The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace

¹Ans. There is a twofold imputation, one legal, another which for Doctrines cause we call application or real (though the legal imputation be also real; but not to us as the former) the Lords act of laying the iniquity of us all upon Christ, Isa. 53.6. and the Lords making him sin for us, that is a sacrifice for sin, 2 Cor. 5.21. evinces necessarily the truth of this, the former imputation. For 2 Cor. 5.21. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. If it be expounded of actual reconciliation of persons, it may say something, for the other imputation, but the other imputation is clear, Rom. 4.3. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, v. 7. Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered, v. 8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sin, v. 9. Faith (that is, that which faith believed, as hope is put for the thing hoped for, Col. 1.5. Rom. 8.24. was imputed to Abraham for righteousness, though Gomarus give another exposition, to wit, that by faith or the act of believing we obtain this to ⟨p. 207⟩be reputed righteous, and it suits better with the Text. And as to the former imputation, God could not in justice wound Christ for our transgressions, nor bruise him for our iniquities, nor could the Lord break him, nor deliver him to the death for us all, except God had both made him the sinner, that is, imputed and reckoned him the sinner in Law (for intrinsically and inherently he was not the sinner but holy, harmless, &c.) and laid our debts upon him, Isa. 53.6. and except he had been willing to have been counted the sinner, and had said (thou hast given me a body, here am I, to do thy will,