contrary the one to the other; fo that ye cannot do the things that ye would."

3. We are taught always to pray for pardon, "Forgive us our debts:" but finlefs creatures need no pardons. This clearly fhews, that all fin, and fo come short of perfect obedience.

4. Lastly, Confider the fpirituality of the law, and its extent, with human weaknefs, and you will fee this clearly. And hence it is that perfectionists are strangers to the fpirituality of the law: for if they rightly viewed it, they would be far from dreaming of having attained to perfection, which never a mere man did in this life.

Object. Noah was perfect, Gen. vi. 9. * Job perfect, Job

*. In order to illuftrate the character of Noah as a righteous and perfect man, and to fhew the fignification of thefe epithets, it will not be improper to fubjoin the following note, taken from a manufcript work of the author's, which he left prepared for the press, and has been esteemed by proper judges, both at home and abroad, a work of very great learning and merit, but has not yet been printed, entitled, A new tranflation of the first twenty-three chapters of Genefis, with notes explanatory and critical, according to the principles of the Hebrew accentuation, as delivered in his treatife entitled, Tractatus ftigmologicus Hebræo-Biblicus, printed at Amfterdam in 1738.

Gen. vi. 9. "Noah was a juft man, and perfect in his generations." "As for Noah; [being] a righteous man, he was found in his generations: q. d. found; [found] in his generations. A found man is a man of integrity and Godly fimplicity, wholly for God, entire in his obedience, keeping himself uncorrupted and unfpotted from the world, in which he lives. Such a man was Noah; and fuch he was, in both the generations wherein he lived, before and after the flood. Thus his chararacter confists of two parts: he was a found man, and preserved to the end in his foundnefs. And both thefe are traced to their common fpring-head, namely, his righteous ftate. Being righteous by faith, a juftified man; he was a found man, in true holiness of heart and life; and a preferving man: Agreeable to which is that of the prophet, Hab. ii. 4. "The righteous (i. e. by) his faith, fhall live." Tzaddik, an adjective righteous, a fubftantive a righteous one, is derived from the root Tzadak, in the form Pihel (Tziddek), as appears by the Dagefch forte in it. Tzadak (Kal) is not to be reputed righteous; that agrees not to it, chap. xxxviii. 26.: nor to do righteously; that agrees not to it, Job ix. 20. Pfal. xix. 10.: but to be righteous; which agrees to it every where. Only it is to be obferved, that being righteous is sometimes understood fimply of exifting righteous, as Gen. xxxviii. 26. Pfal. xix. 10.; fometimes of appearing righteous, as Job ix. 20. xiii. 18. & xl. 3. Pfal. li. 6-4th ; and this agreeable to the fcripture-ftyle in other cafes, as Matth. v. 45. "That ye may be (i. e. appear to be) the children of your Father." To ftate the formal notion of righteousness fignified by this root, it is to be

i. 8. Ans. They, and all faints, have a gofpel-perfection, which is a perfection of parts. They had a comparative perfection; that is, they were more holy and circumfpect than many others. But that they were not legally aud abfolutely perfect, is clear from Noah's drunkenness and Job's

