used in a forensic sense, and doth not denote a physical operation, transfusion, or transmutation. 2 Sam. xv. 4. 'If any man hath a suit or cause let him come to me, vi and I will do him justice;' I will justify him, judge in his cause, and pronounce for him. Deut. xxv. 1. If there be a controversy among men, and they come to judgment, that tify the righteous,' pronounce sentence on his side, where -they shall jus והצדיקו את הצדיק,the judges may judge them and they shall condemn והרשיעו את הרשיע unto is opposed the wicked;' make him wicked, as the word signifies; that is, 'He He that justifieth the wicked, and מצדיק רשץ ומרשיץ צדיק condemneth the righteous.' Not he that maketh the wicked inherently righteous, not he that changeth him inherently from unrighteous unto righteousness: but he that without any ground, reason, or foundation acquits him in judgment, or declares him to be righteous, is an abomination unto the Lord. And although this be spoken of the judgment of men, yet the judgment of God also is according unto this truth. For although he justifieth the ungodly, those who are so in themselves; yet he doth it on the ground and consideration of a perfect righteousness made theirs by imputation; and by another act of his grace,that they may be meet subjects of this righteous favour, really and inherently changeth them from unrighteousness unto holiness, by the renovation of their natures and these things are singular in the actings of God, which nothing amongst men hath any resemblance unto or can represent. For the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, unto a person in himself ungodly unto his justification, or that he may be acquitted, absolved, and declared righteous, is built on such foundations, and proceedeth on such principles of righteousness, wisdom, and sovereignty, as have no place among the actions of men, nor can have so, as shall afterward be declared. And more over, when God doth justify the ungodly on the account of the righteousness imputed unto him, he doth at the same instant, by the power of his grace, make him inherently and subjectively righteous or holy, which men cannot do one towards another. And therefore, whereas man's justifying of the wicked, is to justify them in their wicked ways, whereby they are constantly made worse and more obdurate in evil; when God justifies the ungodly, their change from personal unrighteousness and unholiness, unto righteousness and holiness, doth necessarily and infallibly accompany it. 6 To the same purpose is the word used, Isa. v. 23. Which justify the wicked for reward;' chap. 1. 8. ›p'¬yn av¬p. He is near that justifieth me; who shall contend with me? let us stand together: who is my adversary? let him come near to me, Behold the Lord God will help me; who shall condemn me?? where we have a full declaration of the proper sense of the word, which is to acquit and pronounce righteous on a trial. And the same sense is fully expressed in the former antithesis. 1 Kings viii. 31, 32. If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath came before thine altar in this house; then hear thou in heaven and do, and judge thy servants, yw yn to condemn the wicked,' to charge his wickedness on him, to bring his way on his head, py p1, and to justify the righteous.' The same words are repeated, 2 Chron. vi. 22, 23. Psal. lxxxii. 3. pwy Do justice to the afflicted and poor; that is, justify them in their cause against wrong and oppression. Exod. xxiii. 7. yun p’ryx No5 I will not justify the wicked;' absolve, acquit, or pronounce him Be it far • חלילה לי אם אצדיק אתכם .5 .righteous. Job xxvii from me that I should justify you,' or pronounce sentence on your side, as if you were righteous. Isa. liii. 11. By his knowledge my righteous servant pry shall justify many;' the reason whereof is added: for he shall bear their iniquities,' whereon they are absolved and justified. Once it is used in Hithpael, wherein a reciprocal action is denoted, that whereby a man justifieth himself. Gen. xliv. 16. And Judah said, What shall we say unto my Lord? what shall we speak? and how shall we justify ourselves? God hath found out our iniquity. They could plead nothing why they should be absolved from guilt. Once the participle is used to denote the outward instrumental cause of the justification of others, in which place alone there is any doubt of its sense. Dan. xii. 3. 'p D; And they that justify many;' namely, in the same sense that the preachers of the gospel are said to save themselves and others;' 1 Tim. iv. 16. For men may be no less the instrumental causes of our justification of others, than of their sanctification. Wherefore, although pry in Kal, signifies justum esse,' and sometimes 'juste agere,' which may relate unto inherent righteousness; yet where any action towards another is denoted, this word signifies nothing, but to esteem, declare, pronounce, and adjudge any one absolved, acquitted, cleared, justified: there is therefore no other kind of justification once mentioned in the Old Testament. Aukalow is the word used to the same purpose in the New Testament, and that alone. Neither is this word used in any good author whatever, to signify the making of a man righteous by any applications to produce internal righteousness in him; but either to absolve, and acquit, to judge, esteem, and pronounce righteous, or on the contrary to condemn. So Suidas, Δικαιοῦν δυὸ δηλοι, τὸ τε κολάζειν, καὶ τὸ δίκαιον νομίζειν. voμiv. It hath two significations, to punish, and to account righteous.' And he confirms this sense of the word by instances out of Herodotus, Appianus, and Josephus. And again, δικαιῶσαι, αἰτιατικὴ, καταδικάσαι, κολάσαι, δίκαιον