878 THE NATURE OF SANCTIFICATION [BOOK IV.
sins against him, lived in an enmity and opposition to him, and liad contracted insupportable and immeasurable debts upon our own souls, terms of peace being now proposed, who could think but that the first thing required of us would be, that we should make some kind of satisfaction to divine justice for all our enormous and heinous pro- vocations? yea, who is there that indeed doth naturally think other- wise ? So he apprehended who was contriving a way in his own mind how he might come to an agreement with God; Micah vi. 6, 7, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first- born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" This, or something of this nature, seems to be but a very reasonable inquiry for a guilty self-condemned sinner, when first he entertains thoughts of an agreement with the holy sin-avenging God- And this was the foundation of all that cruel and expensive supersti- tion that the world was in bondage unto for so many ages. Mankind generally thought that the principal thing which was required of them in religion was to atone and pacify the wrath of the divine Power, and to make a compensation for what had been done against him. Hence were their sacrifices of hecatombs of beasts, of man- kind, of their children, and of themselves, as I have elsewhere de- clared. And the same principle is still deep rooted in the minds of convinced sinners: and many an abbey, monastery, college, and alms- house hath it founded ; for in the fruits of this superstition, the priests, which set it on work, always shared deeply. But quite otherwise ; in the gospel there is declared and tendered unto sinners an absolute free 'pardon of all their sins, without any satisfaction or compensation made or to be made on their part, that is, by themselves, — namely, on the account of the atonement made for them by Jesus Christ. And all attempts or endeavours after works or duties of obedience in any respect satisfactory to God for sin or meritorious of pardon do subvert and overthrow the whole gospel. See 2 Cor. v. 18-21. Wherefore, in answer to the inquiry before mentioned, the reply in the prophet is, that God looks for none of these things, and that all such contrivances were wholly vain: " He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah vi. 8 ; which last expression comjjriseth the whole of our cove- nant obedience. Gen. xvii. 1, as the two former are eminent instances of it in particular
(2.) He requireth nothing of us in a way of righteousness for our justification for the future. That this also he would have done we
CHAP. I.] AND GOSPEL HOLINESS EXPLAINED. 379
might have justly expected ; for a righteousness we must have, or we cannot be accepted with him. And here, also, many ai-e at a loss, and resolve that it is a thing fond and inconvenient to think of peace with God without some righteousness of their own, on the account whereof they may be justified before him; and rather than they will forego that apprehension, they will let go all other thoughts of peace and acceptance. " Being ignorant of the righteousness of God, they go about to establish their own righteousness, and do not submit them- selves unto the righteousness of God;" nor will they acquiesce in it " that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth," as Rom. x. 4. But so it is, that God requireth not this of us in the gospel; for we are "justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," chap. iii. 24. And we do " therefore conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law," verse 28. So chap. viii. 3, 4. Neither is there any mention in the whole gospel of God's requiring a righteousness in us upon the account whereof Ave should be justified before him, or in his sight ; for the justification by works mentioned in James con- sists in the evidencing and declaration of our faith by them.
(3.) God requireth not any thing of us Avhereby we should j^ur- ckase or merit for ourselves life and salvation : for " by grace are we saved through faith; not of works, lest any man should boast," Eph. ii. 8, 9. God doth save us neither by nor for the " works of right- eousness which Ave have done," but " according to his mercy," Tit. iil 5 : so that although, on the one side, the " wages of sin is death," there being a proportion in justice between sin and punishment, yet there is none betAveen our obedience and our salvation; and there- foi-e " eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord," Bora. vi. 2.3. God, therefore, requires nothing at our hands under this notion or consideration, nor is it possible that in our condition any such thing should be required of us; for Avhatever Ave can do is due beforehand on other accounts, and so can have no prospect to merit what is to come. Who can merit by doing his duty? Our Saviour doth so plainly prove the contrary as none can fairtber doubt of it than of his truth and authority, Luke xvii. 10. Nor can Ave do any thing that is acceptable to him but what is wrought in us by his grace ; and this overthroAA^s the Avhole nature of merit, Avhich re- quires that that be every way our OAvn Avhereby Ave Avould deserve someAvhat else at the hands of another, and not his more than ours. Neither is there any proportion betAveen our duties and the reAvard of the eternal enjoyment of God; for besides that they are all Aveak, imperfect, and tainted Avith sin, so that no one of them is able to make good its own station for any end or purpose, in the strictness of divine justice, they altogether come infinitely short of the desert