith which hath not works, and which is deftitute of mercy or charity, ver. 16, 17.-Paul treats of a fpecial faith, by which we are the children of God, Gal. iii. 26. James of a faith which is common to the devils, ver. 19.-Paul treats of a faith by which we shall be faved, Rom. x. 9. James of a faith which cannot fave us, ver. 14.-Paul treats of a faith by which we are juftified without the deeds of the law, Rom. iii. 28. James, on the contrary, Ipeaks of a faith, which being alone without works, is fuch as will not justify us, ver. 24.Now, can it poffibly be true of the fame faith, that it is both alive and dead;

that

that it worketh by love, and yet hath not works, but is without love and mercy; that by it we are the children of God, and yet not diftinguished from the devil by it; and that we are saved by it, and not faved by it; that we are juftified by it without works, and are not justified by this alone without works? If these are not some of the highest contradictions, I know not what in the world either is or can be fo. The confequence therefore is inevi. table; either that these contrary characters and accounts of faith cannot be both true, or else that it is a different faith which these Apoftles fpeak of. You dare not affume the former of thefe confequences, and therefore muft allow the latter to be neceffarily true. You must allow it to be true, that Paul fpeaks of one kind of faith, and James of another. And what argument can now be fairly drawn from this difcourfe of the Apostle James, but this only, that a lifeless, fruitlefs, unoperative faith will not juftify or fave us? And who but fenfual libertines ever thought that it would?-If you fuppofe James to be here fpeaking of a true lively, faith, you must fuppofe him to contradict, not only the Apostle Paul, but our bleffed Lord himself, and the Holy Ghoft, in multitudes of plain and express paffages of Scripture, which are every where difperfed through the Bible, that afcribe our juftification before God to faith only. Here then the. controverfy is brought to a point. And what con、 clufion will you now come into? Is it not time to give up your scheme, and ingenuously acknowledge, that as the Apoftle James is here faying nothing to the fubject before us, there can nothing be inferred from what he fays against the doctrine which you oppofe?

It is alfo further evident, that the Apoftle James, in the context referred to, is faying nothing con..

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trary to the doctrine fo conftantly taught by the Apostle Paul, of our being justified before God by faith alone, without the deeds of the law, nor any thing in favour of our juftification before God by our own works; this, I fay, is further evident; be. cause he is not there treating of juftification, as it is the relief of a guilty world, and imports the acceptance of our perfons before God; nor is he faying any thing at all about this, one way or ano. ther: But he is treating of the juftification of our faith, or demonftration of the fincerity of our profeffion, by its proper evidences; which justification,, he fhews us, is by works. Whereas the Apoftle Paul is always treating only of juftification as it is the relief of an awakened finner; and imports the acceptance of our perfon, when he tells us, that we are juftified by faith without works:-I have former. ly fhewn you, that though the word juftification (in its general notion) has always an unvaried meaning, and uniform fignification in Scripture, yet it is frequently applied in both these refpects. It is indeed moft ufually to be understood for the acceptation of our perfons with God, and refpects our intereft in his favour; but it sometimes alfo intends' a vindication of our character as believers, and fuch a manifeftation of the fincerity of our faith and profeffion, by the neceffary practical evidences, as will give them a juft eftimation and acceptance with our own confciences, or with our fellow. creatures. Thus the word is ufed, Deut. xxv. 1. Fob xxxiii. 32. Luke vii. 35. Rom. iii. 4. and elfe.. where. And I am now to fhew you, that the Apostle Paul understands the word in the former of these fenfes, but the Apoftle James in the latter. By juftification the Apostle Paul intends the remiffion of fins, Rom. iii. 25. Our receiving the gift of righteoufhefs, Rom: v. 17, And our being en

titled thereby to grace here, and glory hereafter, Rom. v. I, 2.

But by juftification the Apostle James intends no more than the approving ourselves found believers, evidencing the fincerity of our faith, or manifefting the truth of our profeffion, and fo the fafety of our ftate. If this appears to be fo, upon a particular examination of the cafe, you must own, that there is no place for any argument in favour of your fcheme from this context.-Let us then confider this matter diftinctly and impartially.

It may be prefumed, that the Apostle James is not treating of the justification of our perfons in the fight of God, in that there is not one character of fuch juftification to be feen in his whole difcourfe. There is nothing fpoken about our obtaining pardon of fin; nothing of our perfons being made righteous in the fight of God; nothing of our being entitled to future glory, by the works unto which our juftification is afcribed. No more can therefore be proved from this Apoftle, but that we are in fome refpect juftified by works; yet not fo juftified as to obtain remiffion of fins, and reconciliation to God, or to be entitled to an inheritance in the future glory by our works. For of thefe things, or of any thing elfe which implies them, he fays nothing at all. But this may be more fully and clearly evinced by the following confiderations :

It is evident, in the first place, from the occafion of this difcourfe, as it is reprefented to us in the first fixteen verfes of this chapter. They profeffed faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift, the Lord of glory, and yet hath respect of perfons, making a criminal diftinction between the rich and the poor, of the fame Chriftian faith and profeffion with themfelves, as appears from the four first verses of the chapter. They defpifed the poor, and thereby violated that Bb 2

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royal law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ver. 6. 8. They refpected perfons; they committed fins, and were convinced of the law as tranfgreffors, ver. 9. They exposed themselves to have judgment without mercy, if they thus fhewed no mercy, ver. 13.-And would fuch as these pretend to faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift? What doth it profit, if a man fay, that he hath faith, but hath not works?. Can that faith fave him? What profit can that faith be to them which leaves them fo uncharitable and unmerciful, that they can fee a brother or fifter naked, or deftitute of daily food, and only fay to them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled: But notwithstanding they give them not those things which are needful to the body, ver. 14, 15, 16.-This is plainly the occafion of this difcourfe. They pretended to faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift; but brought forth fruit quite contrary to their pretenfions. How then could they justify their pretenfions? how could they juftify their profeffion of faith against the charge of hypocrify, and prove it to be fincere and faving? They could never, in this fenfe, be juftified any way, but in that of evidence by a life correfpondent to their profeffion. Their faith must be justified or evidenced by their works. I may allude to that, Ifai. xliii. 9. Let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified. Otherwife let them pretend what they would to faith, while they lived without brotherly love and good works, it was but an empty pretence, and their profeffion wanted the proper witnesses to justify it. Thus the argument is natural and eafy; and the conclufion neceffarily follows.-But then, on the other hand, if we confider juftification as meaning our reconciliation to God, and our perfonal accept ance with him, the Apoftle's argument will appear very lame and defective, and the conclufion will