fOttgi . ttty. Firil, An at of free grace in God. All men are naturally iinners,and as fuck, Gods holinefs cannot but hate them, Gods juflice cannot but punifh them ; wherefore free -grace ftepped in and found out a way,how God, who cannot ju- ftifie the ungodlinefs, might yet juftifle the un- godly, Rom.4. 5. and that in a way of compliance both with his holinefs and juf }ice ; with his holinefs, providing a perfect righteoufñefs; and with his juftice, providing a perfeát fatisfaEtion for them in a furety hence the Apoftle faith, we are ju /lified freely by his grace, Rom. 3. 2 4.. Freely, by his grace ; he ufes two words, the more plainly and emphatically to decipher out to us the pure fountain of love and grace,out of which pardon and jullification iffue forth to poor #inners. Secondly, There mull be a perfect righteouf- nefs fully anfwering the holy Law. God cannot deny himfelf,he cannot deny his.holinefs,foas to juftihe us without a righteoufnefs , therefore there mull be one ; he cannot deny his truth,fo as to account that a righteoufnefs which is none, therefore it mull be perfect, fully anfwering the Law ; all fair without any _Mot in it, all-pure without any. mixture in it, all -perfe ± without any defeEt in it, Each a thing as is not to be found in any meer man. The ]ews (as it feems by 7ofepbus) thought a rneer outward righte- oufnefs enough ; but alafs, what is this without a pure heart ? The Popifh Doctors look upon inherent graces as our very righteoufnefs in ju- flitìcation : indeed there (becaufc the denomi- nation 95
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