Another testimony we have unto the same purpose in the prophet Isaiah, speaking in the name of the church, chap. Ixiv. 6, " We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." It is true the prophet doth in this place make a deep confession of the sins of the people; but yet withal he joins himself with them, and asserts the especial interest of those concerning whom he speaks, by adoption, — that God was their Father, and they his peojole, chap. Ixiii. 1 6, Ixiv. 8, 9. And the righteousnesses of all that are the chil- dren of God are of the same kind, however they may differ in degrees, and some of them may be more righteous than others; but it is all of it described to be such, as that we cannot, I think, justly expect justification in the sight of God upon the account of it. But whereas the consideration of the nature of our inherent rio-hteousness belonrjs unto the second way of the confirmation of our present argument, I shall not farther here insist on this testimony.
Many others also, unto the same purpose, I shall wholly omit, — namely, all those wherein the saints of God, or tlie church, in an humble acknowledgment and confession of their own sins, do betake themselves unto the mercy and grace of God alone, as dispensed through the mediation and blood of Christ; and all those wherein
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God iDromiseth to pardon and blot out our iniquities for his own sake, for his name's sake, — to bless the people, not for any good that was in them, nor for their righteousness, nor for their works, the considera- tion whereof he excludes from having any influence into any actings of his grace towards them ; and all those wherein God expresseth his delight in them alone, and his approbation of them who hope in his mercy, trust in his name, betaking themselves unto him as their only refuge, pronouncing them accursed who trust in any thing else, or glory in themselves, — such as contain singular promises unto them that betake themselves unto God, as fatherless, hopeless, and lost in themselves.
There is none of the testimonies which are multiplied unto this purpose, but they sufficiently prove that the best of God's saints have not a righteousness of their own whereon they can, in any sense, be justified before God. For they do all of them, in the places re- ferred unto, renounce any such righteousness of their own, all that is in them, all that they have done or can do, and betake themselves unto grace and mercy alone. And whereas, as Ave have before proved, God, in the justification of any, doth exercise grace towards them with respect unto a righteousness whereon he declares them righte- ous and accepted before him, they do all of them respect a righteous- ness which is not inherent in us, but imputed to us.
Herein lies the substance of all that we inquire into, in this matter of justification. All other disputes about qualifications, conditions, causes, avsu c^v oh-/., any kind of interest for our own works and obe- dience Id our justification before God, are but the speculations of tnen at ease. The conscience of a convinced sinner, who presents himself in the presence of God, finds all practically reduced unto this one point, — namely, whether he will trust unto his own personal in- herent righteousness, or, in a full renunciation of it, betake himself unto the grace of God and the righteousness of Christ alone. In other things he is not concerned. And let men phrase his own righteousness unto him as they please, let them pretend it merito- rious, or only evangelical, not legal, — only an accomplishment of the condition of the new covenant, a cause without which he cannot be justified, — it will not be easy to frame his mind unto any confidence in it, as unto justification before God, so as not to deceive him in the issue.
The SECOND part of the present argument is taken from the nature of the thing itself, or the consideration of this personal, inherent righteousness of our own, what it is, and wherein it doth consist, and of what use it may be in our justification. And unto this purpose it may be observed, —
That we gi'ant an inherent righteousness in all that do be-
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lieve, as hath been before declared : " For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth," Eph. v. 9. " Being made free from sin, we become the servants of righteousness," Rom. vi. 18. And our duty it is to " follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness," 1 Tim. vi. 11. And although righteous- ness be mostly taken for an especial grace or duty, distinct from other graces and duties, yet we acknowledge that it may be taken for the whole of our obedience before God; and the word is so used in the Scripture, where our own righteousness is opposed unto the righteous- ness of God. And it is either habitual or actual. There is an habitual righteousness inherent in believers, as they have " put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness," Eph. iv. 24< ; as they are the " workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works," chap. ii. 10. And there is an actual righte- ousness, consisting in those good works whereunto we are so created, or the iiTiits of righteousness, which are to the praise of God by Jesus Christ. And concerning this righteousness it may be observed, — First, That men are said in the Scripture to be just or righteous by it ; but no one is said to be justified by it before God. Secondly, That it is not ascribed unto, or found in, any but those that are ac- tually justified in order of nature antecedent thereunto.