in the Epif les r f St. Paul, &V. 5 a 3 Juffification before God ; But whether it be the fafeft way to truff unto them, or unto this plain, exprefs, Divine Tefti- mony, wilinot be hard for any to determine when they make the cafe their own. 2. The Apoftle adds a Reafon of this exclu fion of Works, not of Works left' any one fhould boaft. God bath ordained the order and method of our Juftification by Chrift in the way expreffed, that no man might have ground, reafon, or occafion to glory or boaft in or of himfelf. So it is expreffed, Cor. I. 2 r, 30, 3r. Rom. 3.3 2. To exclude all glorying or boafting on our part, is the defign of God. And this confifts in an afcription of fomething unto our felves , that is not in others, in order unto Juftification. And it is Works alone that can adminifter any occafion of this boafting ; For if ,Abraham were juftified by Works, he had whereof to glory, Rom. 4.2. And it is excluded alone by the Law of Faith, Rom. 3.27. For the nature and ufe of Faith, is to find Righ- teoufnefs in another. And this boafting, all Works are apt to beget in the minds of men if applied unto Juftification. And where there is any boafting of this nature, the delign of God towards us in this Work of his Grace, is fruftrated what lieth in us. That which I principally infift on from hence , is , that there are no boundaries fixed in Scripture unto the intereft of Works in Juftification, fo as no hoafting thould be included in them. The Papifis make them meritorious of ir, at Ieaft of our fecond Juftification as they call it. This, fay force, ought not to be admitted; for it includeth looafting. Merit and boafting are infeparable. Wherefore fay others, they are only caufafine qua non , they are the condition of it ; or they are our Evangelical Righteoufnef before God whereon we are Evangelically juftified, or they are a fubordinate Righte- oufnefs, whereon we obtain an intereft in the Righteoufnefs of Chrift 5 or are comprized in the condition of the new Co- X x x 2 venant
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