The rich glutton might have escaped his torments and have made himselfe an happie man by help of worldlie wealth if he would and so might manie a thousand which now live and wil go to hel for the same Oh that men would take warning and be wise whiles they have time Saint Paul saith Deceive not your selves looke what a man soweth and that shal he reap What a plentiful harvest then might rich men provide themselves if they would which have such store of seed and so much ground offered them daily to sow it in Why do they not remember that sweet harvest song Come ye blessed of my father enter into the kingdome prepared for you for I was hungrie and you fed me I was thirstie and you gave me to drink I was naked and you appareled me Or if they do not care for this why do they not fear at least the blak Sanctus that must be chaunted to them for the contrarie Agite nunc divites plorate ululantes in miserijs vestris quae advenient vobis Go to now you rich men weep and howl in your miseries that shal come upon you 60 The holie father Iohn Damascen reporteth a parable of Barlaam the hermite to our purpose There was saith he a certain citie or common welth which used to choose themselves a king from among the poorest sort of the people and to advance him to great honor wealth and pleasures for a time but after a while when they were wearie of him their fashion was to rise against him and to despoile him of al his felicitie yea the very cloths of his bak and so to banish him naked into an iland of a far country where bringing nothing with him he should live in great miserie and be put to great slaverie for ever Which practise one king at a certain time considering by good advise for al the other though they knew that fashion yet through negligence and pleasures of their present felicitie cared not for it took resolute order with himselfe how to prevent this miserie which was by this means He saved every day great sums of money from his superfluities and idle expenses and so secretly made over before hand a great treasure unto that iland wherunto he was in danger daily to be sent And when the time came that indeed they deposed him from his kingdom and turned him away naked as they had done the other before he went to the iland with joy and confidence where his treasure lay and was received there with exceeding great triumph and placed presently in greater glory than ever he was before 61 This parable drawing somwhat neer to that which Christ put of the evil steward teacheth as much as at this present needs to be said in this point For the citie or common wealth is this present world which advanceth to authoritie poore men that is such as come naked into this life and upon the sudden when they look least for it doth it pul them down again turneth them naked into their graves and so sendeth them into another world where bringing no treasure with them they are like to find little favor and rather eternal miserie The wise king that prevented this calamitie is he which in this life according to the counsel of Christ doth seek to lay up treasure in heaven against the day of his deth when he must be banished hence naked as al the princes of that citie were At which time if their good deeds do follow them as God promiseth then shal they be happie men and placed in much more glorie than ever this world was able to give them But if they come without oil in their lamps then is there nothing for them to expect but Nescio vos I know not you And when they are known Ite maledicti in ignem eternum Go you accursed into fire everlasting CHAP. IIII. Of the fourth impediment which is too much presuming of the mercie of GOD. THere are a certain kind of people in the world who wil not take the pains to think of or to allege any of the said impediments before but have a shorter way for al and more plausible as it semeth to them and that is to lay the whole matter upon the bak of Christ himselfe and to answer what soever you can say against them with this only sentence God is merciful Of these men may Christ complain with the prophet saieng Supra dorsum meum fabricaverunt peccatores prolongaverunt iniquitatem Sinners have built upon my bak they have prolonged their iniquitie By which words we may account our selves charged that prolonging of iniquities in hope of Gods mercie is to build our sins on his bak But what followeth Wil God bear it No verily for the next words insuing are Dominus iustus concidet cervices peccatorum God is iust he wil cut in sunder the neks of sinners Heer are two cooling cards for the two warm imaginations before Mean you Sir to prolong your iniquitie for that God is merciful Remember also that he is just saith the prophet Are ye gotten up upon the bak of God to make your nest of sin there Take heed for he wil fetch you down again and break your nek downward except ye repent for that indeed there is no one thing which may be so injurious to God as to make him the foundation of our sinful life which lost his own life for the extinguishing of sin 2 But you wil say And is not God then merciful Yes truly deer brother he is most merciful and there is neither end nor measure of his mercie