wandered about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins in Deserts and Mountains in Dens and Caves of the Earth were Destitute Afflicted Tormented c. rather than not Obey the Commands of God And thus through Faith obtained a good Report S. Paul allso as to himself I go bound sayth he in the Spirit to Jerusalem not knowing the things that shall befall me there Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every City that Bonds and Afflictions abide me But none of these things move me neither count I my Life dear unto me so that I may Fullfill my Course with joy and the Ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus Nor would he be disswaded though he knew thus much from going thither Being ready he tells us not only to be Bound but to Dy at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus So great an Incentive there is in Faith to the Obedience of Gods Commands Thirdly As we are thus to give heed to the Commands of God So to the Threatenings of God likewise And this is a part of our Living by Faith allso By Faith Noah being moved with Fear prepared an Ark for the Saving of his House He being warned of God of things not yet seen that the World should be destroyed by a Deluge though as yet there appeared no Likelihood of it Gave Credit to that Threatening while others its like Scoffed at it and at Him too for giving Credit to it and accordingly by Gods direction took Care to Avoid it as to himself and his family while others perished in it By which he Condemned the World and became Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith And I choose to give Instances all along in such Examples as are here cited in the following Chapter Heb. 11. Because all that Cloud of Witnesses are there designedly brought-in as a Confirmation of what is here asserted That the Just shall Live by Faith Thus Solomon likewise tells us to the same purpose A Wise man Feareth and Departeth from Evill Forbears the evill of Sin and Avoids the evill of Punishment But the Fool Rageth and is Confident he runs-on without Fear or Wit A Prudent man Foreseeth the Evil and Hideth himself But the Simple pass on and are Punished Like as it was when Moses from God threatened the Plague of Hail in Egypt Who so feared the Lord amongst the Servants of Pharaoh made his Servants and his Cattell to flee into Houses But who so regarded not the Word of the Lord as not beleeving it Left his Servants and Cattel in the Field which were destroyed by the Hail which Smote all that was in the Field both Man and Beast Now Solomon's Wise man is the Good man and his Fool is the Wicked man He that makes a Mock of Sin to whom it is a Sport to do Mischief Who goes on as Solomon speaks of the Wanton Young-man as an Ox to the Slaughter and a Fool to the Correction of the Stocks Till a Dart strike through his Liver as a Bird that hasteth to the Snare and knoweth not that it is for his Life Not like the men of Niniveh who Repented at the Preaching of Jonas Who when Jonah preached Yet forty days and Niniveh shall be Destroyed Beleeved God and proclaimed a Fast and that Every one should turn from the Evill of his ways For who can tell say they if God will Turn and Repent that we Perish not But rather like Lot 's Sons in Law when he warned them of the Destruction then coming on Sodome He seemed to them as one that Mocked and accordingly they mocked at him they looked upon him as one that talked idly or but in jest till in good earnest God rain'd fire and brimstone on them and destroyed them Much at the same rate with those Scoffers who as S. Peter tells us should come in the last days walking after their own Lusts Laughing at Gods Threatenings and saying scoffingly Where is the Promise of his coming For since the Fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the Creation The grave Fathers that talked of these things be Dead and Gone and the World goes on as it was wont to do notwithstanding their Threats Who if they be told from God by his Ministers that Except they Repent they shall all likewise Perish They look upon them as those did on Lot as a company of Brain-Sick men that talk idly Till suddain Destruction come upon them as a Thief in the Night which they did not Expect and as Pain on a Woman in Travail which they cannot Escape Who first Walk in the way of the Vngodly and stand in the Way of Sinners and then Sit in the Seat of Scorners Till at length when 't is too late they shall with those in Wisdome be convinced of their own Folly and Value the Righteous whom before they Despised When with Anguish of spirit they shall say within themselves of him whom before they had in Derision and a Proverb of Reproach We Fools accounted his Life Madness and his End without Honour But How is He numbred among the Children of God and his Lot is among the Saints while We have wearied our selves in the way of Wickedness and Destruction and have not known the Way of the Lord. Who when they Hear the words of the Curse Bless themselves in their Heart saying I shall have Peace though I walk in the Imagination of my Heart adding Drunkenness to Thirst I shall do well enough though I take