A brief discourse of justification. Wherein this doctrine is plainly laid down according to…

2. The way wherein Jesus Christ came to be the Meritorious Cause of our Justification; or made way for this imputation of his Righteousness to be made unto us, and that was in a Covenant-way; in which Gods free and willing acceptance of him to be such an one for us intervened, to give such an efficacy or operation to this Righteousness of his: It is true, that the Obedience of Christ was in it self an Obedience so full, and so worthy, and every way so completely answering to the Law, for the matter of it, that it had in it self and intrinsically a sufficient value and virtue, enough to stand for the price of the Redemption of all sinners, as is before proved; so that if God had seen meet to have justified and saved the world, and every individual of the race of fallen man, there needed no more to be done for the doing of it in a way of Justice, then what was to be found in the Obedience of Christ: but still, that which made it actually to become a ransom for us, was that God accepted ⟨p. 76⟩it at his hands for us, or on our account and if he had refused it, it had not been a Ransom, though its real worth had been nothing less than it now is: Ahab proffered to Na••th a full and valuable price for his Vine yard, whatsoever in reason he would ask for it, but yet he did not so buy it, or that was not the purchase of it, because he refused to accept it, who was the owner of it, and did not lie under the obligation to sell, because the other had a mind to buy. God hath sinners forfeited into the hands of his Justice and for sin bound to dye, yea the condemnation of death is past upon them: they a• his Prisoners, and he may do with them […] pleasure: till therefore he takes a price for their Redemption, all offers of all one how worthy soever it may be, are altogether insignificant. Now when God imputes us the Righteousness of Christ for our Justification, and so delivers us from our Judge he in so doing gives away that right of his which he had over us to have destroyed […] for ever, and that of his own mere motion for if he had refused so to do, and fallen upon us with implacable fury, none could […] this have charged him with the least injustice: herein therefore he displays the freedom of his own grace, in that he was free ⟨p. 77⟩willing that sinners should be saved;