obferved, that it is used of men, as Gen. xxxviii. 26. Job ix. 20. ; of God himself, Pfal. li. 6-4th; of his laws, Pfal. xix. 10.; and once it occurs in Niphal, Nitzdak, which, as a neuter verb of being (as Gen. i. 15.) is to become righteous, and is ufed of God's fanctuary, viz. Dan. viii. 14. "And it fhall become righteous, the fanctuary," i. e. in such a state or condition as, by God's appointment, it ought to be in. From all which it appears, that the formal notion of righteoufnefs is conformity to the law given concerning the subject, as concerning men, or the fanctuary or to the eternal idea of righteoufnefs, in the mind of God, as in the cafe of God himself and his laws. Tziddek (Pih.) Hitzdik (Hiph.) are both active, and found to justify or make righteous, the action in Kal being the complement of both, as chap. viii. 14. But the difference lies here. In no form whatsoever doth this verb import a moral or real change: but in Pihel it fignifies manifeftatively, Hiphil, declaratively. In Pihel it occurs five times, and accordingly fignifies to fhew one righteous, or to make appear righteous. Job xxxii. 32. "I have defired to fhew the righteous," viz. as one fhews a thing that is hid, by taking away the cover. Thus Jerufalem fhewed Sodom and Samaria righteous, Ezek. xvi. 51, 52.; namely, comparatively righteous, the holinefs of Jerufalem being gone, which, while it lafted, quite darkened them. And fo the backfliding Ifrael, Jer. iii. 11. fhewed her own foul righteous: from the treacherous Judah, namely, as a fervant running away from a master whom he hath served but a fhort while, fhews his deferting of him juft, by an old fervant's running away from the fame mafter at length. Thus understand the ground of Elihu's anger against Job, chap. xxxii. 2. His fhewing his foul righteous; from God, i. e. his juftifying himself in his grievous complaints, from the way and manner of the Lords dealing with him. Hereto agrees Hitztaddek (Hithp. the relative of Pih.), which is to fhew one's felf righteous, occuring only Gen. xlv. 16. What (i. e. how) how shall we fhew ourselves righteous? Comp. Luke xvi. 15. & xx. 20. Thus expound Rev. xxii. 11. And the righteous, let him fhew himself righteous fill, namely, by continuing in the practice of good works. And this is the juftification the apoftle James writes of, to his own countrymen, (Jam. i. 1.), who, knowing the manner of their own language, were in no hazard of mistaking his meaning. Now Tzaddik, being immediately derived from Tziddek, formally denotes one appearing righteous; the holy language hereby teaching, that whether righteoufnefs be imputed or inherent, it must needs fine forth, not only from the divine appointment, but from the nature of the thing, as a light must needs give light. And to carry along this notion of the word, I write it righteous. Mean while, fince there is a falfe as well as a true appearance of righteoufnefs, one may fee how Solomon might forbid a man to be righteous much, Eccl. vii. 16. meaning it of the mere appearance or fhew of righteousness, from the notation of the word. Accordingly he adds, ibid. And do not (Tithh-haccam) make thyself wife; for which compare Luke xx.

impatience. And where is the faint whofe history we have at any length in fcripture, but we fee their inperfections recorded, to stain the pride of all glory?

But is it not faid, "Whofoever is born of God doth not commit fin?" 1 John iii. 9. Ans. The meaning is not, that

So

20. Should feign themselves juft men, which in Hebrew would be expreffed by Hitztaddek, to fhew, or make one's felf to appear righteous; But fince no false appearance can take place before the Lord, in all cafes wherein God teftifies of one righteous, the appearance must be understood to be true, as the thing really is: and fo it is in this cafe of Noah. Hitzdik (Hiph.) is once ufed intranfitively, viz. Dan. xii. 3. every where elfe tranfitively. The object of it, in its intranfitive use, is the conjugate noun Tz'dakah understood, as Gen. iii. 6.; and it is q. d. to righteout righteoufnefs, i. e. to do righteously. So the formal fignification of it, agreeing thereto in its twofold ufe, is, to make righteous. The fenfe whereof, in the intranfitive ufe, is, according to what is already remarked, to do righteously, Dan. xii 3. They that make righteous, of the many; i. e. Thofe who do righteoufly, of the many, ver. 2. comprehending all, and divided into two forts, thofe that do righteously, and thofe that do not fo. But in the tranfitive ufe, the fense of it, is not to make righteous, by infufing of righteousness into a perfon, making a moral real change on him, as is manifeft from Exod. xxiii. 7. I will not make righteous, an unrighteous one. Prov. xvii. 15. If. v. 23. This word is never fo ufed. On the contrary, the only proper perfonal object of it is Tzaddik, a righteous one, righteous, and appearing righteous, antecedently to the action thereby fignified. Deut. xxv. 1. They fhall make righteous even the righteous one. So 1 Kings viii. 32. 2 Chron. vi. 23. And for to make righteous a righteous one. the true sense of it is legally to make righteous, to declare or pronounce righteous; which natively follows on the back of the action fignified by Pihel, namely, fhewing righteous, and occupies the firft and primary fignification of Kal. And this is the juftification Paul treats of. This phrase of making righteous the righteous, is used in the matter of the juflification of a finner before the Lord, If. liii. 11. In his knowing; make righteous a righteous one, fhall my fervant; to the many. The conftruction and fenfe of which words is, q. d. In his being known to the many; my fervant fhall justify any righteous one to them. In which few words, there is, (1.) The author or efficient cause of juftification, viz. Jefus Christ the Father's servant, fitting Judge. Comp. John v. 22. Matth. ix. 6. Acts v. 31, (2.) The object, the elect, all the elect, the many for whom Chrift died, ver. 12. (3.) The character in which they stand before him, one by one, to be juftified, viz. righteous and appearing righteous. This is no wife inconfiftent with the justifying of the ungodly, Rom. iv. 5.; if one confiders, (4.) How they come to be righteous before him, viz. in his knowing, i, e. by the faith of him, whereby the foul is united to Chrift and thereby hath communion with him in his righteoufnefs, and fo appears righteous in the borrowed garments before the throne. And for this faith they are debtors to free grace, as well as for the righteousness: for the word knowing, though active in its form; is paffive in its fenfe; as is clear. from the conftruction of the words, In his knowing to the many, fhewing the faith to

the faints do not fin at all; but that they do not commit fin with the full confent of the will; do not take pleasure and delight in it; do not make a trade of it, as unregenerate perfons do; and do not commit the fin unto death, 1 John v. 17, 18.