my pleasure But the Lord saith Moses will not Spare that man he will shew him no mercy His Jealousy shall Smoak against him who sins thus Presumptuously and Promiseth himself Peace notwithstanding Gods Threatenings And all the Curses written in this Book shall light upon him The Lord will Separate him unto Evil out of all the Cities of Israel he will Single him out to make him an Example That others may Hear and Fear and do no more Presumptuously These are those who Beleeve not the Threatenings of God nor fear to incur his Displeasure But Happy is the man that feareth allways That so feareth as to depart from Evill He that so Feareth the Threatenings of God as to Avoid his Judgments And thus to fear is to Live by Faith Fourthly As we are to beleeve the Threatenings of God So to Beleeve the Promises of God allso And so to Beleeve them as to Rest upon them to fetch Strength and Comfort from them And this is one great part of a Christians Living by Faith And of This also we have Examples in the Chapter following By Faith Abraham sojourned in the Land of Promise the Promised Land as in a strange Countrey dwelling in Tabernacles as not taking up his Rest there with Isaac and Jacob Heirs with him of the same Promise Looking
not to Trust in them to be Justified by them either in Whole or in Part. As to Justification she tells us in the 11 th Article That we are Justified by Faith onely and that this is a Wholsome Doctrine and full of Comfort And as to Good Works she tells us in the 12 th Article That though they do not Justifie but follow after Justification yet are they pleasing and acceptable unto God are the necessary fruit of a true and lively Faith and by which it s known as a Tree by its Fruit. And in the Homily or Sermon to which the Article refers she tells us the same more fully That there can no man by his own acts works and deeds seem they never so good be justified and made righteous before God But every man of necessity is constrained to seek for another righteousness or justification to be received at Gods own hands That is to say the forgiveness of his sins and trespasses That this justification or righteousness which we so receive of Gods Mercy and Christs Merits embraced by Faith is taken accepted and allowed of God for our Perfect and Full Justification That all the world being wrapped in sin by breaking of the Law God sent his onely Son our Saviour Christ into the World to Fullfill the Law for Vs and by shedding of his most pretious bloud to make a Sacrifice and Satisfaction or as it may be called Amends to his Father for our sins to asswage his Wrath and Indignation conceived against us for the same That sinners when they turn again to God unfeignedly are washed by this Sacrifice from their Sins in such sort that there remaineth not any Spot of Sin that shall be Imputed to their Damnation That this is that Justification or Righteousness which S. Paul speaketh of when he saith No man is justified by the Works of the Law but freely by Faith in Jesus Christ And again he saith We believe in Jesus Christ that we be justified freely by the Faith of Christ and not by the Works of the Law because that no man shall be justified by the Works of the Law That Although this Justification be Free to Vs Yet it cometh not So freely to us that there is no Ransom paid therefore at all But God hath tempered his Justice and Mercy together that he would neither by his Justice condemn us to the Everlasting Captivity of the Devil and his Prison of Hell remedyless for ever without Mercy Nor by his Mercy deliver us clearly without Justice or payment of a Just Ransom And whereas it lay not in us that to do He provided a Ransome for us that was the most precious Body and Blood of his own most dear and best beloved Son Jesus Christ. Who beside this Ransome Fullfilled the Law for us Perfectly With much more to the same purpose Shewing That Christ Alone hath payd the Whole Ransome and made Full Satisfaction to God's Justice and that our Righteousness or Good Works come not in for any Share or Part thereof as if by them we should at lest in Part be justified This Doctrine I know is not pleasing to the Socinians nor to the Papists Not to the Socinians Because they Deny that any such Satisfaction is made to Gods Justice at all For if they should allow that Christ alone were able to make a sufficient Satisfaction for the Sins of All they must allow him to be more than Man And therefore in order to the Denying of his Divinity they deny his Satisfaction too Nor to the Papists For though they allow a Satisfaction to Justice Yet they would have this to be done at lest in Part by our selves To make way for Purgatory and consequently for Popish Pardons For if we must pay part of the Debt our selves Christ having not payd the Whole and have not payed it in this Life we must either pay it in Purgatory or else by way of Commutation pay Money for the Popes Pardon to be excused from it But Wee who are not concerned for either of these As neither denying Christs Divinity nor being obliged to maintain Purgatory Have no reason to depart from the Language of our own Church Now to make this