to him for righteousness, thirty years before this. But this noble act of obedience evidenced the truth of his faith, juftified his profeffion and character, witneffed to his being a true believer; and made it known, that he indeed feared God, seeing he withheld not his fon, his only fon, from him. In this view of the cafe, the argument is clear and pertinent; and the evidence full and convincing; but confidered according to the other con. ftruction of the words, it affords no conclufion to the purpose. It is no confequence, that because Abraham's faith was operative, therefore his good works made him righteous, or had any hand in the juftification of his perfon before God: or, that because his good works were an evidence that his faith was perfect and upright, therefore his good works were a condition of his juftification in the fight of God; with respect to his perfon and state.

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The fame thing likewife appears from the 23d verfe. And the Scripture was fulfilled, which faith, Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. There can be nothing more pertinent, natural, and eafy, than the application of these words to the purpose which I have propofed. That eminent inftance of Abraham's obedience did moft convincingly evidence the truth and fincerity of his faith; and abundantly verify the report in the fcripture, that Abraham did believe God; and that he had indeed fuch a faith, as was the means of rendering him righteous and accepted with God. Thus the scripture was fulfilled, and clearly manifefted to be true. But then on the other hand, if justification be confidered in the fenfe which you plead for, this argument would be fo far from concluding in favour of the point to be proved, that it would be directly oppofite and contradic tory to it. For how could Abraham's being juftified by works, fulfil the fcripture, which faith, he was juftified by faith; if juftification be in both places taken in the fame fenfe, for abfolute juftification of the perfon before God? How could his works being imputed for righteousness, fulfil that fcripture which affures us that his faith was imputed for righteoufnefs: unless faith and works are the fame thing, and there be no diffe

rence at all between believing and obeying. Certain it is, that the apostle Paul understood the argument to conclude the quite contrary way, when he undertook to prove from this very text, that rightecufness is imputed to him that worketh not: and that it is imputed without works, and therefore the apoftle James must be underftood in fuch a fenfe, as will make both his argument conclufive, and his doctrine confiftent with the other infpired writings. I fhall only add, as to that claufe, And he was called the friend of God,' this does not mean, that Abraham's works made him the friend of God but they declared him fo. His obedience did not put him in the ftate of a friend: but being upon tal found faithful, he obtained this teflimony, that he was the friend of God, a juftified believer. Now Abraham being the father of all them that believe, an eminent example of faith, and pattern of juflification, the apofile fubjoins, ver. 24. You fee then how that by works a man is juftified, and not by faith only. In a like fenfe, even as Christ is said to be juftified in (or by) the Spirit, fo a Chriflian man is juftified by the fruit of the Spirit, in a holy life, i. e. declared approved of God. By works a man that fays he has faith, is thus justified, and not by faith only; not by a faith that hath not works attending it; not by a faith which is alone, or by itself, deftitute of its proper fruits and evidences. Some of the beft criticks in the Greek language tell us, the exclusive particle MONON, ver. 24. as here placed after the word faith, has the force of an adjective; and they read it Fide folitaria, faith which is alone.

A fourth argument is taken from the inftance of Ra hab, ver. 25. Likewife alfo was net Rabab the harlot juj tified by works, when fhe had received the meffengers, and had fent them out another way? Upon which the fame remarks may be made, as on the inttance of Abraham. Rahab feared the God of Ifrael, and was a true believer, and therefore perfonally juftified in the fight of God, be fore her fending cut the /pies anether way. For fhe had received the fpies by faith, Heb. xi. 31. And confequently the certainly had faith, before the received them. A noble confeffion, whereof we find her making to thefe

fpies, before the difmiffed them. See Jofh. ii. 10, 11. What juftification therefore could the poffibly obtain by thefe works, but the juftification of her faith, fince the was really in a juftified state before?

And now I am come to the conclufion of this whole differtation, which is, For as the body without (or fevered from) the Spirit is dead, fofaith without (or fevered from) works is dead alfa, ver. 26. This, as I obferved before, clearly fhews what was the apoftle's defign, in his whole difcourfe. For every conclufion of an argument justly profecuted, muft be naturally deduced from the premises, and confift of the principal fubject-matter to be proved, as we fee is the cafe before us. But if juftification were fiere taken in the fenfe which you efpoufe, the argumer's would all of them be inconclufive: and that conclufion would be quite foreign to the purpose. This confequence therefore of my foregoing difcourfe neceflarily forces it. felf upon you, that the apoftle was not here treating of the juftification of our perfons before God, in regard to their ftate; but of our faith in point of fincerity: and therefore there can no argument be brought from this context, for our juftification by works, in the fenfe you plead for.

