38 Chap. 4. Expojtion upon the $ookof 3 0 D. fet1y, compitatly righteous, but inchoatly, and intentionally, fo many arc righteous and are called righteous in the language of the Scripture. Thirdly,there are none righteous, that is, none righteous by Way of merit or defert,noue are fo righteous as that they can challenge any thingat Gods hand, of rights the moil righteous perfon is an unprofitable fervant;he path nothing to plead before God but free grace. Nothing to [hew unto God but Chrifts tulne[s,and his owtr emptinefs, the riches of Chrifl, and his own poverty. Yet there are righteous in Gods acceptance, he accounteth and accepteth them for righteous, and honours them to be called righteous. Lalily,we may ánfwer it thus,there are none righteous in them- felves, or from themfelves, none have any right eoufnefs of their own making : but the Scripture thews us thofè who have righte- oufnefs,and are righteous inanother and from another ; we have the righteoufnefs of juflification in Chriti, and the righteoufìiefs of fanc`ification from Chriti : righteoufnefs is both imputed to, and floweth into the foul by vertue of the union which is promifed in thecovenant of grace with fibrin the righteous, with ¡be Lord our righteoufnef s. In thefe refpeós there are righteous perfons, and of fuch we may underhand this enquiry, whet a were ever the righteous cut off ? The righteous by regeneration, the righteous by irachoation, the righteous by acception, or t he righteous by imputation ; where wereany fetch righteous in all the world of whom thou canal fay, they have ever perifhed, or have been cot off? Having opened the fence of the tingle terms, we will look to the fenfe of the propofìtion, and confider wherein we may clear the truth of it, that innocent perfons do not perifb, or that the righteous are not cut off. Takeperifhing or cutting off in the fir(t fenfe, namely, for anni- hilation and returning to nothing; and fo, neither righteous nor unrighteous, guilty nor innocent can perifh ; no man (hall perifh fo, man is of an everlalling make. Then take periUaing in the fecond fenfe,as perifhing is put for dying and going out of the Land of the living, thus all righteous and-innocent perfons perifh and are cut off, namely,by the (word and tithe of death : we May fay all, God indeed bath made tome few exceptions out of the general rule, but the Statute is plain, It it appointed unto all men .Once to die ; Enoch wastranflatcd, and Vef7,
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