the more clear our Church observes further That there are Three things which must go together in our Justification Vpon Gods part his great Mercy and Grace Vpon Christs part Justice that is the Satisfaction of Gods Justice or the Price of our Redemption by offering of his Body and shedding of his Blood with fullfilling the Law perfectly and throughly And upon Our part true and lively Faith in the Merits of Jesus Christ which yet is not ours but by Gods working in us So that in our Justification is not onely Gods Mercy and Grace but his Justice also Which the Apostle calls the Justice of God And it consisteth in Paying the Ransome and fullfilling the Law And so the Grace of God doth not shut out the Justice of God in our Justification but onely shutteth out the Justice of Man that is to say the Justice of our Works as to be Merits of deserving our Justification And therefore S. Paul declareth here nothing upon the behalf of Man concerning his Justification but onely a true and lively Faith which nevertheless is the Gift of God and not Mans onely working without God And yet that Faith doth not shut out Repentance Hope Love Dread and the Fear of God to be joyned with Faith in every man that is justified But it shutteth them out from the Office of Justifying So that though they be all present together in him that is justified yet they justify not all together Nor the Faith allso doth not shut out the Justice of our good Works as necessary to be done afterwards of Duty towards God for we are most bounden to serve God in doing good deeds commanded by him in his holy Scripture all the days of our Life But it excludeth them so that we may not do them to this intent to be made Good by doing them For all the good Works that we can do be unperfect and therefore not able to deserve our Justifiction But our Justification doth come freely by the meer Mercy of God And of so great and free Mercy that whereas all the World was not able of their selves to pay Any Part towards their Ransome it pleased our heavenly Father of his infinite Mercy without any our desert or deservings to prepare for us the most precious Jewels of Christs Body and Blood whereby our Ransome might be fully payd the Law fullfilled and his Justice fully satisfied So that Christ is now the Righteousness of all them that truly do believe in him He for them payd the Ransome by his Death He for them fullfilled the Law in his Life So that now in him and by him every true Christian man may be called a Fullfiller of the Law For as much as that which their Infirmity lacked Christs Justice hath supplied I
have recited these Words the more fully that you may clearly see what is the Doctrine and Language of the Church of England And this I hope we All take to be good Doctrine For my part I think it is I might add if it were necessary a great deal more As that where it tells us That Man cannot make himself righteous by his own Works neither in Part nor in Whole For that were the greatest Arrogancy and Presumption of Man that Antichrist could set up against God to affirm that a man might by his own Works take away and purge his own Sins and so justifie himself But Justification is the Office of God only and is not a thing which we Render unto him but which we Receive of him by his free Mercy and by the only Merits of his most dearly beloved Son and our only Redeemer Saviour and Justifier Jesus Christ. But I leave those who would see more of it to seek it in the first second and third Parts of the Sermon of Salvation the first second and third parts of the Sermon of Faith and the first second and third parts of the Sermon of Good Works And indeed the nature of the thing will not bear it that any Works of our own should even in part Justify us For Justification being an Act of God Remitting our Sins for the Ransome and Satisfaction made to his Justice It cannot be that any thing which we can now do can be any part of such Ransome or Satisfaction For all that we can do is but part of what is due for the present As our Saviour tells us When we have done all we are unprofitable Servants we have done but what was our Duty to do And there is nothing of Surplusage which might accrew toward Satisfaction for what is past Like as a Tenant who is run deep in Arrears of Rent cannot by paying part of the Growing Rent for the future make Satisfaction for the Arrears allready incurred For this growing Rent was due allso If it be said as perhaps it may That on this account we must renounce our Faith allso For neither doth Faith Satisfie Gods Justice or Deserve our Justification I say so too That Faith as a Grace or Faith as a Work doth not justifie us But onely as by it we embrace the Righteousness of Christ by which Righteousness alone so embraced we can be Justified And I say so the rather because our Church says so too in these words The true understanding of this Doctrine We be justified freely by Faith without Works or that we be justified by Faith in Christ onely Is not that this our own Act to Believe in Christ or this our Faith in Christ which is within us doth Justify us for that were to count our selves to be justified