He is even mercie it selfe it is his nature and essence and he can no more leave to be merciful than he can leave to be God But yet as the prophet heer saith he is just also We must not so remember his mercie as we forget his justice Dulcis rectus Dominus Our Lord is sweet but yet upright and iust too saith David and in the same place Al the wais of the Lord are mercie truth Which words holie Barnard expounding in a certain sermon of his saith thus There be two feete of the Lord wherby he walketh his wais that is mercie and truth and God fasteneth both these feete upon the harts of them which turn unto him And every sinner that wil truly convert himselfe must lay hand fast on both these feet For if he should lay hands on mercie only letting passe truth and justice he would perish by presumption And on the other side if he shuld apprehend justice only without mercie he would perish by desperation To the end therfore that he may be saved he must humbly fal down and kisse both these feet that in respect of Gods justice he may retain fear and in respect of his mercie he may conceive hope And in another place Happie is that soul upon which our Lord Iesus
could suffer this Or what mortal hart can shew such patience But now if al this should not be requited with severitie of punishment in the world to come upon the obstinate it might seeme against the law of justice and equitie and one arm in God might seeme longer than the other Saint Paul toucheth this reason in his epistle to the Romans where he saith Dost thou not know that the benignitie of God is used to bring thee to repentance And thou by thy hard and impenitent hart dost hoord up vengeance unto thy selfe in the day of wrath and appeerance of Gods iust iudgements which shal restore to everie man according to his works He useth here the words of Hoording up of vengeance to signifie that even as the covetous man doth hoord up monie to monie dailie to make his heap great so the unrepentant sinner doth hoord up sin to sin and God on the contrarie side hoordeth up vengeance to vengeance until his mesure be ful to restore in the end Measure against measure As the prophet saith and to pay us home According to the multitude of our own abhominations This God meant when he said to Abraham That the iniquities of the Amorrheans were not yet ful up Also in the revelations unto Saint Iohn the Evangelist when he used this conclusion of that book He that doth evil let him do yet more evil and he that lieth in filth let him yet become more filthy for behold I come quikly and my reward is with me to render to everie man according to his deeds By which words God signifieth that his bearing tollerating with sinners in this life is an argument of his greater severitie in the life to come which the prophet David also declareth when talking of a carelesse sinner he saith Dominus irridebit eum quoniam prospicit quòd veniet dies eius The Lord shal scof at him foreseeing that his day shal come This day no dowt is to be understood the day of account and punishment after this life for so doth God more at large declare himselfe in another place in these words And thou son of man this saith thy Lord God the end is come now I say the end is come upon thee And I wil shew in thee my furie and wil iudge thee according to thy wais I wil lay against thee al thy abhominations and my eie shal not spare thee neither wil I take any mercie upon thee but I wil put thine own wais upon thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Behold affliction commeth on the end is come the end I say is come it hath watched against thee and behold it is come crushing is now come upon thee the time is come the daie of slaughter is at hand Shortlie wil I poure out my wrath upon thee and I wil fil my furie in thee and I wil iudge thee according to thy wais and I wil laie al thy wickednes upon thee my eie shal not pittie thee neither wil I take any compassion upon thee but I wil laie thy wais upon thee and thy abhominations in the midst of thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord that striketh Hitherto is the speech of God himselfe 6 Seeing then now we understand in general that the punishments of God in the life to come are most certain to be great and severe to al such as fal into them for which cause the Apostle saith Horrendum est incidere in manus Dei viventis It is an horrible thing to fal into the hands of the living God let us consider somwhat in particular what maner of pains and punishments they shal be 7 And first of al touching the place of punishment appointed for the damned commonly called hel the scripture in divers languages useth divers names but al tending to expresse the greevousnes of punishment there suffered As in Latin it is called Infernus a place beneath or under ground as most of the old fathers do interpret But whether it be under ground or no most certain it is that it is a place most opposite to heaven which is said to be above And this name is used to signifie the miserable suppressing and hurling down of the damned to be troden under the feet not only of God but also of good men for ever For so saith the scripture Behold