voμíoa; with an accusative case, that is, when it respects and effects a subject, a person, it is either to condemn and punish, or to esteem and declare righteous; and of this latter sense, he gives pregnant instances in the next words. He sychius mentions only the first signification. Aukaloúμievov, κολαζόμενον, δικαιῶσαι, κολάσαι. They never thought of any sense of this word, but what is forensic. And in our language to be justified, was commonly used formerly, for to be judged and sentenced; as it is still among the Scots. One of the articles of peace between the two nations at the surrender of Leith, in the days of Edward the Sixth was; < that if any one committed a crime, he should be justified by the law, upon his trial.' And in general dikaovodaι, is ‘jus in judicio auferre;' and Sikaiwoal is 'justum censere, decla rare, pronuntiare;' and how in the Scripture it is constantly opposed unto condemnare,' we shall see immediately. But we may more distinctly consider the use of this word in the New Testament, as we have done that of p in the Old. And that which we inquire concerning is, whether this word be used in the New Testament, in a forensic sense to denote an act of jurisdiction, or in a physical sense to express an internal change or mutation, the infusion of a habit of righteousness, and the denomination of the person to be justified thereon; or whether it signifieth not pardon of sin. But this we may lay aside; for surely no man was ever yet so fond, as to pretend that dikaíow did signify to pardon sin; yet is it the only word applied to express our justification in the New Testament. For if it be taken only in the former sense, then that which is pleaded for by those of the Roman church, under the name of justification, whatever it be, however good, useful and necessary, yet justification it is not, nor can be so called; seeing it is a thing quite of another nature than what alone is signified by that word. Matt. xi. 19. idikaιw◊n ʼn oopía, 'wisdom is justified of her children,' not made just, but approved and declared; chap. xii. 37. ἐκ τῶν λόγων σου δικαιωθήσῃ, ‘by thy words thou shalt be justified;' not made just by them, but judged according to them, as is manifested in the antithesis, καὶ ἐκ τῶν λόγων σου καταδικασθήσῃ, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.' Luke vii. 29. ¿dikaiwσav ròv Jeòv, they justified God;' not surely by making him righteous in himself, but by owning, avowing, and declaring his righte ousness ; chap. x. 29. ὁ δὲ θέλων δικαιοῦν ἑαυτὸν, “he willing to justify himself,' to declare and maintain his own righteousness. To the same purpose, chap. xvi. 15. vμɛïç kote oi δικαιοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς, ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ‘you are they that justify yourselves before men;' they did not make themselves internally righteous, but approved of their own condition; as our Saviour declares in the place; chap. xviii. 14. The publican went down dediкaiwμévoç, justified unto his house; that is, acquitted, absolved, pardoned, upon the confession of his sin, and supplication for remission. Acts xiii. 38, 39. with Rom. ii. 13. οἱ ποιηταὶ τοῦ νύμου δικαιωθήσονται· The doers of the law shall be justified.' The place declares di rectly the nature of our justification before God, and puts the signification of the word out of question. For justification ensues, as the whole effect of inherent righteousness according unto the law and therefore it is not the making of us righteous; which is irrefragable. It is spoken of God, Rom. iii. 4. ὅπως ἄν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου· • That thou mayest be justified in thy sayings,' where to ascribe any other sense to the word is blasphemy. In like manner the same word is used, and in the same signification, 1 Cor. iv. 4. 1 Tim. iii. 16. Rom. iii. 20. 26. 28. 30. iv. 2. 5. v. 1. 9. vi. 7. viii. 30. Gal. ii. 16, 17. iii. 11. 24. v. 4. Tit. iii. 7. James ii. 22. 24, 25. And in no one of these instances can it admit of any other signification, or denote the making of any man righteous by the infusion of a habit, or principle of righteousness, or any internal mutation whatever. It is not therefore in many places of Scripture, as Bellarmine grants, that the words we have insisted on, do signify the declaration or juridical pronunciation of any one to be righteous, but in all places where they are used, they are capable of no other but a forensic sense; especially, is this evident where mention is made of justification before God. And because in my judgment this one consideration doth sufficiently defeat all the pretences of those of the Roman church about the nature of justification, I shall consider what is excepted against the observation insisted on, and remove it out of our way. Lud. de Blanc. in his reconciliatory endeavours on this article of justification (Thes. de usu et acceptatione vocis, justificandi'), grants unto the Papists, that the word Sukatów doth, in sundry places of the New Testament, signify to re new, to sanctify, to infuse a habit of holiness or righteousness, according as they plead. And there is no reason to think but he hath grounded that concession on those instances, which are most pertinent unto that purpose. Neither is it to be expected that a better countenance will be given by any unto this concession, than is given it by him. I shall therefore examine all the instances which he insists upon unto this purpose, and leave the determination of the difference unto the judgment of the reader. Only I shall premise that which I judge not an unreasonable demand; namely, that if the signification of the word in any, |