by some Act or Vertue that is within our selves but the true meaning thereof is That allthough we Hear Gods Word and Believe it allthough we have Faith Hope Charity Repentance Dread and Fear of God within us and do never so many Works thereunto yet we must renounce the merit of all our said Vertues of Faith Hope Charity and all other Vertues and good Deeds which we either have done shall do or can do as things that be far too weak and insufficient and unperfect to deserve Remission of our Sins and our Justification and therefore we must Trust onely in Gods Mercy and that Sacrifice which our High-Priest and Saviour Jesus Christ the Son of God once offered for us on the Cross to obtain thereby Gods Grace and Remission of Sins Original and Actual And as great and as godly a Vertue as the lively Faith is yet it putteth us from it self and remitteth or appointeth us unto Christ for to have onely by Him Remission of Sins and Justification So that our Faith in Christ as it were saith unto us thus It is not I that take away your sins but it is Christ onely and to him onely I send you for that purpose forsaking therein all your good Vertues Words Thoughts and Works and onely putting your Trust in Christ. Nevertheless because Faith doth directly send us to Christ for Remission of our Sins and that by Faith given us of God we Embrace the Promise of Gods Mercy and of the Remission of our sins which thing no other of our Vertues or Works properly doth therefore Scripture useth to say That Faith without Works doth Justify So that according to the Doctrine of our Church neither our other Works and Graces nor even Faith it self as a Work or as an Habit or Grace in us doth Justify us But onely as it Accepteth and Embraceth the Righteousness of Christ for which alone our Sins are Remitted and We Justified not for any thing done by us Which Accepting or Embracing the Promise of God and Salvation by Christ therein offered is not so much an Act of the Understanding Assenting to a Truth for thus the Devils believe and Wicked men as an Act of the Will Accepting of it and Consenting to it and Trusting in it which the Devils and Wicked men have not This being the language of Our Church I would not willingly depart from it or gratifie the Papists so far as to join with them in reproching our Church as Decrying good Works because we say We are not Justified by them If any shall yet say That when they affirm We are not Justified by Faith onely but by Works allso they mean not That either the one or the other doth Merit Gods Favour and the Remission of our Sins but onely That both Faith and Works are necessary to the Party Justified and That by Justification they mean all that is required to make one a Good Man and one qualified for Heaven and Salvation which cannot be without these I say The meaning is good But so to speak is not to speak Distinctly and like a Scholar but to speak confusedly and to Jumble together those things which in themselves are very Distinct. For in order to Salvation there are many other things necessary beside Justification There is Election Regeneration Justification Adoption Sanctification and as the fruits hereof a Holy Life with Perseverance therein to the end Of which Divines use to speak distinctly and consider separately what belongs to each Election is the Act of God which we are not curiously to pry into nor can we know it otherwise than as the Effect discovers it in time Justification is an Act of God allso and as to a person peccant it is the Remission of Sins upon which we are in Gods account reputed as Just or Innocent and this onely for the Satisfaction which Christ hath made not for any Work of ours And this Satisfaction of Christ is by us embraced by Faith accepting this Salvation offered by Christ not by any other Grace Adoption is an Act of God likewise whereby he reputes us his Children and Heirs of his Kingdom which is for the Merits of Christ Purchasing Heaven
for a City which hath Foundations a Firm and well Founded City instead of tbose Flitting Tabernacles who 's Maker and Builder is God And his Trusting to these Promises made him so cheerfully to Obey those Commands By Faith Sarah received Strength and obtained a Child when she was past Age Because shee judged him Faithful who had Promised By Faith in the Promise she was the better qualifyed to receive the Accomplishment of it By Faith Isaac Blessed Jacob and Esau concerning Things to come Himself Beleeving the Truthe of them By Faith Joseph when he Died made mention of the Departure of the Children of Israel out of Egypt as Beleeving the Promise of the Land of Canaan and gave Commandement concerning his Bones With many more whom I forbear to mention Who all by Faith Trusted to the Fullfilling of those Promises which God had made And here allso as we said before we must so Beleeve as to act accordingly And what the Hebrews say of their Language Verba Sensus connotant Affectum is true of other Languages too Words of Speculation imply suitable Action We must so Beleeve the Promises of God as to Trust in him to Rest upon him to Depend on him who hath so Promised A Christian Faith is