the day of the Lord commeth burning like a fornace and al proud and wicked men shal be straw to that fornace and you that fear my name shal tread them down and they shal be as burnt ashes under the soles of your feet in that day And this shal be one of the greatest miseries that can happen to the prowd and stout potentates of the world to be thrown down with such contempt and to be troden under feet of them whom they so much despised in this world 8 The Hebrew word which the scripture useth for hel is Seol which signifieth a great ditch or dungeon In which sense it is also called in the Apocalyps Lacus irae Dei The lake of the wrath of God And again Stagnum ardens igne sulphure A poole burning with fire and brimstone In Greek the scripture useth three words for the same place The first is Elades used in the Gospel which as Plutarch noteth signifieth a place where no light is The second is Zophos in Saint Peter which signifieth darknes it selfe In which sense it is called also of Iob Terra tenebrosa operta mortis caligine A dark land and overwhelmed with deadly obscuritie Also in the Gospel Tenebrae exteriores Vtter darknes The third greek word is Tartaros used also by Saint Peter which word being derived of the verb Tarasso which signifieth to terrifie troble and vex importeth an horrible confusion of tormentors in that place even as Iob saith of it Ibi nullus ordo sed sompiternus horror inhabitat There dwelleth no order but everlasting horror 9 The Chaldie word which is also used in Hebrew and translated to the Greek is Gehenna first of al used by Christ for the place of them which are damned as Saint Ierom noteth upon the tenth chapter of Saint Mathews gospel And this word being compounded of Gee Hinnom signifieth a vally nigh to Ierusalem called the vally of Hinnom in which the old idolatrous Iews were woont to burn alive their own children in the honor of the devil and to sound with trumpets timbrels and other loud instruments whiles they were doing therof that the childrens voices and cries might not be heard which place was afterward used also for the receit of al filthines as of doong dead carions and the like And it is most probable that our Savior used this word above al other for hel therby to signifie the miserable burning of souls in that place the pitiful clamors and cries of the tormented the confuse and barbarous noise of
thou one day lament and bewail and be hartily sorrie for this delay which now thou makest So that by how much the more thou prolongest and increasest thy sin so much greater wil be thy pain and sorrow in thine amendement Alto vulneri diligens longa adhibenda est medicina saith Saint Cyprian A diligent and long medicin is to be used to a deepe sore Our bodie that hath lived in many delites must be afflicted saith Saint Ierom our laughing must be recompensed with long weeping Finally Saint Ambrose agreeing therunto saith Grandi plagae alta prolixa opus est medicina Vnto a great wound a deepe and long medicin is needful 15 Mark heer deer brother that the labor of thine amendement must be very great and that it cannot be avoided What madnes is it then for thee now to inlarge the wound knowing that the medicin must afterwards be so painful What crueltie can be more against thy selfe than to drive in thorns into thine own flesh which thou must after pul out again with so many tears Wouldest thou drink that cup of poisoned liquor for a little pleasure in the tast which would cast thee soone after into a burning fever torment thy bowels within thee and either dispatch thy life or put thee in great jeoperdie 16 But heer I know thy refuge wil be as it is to al them wherof the prophet saith Mentita est iniquitas sibi Iniquitie hath flattered and lied unto hir selfe thy refuge I say wil be to alledge the example of the good theefe saved even at the last hour upon the crosse and carried to paradise that same day with Christ without any further toil of amendement This example is greatly noted and urged by al those which defer their conversion as surely it is and ought to be of great comfort to every man which findeth himselfe now at the last cast therfore commonly tempted by the enimie to despair of Gods mercie which in no case he ought to do For the same God which saved that great sinner at that last hour can also and wil save al them that hartily turn unto him even at the last hour But alas many men do flatter and deceive themselves with misunderstanding or rather misusing of this example 17 For we must understand as Saint Austen wel noteth that this was but one particular act of Christ which maketh no general rule even as we see that a temporal prince pardoneth somtime a malefactor when he is come to the very place of execution yet were it not for every malefactor to trust therupon For that this is but an extraordinarie act of the prince his favor and neither shewed nor promised to al men Besides this this act was a special miracle reserved for the manifestation of Christ his power and glorie at that hour upon the crosse Again this act was upon a most rare confession made by the theefe in that instant when al the world forsooke Christ and the apostles