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of an imputed Love of GOD Imputed Purifica tion of Heart! Imputed Reformation of Life! Is not all this apparently abfurd? JUN You are fixed in Thought, my Friend. That Brow, which is generally open and expanded, I fee contracted almost into a Frown. Displeased, perhaps, with the morofe and meagre Business of Argumentation.

Ther. No, Afpafio. I am not difpleafed; but I muft confefs, your Arguments put my Attention a little upon the Stretch.

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Afp. Well then; we will flacken the Cords, and relieve your Attention; by giving a familiar and comfortable View of this great Tranfaction. It is represented in Scripture, under the Form of a judicial Procefs. GOD Himself is the Judge; inconceivably holy to abhor, and inflexibly juft to punifh Sin. A Tribunal is erected, and infcribed with this Motto; HE will judge the Secrets of Men, and will in no wife clear the Guilty. The Perfons fummoned to appear, are Adam and his Children The Accufers are, the Precepts of the Law, the Voice of Confcience, and the Tempter of the Bro thren, Satan. All these advance and urge the Charge; the Charge of Guilt; horrid, aggravated, damnable Guilt. The Charge is proved; is evidenced by ten thousand thousand Facts; is abfolutely undeniable. What can the Prifoner do? He has no thing to alledge in his own Defence. He is dumb with Conviction, and covered with Confufion. Now therefore He expects the Sentence of Condemnation, and the Execution of Vengeance. But at this Hour of Need, a Refuge is provided by Grace, rich and free beyond all Imagination. JESUS CHRIST

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GHRIST the Righteous, becomes an Advocate for the fpeechlefs guilty Wretch. IM MANUEL, the Son of GOD, and Son of Man, pleads his Caufe." Deliver Him from Deftruc

tion. I am his Surety. I have made a full Atone<ment; I have brought in a complete Righteoufnefs." This Plea, coming from a divine and infinite Perfon, is allowed to be valid. Coming from the Reprefentative and Surety of the Sinner, is admitted on his Behalf. This is Imputation.Then follow the Effects of divine Imputation. A Sentence is pronounced in the Sinner's Favour; abfolving Him from all Guilt; releafing Him from all Penalties; declaring Him approved of GOD, and entitled to Heaven. This is Juftification.When the Holy SPIRIT convinces the Sinner, how much He ftands in need of this Bleffing; teaches Him to fee clearly, that it is perfectly free for his Acceptance; and enables Him, by Faith unfeigned, to apply it unto Himfelf; then He is Partaker of the Gift, He is juflified. Making continual Use of this unfpeakable Benefit, He knows, that He is paffed from Death unto Life; and by this Knowledge, He is renewed*, He is fanctified. This View will, I truft, both relax your Attention, and comfort your Heart.

Ther. I am obliged to You, Afpafio, for your Illuftration. But ftill the Difficulty remains. To illuftrate, is one Thing; to demonftrate, is another. The Light, which fhews me the Colour of a Mountain, does not remove it from my Paths. If CHRIST's very Righteoufnefs is imputed to Believers, it ftill appears to me, that Believers

* Col. iii. 10.

muft

Ap. Believers are Partakers of that very Righte ousness, which renders CHRIST the Delight of his Almighty FATHER. They are interested in a fpotless, and everlasting Righteousness. Nay; they are made the Righteoufnefs of GOD in CHRIST,

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Notwithstanding thefe glorious Privileges, Believers are far from being altogether as righteous as CHRIST-unless You can fuppofe, that to be the Receiver, is in all Refpects the fame, as to be the Author and Finifher-unlefs, to have an imputed, Righteoufnefs, for our own particular Ufe, be altogether the fame, as to have a mediatorial Righ teousness, for the Juftification of Others-unless, You efteem it one and the fame Thing, to be m righteous Ourselves by a meritorious Surety, and to make Others, even innumerable Millions of Sinners righteous, from our own Stock of Merit.These are Circumftances, which create a material, a marvelous Difference, between the Righteousness of CHRIST and his People, Which yield Room for a vaft, for an unmeafurable Pre-eminence of his to theirs.

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Ther. Admitting, that Believers cannot make Others righteous; yet, if CHRIST's Obedience be accounted their Righteousness, they seem to have no more. Need of pardoning Mercy, than CHRIST Himfelf. J.

Afp. Yes; because, before this Imputation, they were funk in Guilt, and dead in Sins. Because, after it, they are defective in their Duty, and in many Things offend.

Ther.

- Ther. Does not this Doctrine render the Interceffion of our SAVIOUR fuperfluous? What Occafion have they for an Advocate with the FATHER, whofe Righteousness has neither Blemish nor Imperfection

Afp. They ftand in need of an Advocate; firft, that they may be brought Home to the REPAIRER of their Breaches *, and made Partakers of his Righteoufnefs by a real Faith. Next, that their Faith may be preserved, notwithstanding all Oppofition, ftedfast and immoveable; or rather may be carried on, victorious and triumphant, even to the End.

Ther. You fay, "CHRIST performed all that " was conditional;" then He repented for Us, and believed for Us. This must be admitted in Pursuance of your Principles. But this is fo wild a Notion, fo contrary to Reafon and Scripture, that to mention it, is to refute it.

Afp. CHRIST performed whatever was required by the Covenant of Works, both before it was vio lated, and after it had been tranfgreffed. But neither Repentance nor Faith were comprehended in this Inftitution. It knew nothing of the One, and it would not admit of the Other.-It was not therefore neceffary, neither indeed was it poffible, for our immaculate and Divine LORD, to repent of Sin, or believe in a SAVIOUR. But He did unspeakably more. He put away Sin by the Sacrifice of Himfelft He is Himfelf the SAVIOUR of all the Ends of the Earth; and He has Power to beftow that bleffed SPIRIT, which worketh Faith, and produceth Repentance.

Ther

* Ifai. lviii. 12.

† Heb. ix. 26.

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DIALOGUE X.

Ther. However, from what You have advanced; this will unavoidably follow; that a Man is to be justified, under the Character of a notorious Tranfgreffor of the Law; and justified under the Charac ter of a finless Obferver of the Law? And what is this, but a glaring Inconsistency ?d>qxaz'alftoqA

Afp. This is not precifely the Thing, We mean. We maintain indeed, that a Man is juftified, as a Tranfgreffor; for HE juftifieth the Ungodly. But being juftified, He enters upon a new State; He acquires a new Character; He is no longer Dark nefs and Guilt, but Righteoufnels and Light in the LORD. Neither is this inconfiftent, but harmonious; if We take in the two conflituent Parts of Juftification, The Acquittance from Guilt, and a Title to Life. The former fuppofes Us to be Tranfgreflors of the Law; and fuch the higheft Saints in the World are. The latter requires Us to be Fulfillers of the Law; and fuch muft the Inheritors of Heaven be. Much lefs is this inconfiftent, if We confider Believers, in their perfonat and relative Capacity; as they are in themfelves, and as they are in their SURETY. Notorious or confefled Tranfgreffors in Themfelves, they have a finlefs Obedience in CHRIST. 19The Confcioufnels of that, will be an everlafting Motive to Humility; the Belief of this, an inexhauftible Source of Joy. is of d

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All this is no more inconfiftent, than the Union of a gloomy Contexture, and a lightfome Splendor, in thofe detached Clouds, which float amidft the Firmament. In themfelves, they are a louring and dark Collection of Vapours; by the Impreffion of

the