our neighbour, rcal meekness, and patience, and humility, and fobriety, and chastity, and not the glittering fhew and appearance, the vain and affected oftentation of any of thefe virtues, which we perfuade and prefs men fo earnestly to endeavour after.

Not that I believe that all virtues of the Heathen were counterfeit and deftitute of an inward principle of goodness: God forbid that we should pafs fo hard a judgment upon thofe excellent men, Socrates, and Epictetus, and Antoninus, and feveral others, who fincere. ly endeavoured to live up to the light and law of nature, and took fo much pains to cultivate and raise their minds, to govern and fubdue the irregularity of their fenfual appetites and brutish paffions, to purify and refine their manners, and to excel in all virtue and goodnefs, Thefe were glorious lights in thofe dark times, and fo much the better for being good under so many difadvantages, as the ignorance and prejudice of their education, the multitude of evil examples continually in their view, and the powerful temptation of the contrary customs and fashions of the generality of mankind.

Nor were they wholly deftitute of an inward principle of goodness; for though they had not that powerful grace and affiftance of God's holy Spirit which is promifed and afforded to all fincere Chriftians, (as neither had the Jews, who were the peculiar people of God, and in covenant with him) yet it is very credible, that fuch perfons were under a fpecial care and providence of God, and not wholly deftitute of divine affiftance, no more than Job and his friends, mentioned in the Old Teftament, and Cornelius in the New, who furely were very good men, and accepted of God, though they were Gentiles, and aliens from the commonwealth of Ifrael, and frangers from the covenant of promife; but yet not excluded from the bleffing of the Meffias, though they were ignorant of him, as many of the Jews likewife were, nor from the benefit of that great propitiation, which in the fulness of time he was to make for the fins of the whole world.

So that there is no need fo uncharitably to conclude, as fome of the antients have done, not all, nor the moft antient of them neither) that there were no good

men

men among the Heathen, and that the brightest of their virtues were counterfeit, and only in fhew and appearance. For there might be feveral good men among the Gentiles, in the fame condition that Cornelius was before he became a Chriftian; of whom it is faid, whilft he was yet a Gentile, that he was a devout man, and feared God, and that his prayer and his alms were accepted of God, a certain fign that they were not counterfeit. And if he had died in that condition, before Chrift had been revealed to him, I do not fee what reasonable cause of doubt there can be concerning his falvation; and yet it is a most certain and inviolable truth, that there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be faved, but the name of Jefus, neither is there falvation in any other. And good men in all ages and nations from the beginning of the world, both before the law, and under the law, and without the law, fuch as feared God and wrought righteousness, were accepted of him in that name, and by the meritorious facrifice of that Lamb of God, which in refpect of the virtue and efficacy of it, is faid to have been flain from the foundation of the world.

II. But if by moral virtues be meant those which concern the manners of men, from whence they seem to have taken their name, and which are in truth the duties commanded and enjoined by the natural or moral law, and are comprehended under thofe two great commands, as our bleffed Saviour calls them, the love of God and our neighbour; I fay, if this be the meaning of it, then we do advance this kind of morality, as that which is the primary and fubftantial part of all religion, and most strictly enjoined by the Chriftian. To which purpose our Saviour tells us, Matth. v. 17. that he was not come to deftroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfil them. And ver. 19. Whofoever therefore shall break one of the leaft of thefe commandments, and teach men so, fhall be called the leaft in the kingdom of heaven; but whofoever shall do and teach them, fhall be called great in the kingdom of heaven; that is, under the difpenfation of the golpel. So that this is a principal part of the Chriftian religion, to teach and practife the duties of the moral law. This the Pharifees were defective in, placing their religion in external and little things, but neglecting the

great

great duties of morality, the weightier matters of the law, mercy, and judgment, and fidelity, and the love of God. And therefore he adds, ver. 20. I fay unto you, except your righteoufnefs exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharifees, ye shall in no cafe enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is not poffible in more exprefs and emphatical words to enjoin the obfervation of the duties of the moral law. And then for that great principle and rule of moral juftice, To do to all men, as we would have them to do to us; our Saviour enjoins it as an effential part of religion, and the fum and fubftance of our whole duty to our neighbour, and of all the particular precepts contained in the law and the Prophets, Mat. vii. 12. Therefore all things whatfoever ye would that men fhould do to you, ye even fo to them: for this is the law and the Prophets. And St. Paul moft exprefly declares, that he was fo far from weakening or making void the obligation of the law by his doctrine of juftification by faith, that he did thereby confirm and establish it, Rom. iii. 31. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

