This is certainly a doctrine of the highest importance, inasmuch as it contains in it the way of peace, the foundation of all our hope, of the acceptance both of our persons and services, and beholding the face of God, at last, with joy. Some have styled it the very _basis_ of Christianity; and our forefathers thought it so necessary to be insisted on and maintained, according to the scripture-account thereof, that they reckoned it one of the principal doctrines of the reformation. And, indeed, the apostle Paul speaks of it as so necessary to be believed, that he concluded that the denying or perverting of it was the ground and reason of the Jews being rejected; _who being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish a righteousness of their own, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God_: and when they shall be called, if their call be intended, in that account which we have, of _the marriage of the Lamb, and his wife having made herself ready_, Rev. xix. 7. as many suppose, it is worth observing, that she is described as _arrayed in fine linen, which is the righteousness of saints_, or Christ’s righteousness, by which they are justified: this is that in which they glory; and therefore are represented as being convinced of the importance of that doctrine which, before, they were ignorant of. This we have an account of in these two answers, which we are now to explain, and shall endeavour to do it in the following method. I. We shall consider what we are to understand by the word _justify_. II. What are the privileges contained therein, as reduced to two heads, to wit, pardon of sin; and God’s accounting them who are justified, righteous in his sight? And, III. What is the foundation of our justification? namely, a righteousness wrought out for us. IV. The utter inability of fallen man to perform any righteousness, that can be the matter of his justification in the sight of God. V. That our Lord Jesus Christ has wrought out this righteousness for us, as our surety, by performing active and passive obedience; which is imputed to us for our justification. VI. We shall consider it as an act of God’s free grace. And, VII. Shew the use of faith in justification, or in what respects faith is said to justify.