themselves either dowted or lost their faith of his Godhead Beside al this the confession of this theefe was at such a time as he could neither be baptised nor have further time of amendement And we hold that at a mans first conversion there is required nothing else but to beleeve and to be baptised But it shal not be amisse to put to Saint Austens very words upon this matter For thus he writeth 18 It is a remediles peril when a man giveth himself over so much to vices as he forgetteth that he must give account therof to God and the reason why I am of this opinion is for that it is a great punishment of sin to have lost the fear memorie of the judgment to come c. But deerly beloved left the new felicitie of the beleeving theefe on the crosse do make any of you too secure and remisse least peradventure some of you say in his hart my guiltie conscience shal not trouble nor torment me my naughtie life shal not make me very sad for that I see even in a moment al sin forgivē unto the theefe we must consider first in that theefe not only the shortnes of his beleefe and confession but his devotion and the occasion of that time even when the perfection of the just did stagger Secondlie shew me the faith of that theefe in thy selfe and then promise to thy self his felicitie The devil doth put into thy head this securitie to the end he may bring thee to perdition And it is unpossible to number al them which have perished by the shadow of this deceitful hope He deceiveth himselfe maketh but a jest of his own damnation which thinketh that Gods mercie at the last day shal help or releeve him It is hateful before God when a man upon confidence of repentance in his old age doth sin the more freely The happie theefe wherof we have spoken happie I say not for that he laid snares in the way but for that he tooke hold of the way it selfe in Christ laieng hands on the pray of life and after a strange maner making a bootie of his own death he I say neither did defer the time of his salvation wittingly neither did he deceitfully put the remedie of his state in the last moment of his life neither did he desperately reserve the hope of his redemption unto the hour of his death neither had he any knolege either of religion or of Christ before that time For if he had it may be he would not have been the last among the apostles in number which was made the former in kingdom 19 By these words of Saint Austen we are admonished as you see that this particular fact of Christ maketh no general rule of remission to al men not for that Christ is not alwais ready to receive the penitent as he promiseth but for that every man hath not the time or grace to repent as he should at that hour according as hath been declared before The general way that God proposeth to al is that which Saint Paul saith Finis secundum opera ipsorum The end of evil men is according to their works Look how they live so they dy To that effect saith the prophet Once God spake and I heard these two things from his mouth power belongeth to God and mercie unto thee O Lord for that thou wilt render to every man according to his works The wise man maketh this plain saieng The way of sinners is paved with stones and their end is hel darknes and punishments Finally Saint Paul maketh this general and peremptory conclusion Be not deceived God is not mocked looke what a man soweth and that shal he reape He that soweth in flesh shal reap corruption he that soweth in spirit shal reap life everlasting In which words he doth not only lay down unto us the general rule wherto we must trust but also saith further
asked it thrise upon his knees with the sweat of blood what reason hast thou to think that he wil let passe so many sins of thine unpunished What cause hast thou to induce thy imagination that he wil deal extraordinarily with thee and break the course of his justice for thy sake Art thou better than those whom I have named Hast thou any privilege from God above them 15 If thou wouldest consider the great and strange effects of Gods justice which we see daily executed in the world thou shouldest have little cause to persuade thy selfe so favorably or rather to flatter thy selfe so dangerously as thou doest We see that notwithstanding Gods mercie yea notwithstanding the death and passion of Christ our savior for saving of the whole world yet so many infinite millions to be damned daily by the justice of God so many infidels heathens Iews and Turks that remain in the darknes of their own ignorance among Christians so many that hold not their profession truly or otherwise are il livers therin as that Christ truly said that few were they that should be saved albeit his death was paid for al if they made not themselves unwoorthy therof And before the comming of our savior much more we see that al the world went a-wry to damnation for many thousand yeers togither excepting a few Iews which were the people of God And yet among them also the greater part it seemeth were not saved as may be conjectured by the speeches of the prophets from time to time and specially by the saiengs of Christ to the Pharisies and other rulers therof Now then if God for