Object. But seeing it is impoffible to yield perfect obedience to the law, how is it confiftent with the justice and wisdom of God to require of us that which we are not able to perform.

Anf. The laws of God are both poffible and juft; and there is no duty now required of us which he did not endow us with ftrength in our creation to perform. Yet in our fallen and corrupted eftate, perfect obedience is become impracticable through our weakness and averfion to duty. And there can be no injustice in God to require what is impoffible for us to perform, when the impoffibility folely arifes from our own fault. It is not God, but we ourselves, that have made the perfect obfervation of his laws impoffible; and though we have wafted our stock, and are become bankrupts, yet he may in righteoufnefs exact from us that debt of obedience which we justly owe him.

Object. But are not believers delivered both from the commanding and condemning power of the law, and how are they then bound to yield any obedience to it?

Anf. Believers are certainly delivered as well from the commanding as condemning power of the law, confidered only as it is the covenant of works, which requires obedience

be the faith of God's elect, Tit. i. 1. The infinitive active or gerund, is used for the paffive frequently, which phraseology our own language bears; as Gen. iv. 13. Pfal. xlii. 4. 3d. & cxix. 4. (5.) The time of their justification? not from eternity, but in the very instant of their believing In his knowing. (6.) The nature of juftification, viz. a declaring or pronouncing righteous, according to what is really found, and judicially imputed or reckoned, (Jatzdik tzaldik), He fhall make righteous a righteous one. (7.) The free accefs which all have to this privilege: For the words are not in vain ranged in this order; In his knowing; my fervant fhall make righteous a righteous one, &c. This is a general truth, Whofoever will know Christ shall be righteous, and legally made righteous, before the Lord; though in the mean time, it is the many only who will know him eventually. Tamim, found. The import of this word is whole and entire, all of a piece unblemished: So by it is expreffed a whole day, Jofh. x. 13. and the quality of a facrifice as without blemish, in the ordinary style of the law, as Lev. i. 3.; and fo is applied to God's work, Deut. xxxii. 4. ; and his way, 2 Sam. xxii. 31.

to it in order to justification; but they are by no means delivered from it as it is the law of Chrift, or a rule of duty. For the moral law is the eternal rule of righteousness, a transcript of the divine perfections, which every believer is bound to copy after, and to apply to the blood of Jefus for pardon, in fo far as he falls fhort of obeying it: for without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Perfonal holiness is as neceffary to the poffeffion of glory, or to a ftate of perfect holiness and happiness, as is the morning-light to the noon-day warmth and brightness; as is a reasonable foul to a wife, healthy, ftrong, and full-grown man; as an antecedent is to a confequent; as a part is to the whole; and as motion is neceffary to evidence life. And the ten commandments, being the fubftance of the law of nature, a representation of God's image, and a beam of his holiness, behoved, for ever, unalterably to be a rule of life to mankind, in all poffible states, conditions, and circumftances. Nothing but the utter destruction of human nature, and its ceafing to be, could divest them of that office; fince God is unchangeable in his image and holiness. Hence their being a rule of life to Adam and his pofterity, had no dependence on their becoming the covenant of work: but they would have been that rule, though there never had been any fuch covenant: yea, whatever covenant was introduced, whether of works or of grace, and whatever form might be put upon them, they behoved ftill to remain the rule of life. No covenant, no form whatfoever, could ever prejudice this their royal dignity.

V. I fhall give the reafon of this difpenfation. God could make the faints perfect in the moment of converfion. He does it not. So it feems good in his fight. Many things are faid to account for this; but what is most fatisfying is, that it doth exalt the freedom of grace and the power of it most, Eph. ii. 4. 7. " But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us-That in the ages to come he might fhew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us through Chrift Jefus." The more fins are pardoned to a finner, he is the deeper in Christ's debt. The fafter the root of fin appears in one's nature, the more appears the power of grace in rooting it up. It is furely the glory of our great Pilot, that he brings the broken fhip to land, through fo many hazards.