We are not therefore to understand our justification by the imputed righteousness of Chrift, as implying and fuppofing, that God does efteem believers to be what indeed they are not. He esteems them to be poor, finful, imperfect men, who have no otherwise satisfied the claims of his justice, and the demands of the law, than by the obedience of their furety; which is really by a gracious imputation become theirs, and they are on the account thereof become indeed righteous in God's fight, although antecedent to that imputation they were legally condemned criminals, and though they yet remain inherently imperfect and finful creatures.

We are further to confider, that this righteoufnefs of Chrift is imputed to none but believers; but is (as the Apostle expreffes it) revealed from faith to faith. It is not imputed before we have faith, as the Antinomians dream; nor is the imputation delayed, till the fruits and effects of faith in an obedient life appear, as fome others feem to fuppofe; but it is imputed at and upon our believing. It shall be imputed, if we believe, Rom. iv. 24. Faith is the receiving an offered Saviour (John i. 12.) in his perfon, his offices, and all his benefits, and therefore it is a receiving his righteousness, which is one of his benefits, freely offered in the gofpel, to all that will accept it.

So I am prepared to obferve to you, that we are to understand our juftification by the imputed righteoufnefs of Chrift, to fignify and imply, a gracious Sentence of God, whereby a finner antecedently guilty in his fight, is, upon his believing in Chrift, acquitted from guilt, accepted as righteous, and entitled to all the benefits of the covenant of grace, on account of what Chrift has done and fuffered for him.

Thus, Sir, I have endeavoured, in as few words as poffible, to give you a juft and clear view of the doctrine

doctrine before us; and am now ready to confider your objections.

You firft object, that "the imputation of our fins "to Christ, or the imputation of Christ's righteouf"ness to us, are no where mentioned in the word "of God; that the terms and expreffions used in"this cafe, are certainly of human invention; and "the doctrine therefore to be fufpected, as having "its original rather from our fcholaftic divines, "than from the oracles of God."

Your first fuppofal is, that the imputation of our fins to CHRIST, is no where mentioned in the word of God.-If you mean by this, that we no where in Scripture find that propofition in fo many express words, that our fins are imputed to Chrift, this is true: But I hope to fhew you it is altogether impertinent.-But if you mean by this, that we can no where find full, clear, and undeniable evidence from Scripture, of the imputation of the fins of believers to Chrift, I will endeavour immediately to convince you of your mistake.

The whole Levitical difpenfation was purposely defigned to reprefent this comfortable truth to us. This was the end of all their facrifices, and bloody oblations for the remiffion of their fins.-They did not imagine, or at least God did not defign they fhould imagine, that their fin and guilt was actually, to all intents and purposes, transferred from the offender to the victim; but they were hereby led to look to Chrift, the antitype of all their fin-offerings, in faith and hope, that their fins fhould all be imputed to him, and themselves, through the merit of his facrifice, be acquitted from guilt.-This defign of all their expiatory facrifices was more clearly exhibited to them, in the inftitution of the fcape-goat, where the imputation of our fins to Chrift was in the moft lively manner reprefented. And Aaron Shall

S 2

Shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confefs over him all the iniquities of the children of Ifrael, and all their tranfgreffions in all their fins, putting them upon the head of the goat; and shall fend him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness; and the goat fhall bear upon him all their iniquities, unto the land not inhabited, Lev. xvi. 21, 22.—Here was a plain and exprefs commutation or transferring of guilt from God's people to the fcape-goat. All the iniquities of God's people, all their tranfgreffions in all their fins, were laid upon his head.

He bore upon him all their iniquities: Or, in other words, their fins were imputed to him. Now you cannot fuppofe, that all the hopes of the chil. dren of ifrael terminated upon this goat. You muft fuppofe, that they looked to the great Antitype, to whom their guilt was indeed to be transferred, and their fins imputed; and from whom they expected their discharge and juftification.--Hence it plainly appears, that all the hopes which the church of God, in all the ages and difpenfations thereof, have entertained, of the forgiveness of fin and reconciliation to God, was through the imputation of their fins to Christ, the substance of all the Levitical thadows, and the only true fin-offering.

The fame doctrine, which was fo plainly pointed out by these typical rites, is fully and abundantly confirmed, by very many plain and clear paffages of Scripture, which cannot, with any appearance of propriety, be conftrued in any other fenfe, than that I am pleading for.-Thus, Ifai. liii. 6. 11. The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all.-For he fhall bear their iniquities.—2 Cor. v. 21. For he hath made him to be fin for us, who knew no fin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Gal. ii. 13. Chrift hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for us. I Pet. ii. 24.

Who

Who his ownfelf bare our fins in his own body on the tree. Many other texts, to the like purpose, might be quoted; but these are every way fufficient to decide this point.

If the iniquity of us all could be laid upon Christ, and he bear our iniquities, no other way but by imputation, it then appears from Ifa. liii. that our ini. quities were imputed to him. And I think, the adverfaries of this doctrine can make no rational pretence to any other way, in which our fins can be faid to be laid upon Chrift, and he be faid to bear our iniquities.

If Chrift has been made fin for us, according to 2 Cor. v. he must be made fin for us (and treated as a finner) either by his own personal fault, or by the imputation of our fin to him. I can think of no other poffible way in which this can be fuppofed but one of these two. Now the blafphemy of the former fuppofition obliges us to reject it with, abhorrence; and therefore the latter must be allowed.

If Chrift hath been made a curfe for us, accord. ing to Gal. iii. he must then have the violation of the law imputed to him; otherwife the curfe of it could not, in justice, have been inflicted upon him. To inflict the curfe, or penalty of a law, upon one nowife chargeable with the violation of it, is contrary to the juftice both of God and man. And I can imagine no other way, by which our bleffed Saviour could be chargeable with the violation of the law of God, and thereby be obnoxious to the curfe of it; but through the imputation of our fin and guilt to him.

If our bleffed Saviour bare our fins in his own. body, and was punifhed for our fins upon the cross, according to 1 Pet. ii, our fins then must be laid to his charge, and punished upon him, either by

S3

imputation,

imputation, or fome other way.-Here then let our adverfaries fpeak fenfe, and tell us, if they can, what other way this could poffibly be done.

Pardon me, Sir, if I am forced to tell you, that it is too trifling an evasion to be adopted by men of learning and fenfe, to urge against us, that the word imputation is not used in this cafe in Scripture, when fo many expreflions are used in Scripture which fully and neceffarily imply it, and are of the fame fignificancy.-True we do not read in exprefs words, that our fins were imputed to Chrift: But we do read, in exprefs words, that our iniquities were laid upon him; that he bare them; that he was made fin, or legally reputed a finner, on the account of them; that he bare them in his own body, or was punished for them, upon the cross; and bore the curfe of the law which we had violated.-And if all this do not amount to the fame thing as the imputation of our fins to Chrift, I muft for ever defpair of understanding the meaning of the most plain and familiar expreffions.

Dear Sir, allow me the freedom to observe to you, that you have been guilty of innumerable fins: If these have not been imputed to Christ, if he hath not borne your fins, if he hath not fatisfied the divine juftice on account of them, they must yet beʼimputed to you, and you must bear your iniquity yourfelf: You must yet be under the guilt of all your fins, and under all the curfes of the broken law.— A thought which will adminifter but little comfort here, and lefs at the tribunal of Chrift, if this fhould then be found to be your cafe. A thought big with horror!

I now proceed to confider, whether the imputation of Chrift's righteousness to us is no where mentioned in the word of God. I must here again ac knowledge, that this propofition, Chrift's righteouf

nefs