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is evidently dead: a dead thing in itself, argues a dead soul, and is dead as to the purposes and offices of gospel faith. We must therefore understand all the arguments here used to refer to this point only. They are all brought to prove, that faith which is without (or severed from) works is dead: and that therefore there is a necessity of works to justify our faith, or to make it manifest that it is not a dead faith. Were justification here taken in the other sense, his arguments would not only be utterly inconclusive, but his reasoning quite foreign to his subject, which may not be supposed: and therefore it necessarily is the justification of our faith, or christian profession, and not of our persons, which the apostle James is here treating of.

This is also evident from every one of the arguments used by the apostle in this context. Every one of them will bring out the conclusion now mentioned: but neither of them separately considered, nor all of them connected, have any appearance of an argument in proof of our personal justification (or our persons being made righteous) before God, by our good works.

The first argument seems but ironically proposed. "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works," ver. 18. As if he should have said, "Have you indeed faith without works! I pray, show me your faith without works, if you can. For my part, I know of no such way of manifesting the truth of faith: I resolve to take a contrary method; and will show you my faith, will evidence the sincerity of it, and justify my profession of faith by my works." Here the argument is very clear and full, in favour of the interpretation I am

pleading for. And here we have an index, to point out the meaning of the word justification, in the subsequent discourse. It cannot import more than a manifestative justification. Indeed it signifies the same thing with showing our faith, or evidencing the truth of our profession, and so of our justified state.

The second argument here used is, that a fruitless and inoperative faith, though it be good as far as it goes, yet is no other than what the devils have; he is therefore a vain man who depends upon acceptance with God by such a dead faith. "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man! that faith without works is dead," ver. 19, 20. Here the apostle expressly shows us what it is he had undertaken to prove which is, that a bare, fruitless, historical faith cannot save us, because it is common to the very devils. Here he expressly shows who it is he is disputing with: it is a vain man, who vainly expects to be saved by an idle faith, and empty profession of the gospel, without any fruit of obedience. And here he does again expressly assert the principle, which was the subject of his discourse, and the only point to be proved, that faith, without works, is dead. So that there is no room to debate what was the design of this argument. By this he effectually proves, that the faith which justifies our persons, must be justified by good works; otherwise we are but vain men, and our hope is but a vain hope, which will leave us among unpardoned devils at last. But not so much as the least colour of an argument can be found here, that our persons are justified before God by good works: whence it follows, that the justification here treated of must necessarily be the justification of our faith, of our christian character and pro

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fession; and not of our persons, in regard of their state before God.

A third argument here brought by the apostle to prove his point is, Abraham's "being justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar," ver. 21. Now it appears from a variety of the strongest and clearest evidences, that the apostle did not (could not) refer to the justification of Abraham's person in the sight of God, but to the justification of his faith and sincerity only, in this instance before us.

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This appears, in the first place, because Abraham was in a justified state, by an everlasting covenant, thirty years before his offering his son Isaac upon altar. It was so long, or nearly so long before this, that the glorious God himself made the promise to him, in Gen. xvii. 7, " And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a GOD unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." And it was more than so long before this, that Abraham had this testimony given him in Gen. xv. 6, “That he believed in the Lord: and he counted it to him for righteousness." Yea, he was a believer so long before, as his first leaving his father's house. "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out," Heb. xi. 8. How then could his offering his son Isaac be the mean or term of the justification of his person before God, when he had faith unfeigned, had righteousness imputed to him, and an everlasting covenant made with him so long a time before? Besides, if works could have justified his person, he would have been justified by works long before this. For his whole history shows, that he had lived in a course of holy, fruitful obedience, from the time of his justification till this time. There cannot, therefore, be any

fair pretence made, that the justification of his person is here referred to. No, this good work was not in the least constitutive, but only evidential of his personal justification before God.

Further, it appears by the story itself, to which the apostle refers, that it was only a manifestative justification, a justification of his faith and sincerity, and so declarative of the justified state of his person, that Abraham obtained by offering his son Isaac upon the altar. The glorious God condescends to treat with him after the manner of men; and by an assumption of human affections, to declare concerning him, "Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me," Gen. xxii. 12. This then was the justification of which the apostle treats, Abraham's making it known, that he feared God, and that his faith and profession were sincere. For this is all the justification which can be proved from this text in Genesis, to which he refers. We may not suppose, that an inspired apostle quoted scripture impertinently; and yet we cannot suppose the scripture referred to was any thing at all to his purpose, unless we understand him to be speaking of justification in the sense I am pleading for. In this sense, therefore, and this only, did the apostle design to prove our justification by works, by the argument now before us. Abraham's obedience witnessed to the truth of his faith; and so his real state of justification before God was made apparent.

This also appears by the apostle's illustration of this argument in ver. 22, "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" How was it that "faith wrought with his works?" Not as a joint condition of his justification before God. He was justified in the sight of God

long before this, as I have shown you already and the apostle Paul assures us, that his justification was by faith without works, Rom. iv. 4, 5. Therefore faith could not co-operate with his works, to the justification of his person, when righteousness was imputed to him that worked not, but believed on him that justified the ungodly. This sense being rejected and contradicted by the Spirit of God himself, must consequently by no means be admitted: nor is there any interpretation which can (with the least show of reason) be given to these words, but that which I am pleading for. Agreeably to which we read, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises, offered up his onlybegotten son," Heb. xi. 17. His faith was signally operative-not a dead faith; and therefore sincere. This was visibly demonstrated by the good works which it produced. Such works must be the productions of a true and lively faith. And we may see in this instance how faith wrought with his works, exciting, directing, and assisting him in them: and thereby may see, that it was not such a faith as the apostle is here complaining of. "By works was his faith made perfect." How was it made perfect? The grace of faith, considered in itself, was neither the better nor the worse, neither more nor less perfect, for the works which followed it; save, as the exercise of faith in doing them might tend to strengthen and improve the habit. But the meaning seems to be, that it was discovered, and proved to be a perfect (true and lively) faith, by its practical consequences and effects. His faith was a perfect or sincere faith, when it was imputed to him for righteousness, thirty years before this. But this noble act of obedience evidenced the truth of his faith, justified his profession

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