371 HARMONY OF ALL RELIGIONS. pel, good men while they are hereupon earth, stand justified in the sight of God, as we have seen before, not by any righteous- ness of their own works, for they have no such righteousness ; but by faith in his mercy, through a Mediator. This is for the honour of divine grace, which justifies them freely through the redemption thatis in Chris.`; Rom. iii. 21, 28. and iv. 5. yet in the day ofjudgment, menshall be justified or condemned according to their works and their words in the sight of the world ; Rom. ii. 13-16. Mat. xii. 37. because this public judgment is appointed for the honour of divine equity or justice, to make it appear to all the world, that God distributes rewards and punishments to persons who are fitly qualified for the one or the other ; Is. iii. 10. " Say ye to the righteous, it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked ? it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given- him." And our Lord Jesus Christ, the appointed judge of all men'; hath the same orders to execute, for " he shall render to every man according as his work shall be ;' Rev. xxii. 12, 14, 15: " Blessed are they that do his cornmandments that they,may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in. through the gates into the city. But the dogs, sorcerers, idolaters, liars; &c. are all without," they are excluded from heavenly: blessings, by the Judgeof all the earth, for they are utterly unfit aswell as un- worthy to enjoy it. V. To make this matter yet plainer, and to reconcile the different representations which are given of our justification by faith in this life, and ourjustification by our words and works at theday of judgment, it must be considered, that every christian, who is admitted into heaven, may be said to have a two-fold right to it, viz. there is a right of inheritance which is by faith, whereby we are justified, and become the children of'Ga:d, and joint-heirs with Christ ; Gal. iii. 26. Rom. viii.- 17. being inter. ested by the free gift of God in the benefit of his Son's purchase, that is, the inheritance of heaven : And there is also a right of congruity or fitness, which arises from actual holiness of heart and life, whereby we are prepared for the actual possession of this inheritance. So an infant may have a right of inhe- ritance to his father's estate, by his birth or adoption; but he has not a right of congruity or fitness, till he grow up to twenty- one years, or to the age of discretion and capacity to enjoy it, and then he is put into the possession. I think this distinction will sufficiently reconcile the appearing difficulties. VI. As for those persons, those nations and ages, that have so far lost all the revelations and dispensations of grace, that they know nothing of their own duty, or, of the grace of God, but what the light of nature teaches them, they shall be judged according to those teachings of the light of nature, or,that know
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