Thus, Sir, you have feen, that the apoftles Paul and James were treating of very different fubjects, and their determinations were adapted to the doctrines, which they undertook to explain. And thence it is a juft inference made by an eminent divine upon this fubject, that

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principal defigns of the two apoftles being fo distant, there is no repugnancy in their affertions, though their • words make an appearance thereof. For they do not fpeak ad idem, nor of things eodem refpectu. James doth not once inquire, how a guilty convinced finner, • caft and condemned by the law, fhould be justified before God? And Paul speaks to nothing elfe. Where ⚫fore apply the expreffions of each of them to their proper defign and fcope, (as we muft do, or we depart from all fober rules of interpretation, and make it im་ pollible to understand either of them aright,) and there is no difagreement, or appearance of it between them.' And it may be yet further remarked, that these apostles had very different perfons to deal with, in their refpec

tive epiftles: and their addreffes were accordingly accommodated to the state of the parties to whom they wrote. The apostle Paul's bufinefs either lay with fuch, who being newly converted from heathenism, were biaffed by the principles taught by the light of nature, and always received by them, to indulge the vain thought, that they must render themselves acceptable to God, and be juftified in his fight, by their own perfonal righteoufnefs and obedience to the law. An opinion greatly ftrengthened by the numerous falfe teachers, who were defirous to be teachers of the law, though they understood neither what they faid nor whereof they affirmed. Or elfe his business lay with Judaizing Chriftians, who being zealous of the Levitical difpenfation and conftitution, expected juftification by their conformity to it. Of these forts of profeffors the apoftle obferves, that they were foon removed, from him that called them into the grace of Chrift, unto another gofpel, Gal. i. 6. And that being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, they had not fubmitted themselves unto the righteousness of God, Rom. x. 3. His concern was therefore to discover their dangerous and deftructive mistake; and to reprefent to them the way, the true and only way, in which they might hope for juftification in the fight of God. That it is not by works of righteoufnefs which they had done, but of God's mercy, they must be faved, that they must be justifiedfreely by God's grace, through the redemption which is in Chrift Fefus: and that in the juftification of a finner, righteoufnefs is imputed without works, and received by faith only.

On the contrary, James being concerned with carnal profeffors of Chriftianity, who perverted the doctrines of grace to encourage themselves in a careless licentious life, does at large convince them of the neceffity of holiness, as the fruit and evidence of a true and faving faith, and the means to qualify them for the kingdom of heaven. He therefore puts them upon examining into the truth of their faith, and foundation of their hope, and fhews them by the arguments already considered, what alone will justify their profeffion of faith, and give them good grounds to conclude the fafety of their fate.

They therefore who over magnify works, and depend upon them as the condition of their juftification before God, are admonished by the apoftle Paul to confider, that they are building upon the fand, and that they must renounce their falfe confidence, or perish. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified: and if righte oufnefs come by the law, then Chrift is dead in vain, Gal. ii. 16. 27. This folemn truth does indeed, Sir, call for your earnest attention.

On the other hand, thy who depreciate good works, and neglect them as of no confequence to eternal falvation, are called upon by the apoftle James to consider, how empty their profeflion, how dead their faith, and how vain their hope of falvation is. For if men may go to heaven without holinefs, why may not the devils go there too, who have faith (fuch as it is) as well as they? We must have a living faith, or a dead hope. Our faith muft purify our hearts, and renew our converfations; or leave us among the impure and ungodly for ever. It concerns every one therefore, so to speak and fo to do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty, Jam. ii. 12.

Upon the whole then, as you are taught by the one apoftle how dangerous it is to build upon any other foundation, than Chrift only; for Chrift Jefus is our bope; and other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus; so are you admonished by the other apoftle, that you can have no interest in Christ nor title to his falvation, but by a faith which purifies the heart, works by love, and is juftified by a fubfequent life of holiness and new obedience.

The extreams, on both fides of the question, are e. qually dangerous. He that joins good works with faith, as equally the terms of juftification before God, virtually rejects the Saviour's fufficiency; substitutes his own righteousness in the room of the righteoufnefs of God; and confequently his expectations muft perish. He that feparates good works from faith, in his life and converfation, as though they were not requifite to falvation, will be found very unfit for the heavenly world, when the decree brings forth, He that is filthy, let him be filthy fill.

Suffer me then to conclude, Sir, with an earnest in