not so much Fides as Fiducia Not barely an Act of the Vnderstanding but of the Will and Affections And 't is generally agreed by better Criticks than those that Laugh at it that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which are the Scripture-phrases is somewhat more than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And answers to what in the Old Testament is called Trusting in God or Putting our Trust in Him It is not onely Deo Credere but Deo Fidere or Considere Deo se Credere To Trust God To Commit our selves to him as the phrase is Psal. 10. The Poor Committeth himself to thee or as the Margin reads it out of the Hebrew Leaves himself to thee Or to the same purpose Leanes upon thee innititur Deo as we have it phrased elsewhere Commit thy works unto the Lord Trust in the Lord with all thy Heart and Leane not to thy own Vnderstanding Commit thy way unto the Lord Trust in him and he shall bring it to pass Or as the Margin tells us it is in the Hebrew Roll thy way upon the Lord Devolve restuus in Deum and as there it follows Rest on the Lord and Wait patiently for him Roll thy self on the Lord and Rest in him and Wait patiently For Evil-doers shall be cutt off But those that Wait on the Lord shall inherit the Earth If any Object as I find some have done against this Language as less Significative and Improper to express the Nature of Faith and the Workings thereof Because to Rest in God and Rely on him to Depend upon him to Lean on him to Commit or Leave our selves to him to Roll our selves upon the Lord and the like Scripture Expressions are but Metaphors 'T is true they are so But so is allso the greatest part of Humane Discourse And if we Bar Metaphors we must Exclude the greatest part of what is Sayd or Written Whatever Author we look into we shall hardly find One Sentence that hath not in it More Tropes than One. When the Psalmist says The Lord is my Rock my Fortress my Strength in whom I will Trust my Bucler my Horn of Salvation and my High Tower These are all Metaphors But their Meaning is easily understood And when we Trust a Friend upon his Word to Help us in Distress and tell him We Rest upon him We Rely upon him we Depend on him we Commit our business to him and Leave it with him Expecting that he will not Fail us or Disappoint us and suffer us to be Vndone to be Overcome to be Run-down to be Ruined These are all Metaphors But of frequent Use and as Easily Understood and more Emphatically significative than if we should Study for Proper Words or Coin new ones when we find none ready made to our hands to signify the same as Fully without Trope And if we should according to the Farsy of the Age which affects Exotick words of Latin or French Extraction rather than good old English though to the same Sense instead of Resting and Relying make use of Acquiescence and Recumbence the case is still the same At lest the Modish and Romantick Speakers should not find fault with it Nor should we look upon it as Canting to make use of such Language as the Wisdom of God thinks fit to Teach us in Holy Writ and which as is said we do commonly make use of without Scruple in all Humane Affaires Bur further As Living by Faith on Gods Promises implies a Trusting to him or Resting on him So it implies allso a Fetching Strength from him and a supply of Grace for the performance of what Duties he requires of us Our Saviour tells us That as the Branch cannot bear Fruit of it self except it abide in the Vine and receive supply of Sap Juice and Nourishment from it So neither We except we abide in Him and accordingly receive Supply from him For without him we can do Nothing And S. Paul tells us That the Life which he lives he lives by the Faith of the Son of God and that it is not so much Himself that liveth as Christ liveth in him It is of His Fullness that We receive Grace for Grace 'T is the Spirit which he giveth us that is the Well of Water Springing up to Everlasting Life And it is by Faith that We Draw Water from these Wells of Salvation When we know not what we should Pray for as we ought It is this Spirit that helps our Infirmities and makes Intercession for us When we cannot of our selves even Think as we ought It is God worketh in us both to Will and to Do of his good pleasure Or as our Church phraseth it It is by his speciall Grace Preventing us that he puts into our Minds good Desires and by his Continual Help we bring the same to good Effect Or as S. Paul of himself I am Able to do all things through Christ that strengtheneth mee Now this Strength from God we fetch by Faith If any man lack Wisdome and the like we may say of other Supplies Let him ask of God and it shall be given him But let him ask in Faith nothing wavering Yee Have not because Ye Ask not and Yee Ask and Have not because yee Ask Amiss And it is the Prayer of Faith that saveth the Sick and the like of other Mercies The Word Preached did not Profit them who are there spoken of not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it And for want of such Exercise of Faith we may oft Loose those Mercies which otherwise we might obtain And even in Miraculous Cures there was