To have the poison of corrupt doctrine cast into this spring is damnable. In these latter times, the Arminians and Socinians have cast a dead fly into this box of precious ointment. I shall endeavour to follow the star of Scripture to light me through this mysterious point. It is verbum forense , a word borrowed from law-courts, wherein a person arraigned is pronounced righteous, and is openly absolved. God, in justifying a person, pronounces him to be righteous, and looks upon him as if he had not sinned.
Justification is a mercy spun out of the bowels of free grace.
God does not justify us because we are worthy, but by justifying us makes us worthy. The ground of our justification is Christ's satisfaction made to his Father. The answer is, that Christ having made satisfaction for our fault, God may, in equity and justice, pronounce us righteous. It is a just thing for a creditor to discharge a debtor of the debt, when a satisfaction is made by the surety. In respect of the divine nature.