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So that moral duties and' virtues are the fame with Chriftian graces, and with that holiness and righteoufnefs which the gospel requires, and differ only in name and notion. They are called virtues, with relation to the intrinsical nature and goodness of them; and graces, with refpect to the principle from which they flow, being the fruits and effects of the gracious operation of the fpirit of God upon our minds. And it hath been a very ill fervice to religion, to decry morality, as fome have done, not confidering that moral duties are of primary obligation, and bound upon us by the law of nature; and that Christianity hath reinforced and feconded the obligation of them by more powerful motives and encouragements. But I proceed to the

Second Objection, viz. That this difcourfe feems to be contrary to St. Paul's doctrine of juftification by the free grace of God in Jefus Chrift, by faith, without the works of the law.

To which I answer, that St. Paul, when he does fo vehemently and frequently affert juftification by the free grace of God, and by faith, without the works of the law,

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does not thereby exclude the necessity of works of righteousness and obedience to the moral precepts of the gofpel, as the condition of our continuance in the favour of God, and of our final and perfect juftification and abfolution by the fentence of the great day; but on the contrary, does every where declare the neceffity of a holy and virtuous life to this purpofe. And this is most plainly the tenour and current of his doctrine throughout all his epiftles. But whenever he contends that we are juftified by faith without works, he denies one of these three things:

1. That the obfervation of the law of Mofes is neceffary to our juftification and falvation. And this he does in oppofition to those who troubled the Christian church, by teaching, that it was ftill neceffary to Chriftians to keep the law of Mofes; and that unless they did fo, they could not be faved; of which we have a full account given, Acts xv. And this for the most part is the meaning of that affertion, fo frequent in his epiftles to the Romans and the Galatians, that we are not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ. And this is very evident from the tenour of his reasoning about this matter, in which he does fo frequently and infift fo ftrongly upon it, urge this argument, viz. That men were juftified before the law of Mofes was given, for which he inftances in Abraham, and therefore the obfervance of that law cannot be neceffary to a man's juftification and falvation.

2. Sometimes he, in his difcourfe upon this argument, denies the merit of any works of obedience and righteousness to gain the favour and acceptance of God; fo that we cannot challenge any thing of God as of debt, and as a ground of boafting, but we owe all to the free grace and mercy of God; and when we have done our best, have done but our duty. And this he likewife frequently Jy infifts upon in his epiftle to the Romans, in oppofition to an arrogant opinion, common among the Jews, of the merit of good works, and that God was indebted to them for their obedience. In this fenfe he fays, Rom. iv. 4. Now to him that worketh is the reward reckoned, not of grace but of debt; that is, he that claims juftification, and the reward of eternal life, as due to him for

his obedience, does not afcribe it to the free grace of God, but challengeth it as a debt due to him.

3. Sometimes he denies the neceflity of any works of righteousness, antecedently to our firft juftification, and being received into a state of grace and favour with God; and afferts on the contrary, that by the faith of Chrift, and fincerely embracing the Chriftian religion, men are juftified: and though they were never fo great finners before, all their paft fins are forgiven, and God is perfectly reconciled to them. In which fenfe he says, chap. iv. 5. That God juftifies the ungodly upon their believing. So that whatever fins they were guilty of before, and though they never did any one good action in their lives, yet if they fincerely embrace the Chriftian religion, and thereby engage themselves to reform their lives, and to obey the precepts of the gospel for the future, God will thereupon receive them into his favour, and pardon the fins of their former lives. And in this epiftle to Titus, chap. iii. 5. 7. immediately before the text, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he faved us, by the washing of regeneration, and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life; that is, though their former life had been very bad, (as he defcribes it before, ver. 3. For we ourselves were fometimes foolish, difobedient, ferving divers lufts and pleasures, living in malice, and envy, and hatred of one another;) I fay, notwithstanding this, though they had done no works of righteoufnels, but the contrary, yet upon their folemn profeffion of Chriftianity at their baptifm, and declaration of their repentance, and engagements to live better, they were justified freely by God's grace, and faved by his mercy. But then he does not fay, that after this folemn profeffion of Chriftianity, works of righteoufnefs were not neceffary, to continue them in this state of grace and favour with God, but quite contrary, he plainly declares the neceffity of then in the very next words; this is a faithful faying, &c.

And the confideration of this will fully reconcile the feeming difference between St. Paul and St. James, in this matter of juftification. St. Paul affirms, that a fin

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