the satisfieng of his justice could let so many millions perish through their own sins as he doth also now daily permit without any prejudice or impechment to his mercie why may not he also damn thee for thy sins notwithstanding his mercie seeing thou dost not only commit them without fear but also dost confidently persist in the same 16 But heer som man may say If this be so that God is so severe in punishment of everie sin and that he damneth so manie thousands for one that he saveth how is it tru that The mercies of God are above al his other works as the scripture saith and that it passeth and exalteth it selfe above his iudgements For if the number of the damned do exceed so much the number of those which are saved it seemeth that the work of justice doth passe the work of mercie To which I answer that touching the smal number of those that are saved and infinite quantitie of such as are damned we may in no wise dowt for that beside al other prophets Christ our Savior hath made the matter certain and out of question We have to see therfore how notwithstanding al this the mercie of God doth exceed his other works 17 And first his mercie may be said to exceed for that al our salvation is of his mercie and our damnation from our selves as from the first and principal causes therof according to the saieng of God by the prophet Perditio tua Israel tantum modo in me auxilium tuum Thy only perdition is from thy selfe O Israel and thy assistance to do good is only from me So that as we must acknowlege Gods grace mercy for the author of every good thought and act that we do and consequently ascribe al our salvation unto him so none of our evil acts for which we are damned do proceed from him but only from our selves and so he is no cause at al of our damnation and in this doth his mercie exceed his justice 18 Secondly his mercie doth exceed in that he desireth al men to be saved as Saint Paul teacheth and himselfe protesteth when he saith I wil not the death of a sinner but rather that he turn from his wickednes and live And again by the prophet Ieremie he complaineth greevously that men wil not accept of his mercie offered Turn from your wicked wais saith he why wil ye die you house of Israel By which appeereth that he offereth his mercie most willingly freely to al but useth his justice only upon necessitie as it were constrained therunto by our obstinate behavior This Christ signifieth more plainly when he saith to Ierusalem O Ierusalem Ierusalem which killest the prophets and stonest them to death that are sent unto thee how often would I have gathered thy children togither as the hen clocketh hir chickins underneath hir wings but thou wouldest not Behold thy house for this cause shal be made desart and left without children Heer you see the mercie of God often offered unto the Iews but for that they refused it he was inforced in a certain maner to pronounce this heavy sentence of destruction and desolation upon them which he fulfilled within fortie or fiftie yeers after by the hands of Vespasian emperor of Rome and Titus his son who utterly discomfited the citie of Ierusalem and whole nation of Iews whom we see dispersed over the world at this day in bondage both of bodie and soul. Which work of Gods justice though it be most terrible yet was his mercie greater to them as appeereth by Christ words if they had not rejected the Son 19 Thirdly his mercie exceedeth his justice even towards the damned themselves in that he used many means to save them in this life by calling upon them and assisting them with his grace to do good by mooving them inwardly with infinite good inspirations by alluring them outwardly with exhortations promisses examples of other as also by siknes adversities and other gentle corrections by giving them space to repent with occasions opportunities and excitations unto the same by threatening them eternal death if they repent not Al which things being effects of mercie and goodnes towards them they must needs confesse amidst their greatest furie and torments that his judgements are tru and justified in themselves and no wais to be compared with the greatnes of his mercies 20 By this then we see that to be tru which the prophet saith Misericordiam veritatem diligit Dominus God loveth mercie and truth And again Mercie and truth have met togither iustice and peace have kissed themselves We see the reason why the same prophet protesteth of himselfe I wil sing unto thee mercie and iudgement O Lord not mercie alone nor judgement alone but mercie and judgement togither that is I wil not so presume of thy mercie as I wil not fear thy judgement nor wil I so fear thy judgement as I wil ever dispair of thy mercie The fear of Gods judgement is alwais to be joined with our confidence in Gods mercie yea in verie saints themselves as David saith But what fear That fear truly which the scripture describeth when it saith The fear of the Lord expelleth sin the fear of God hateth al evil he that
Pharao had no more greevous way to do it than to say Indurabo cor Pharaonis I wil harden the hart of Pharao That is as Saint Austen expoundeth I wil take away my grace and so permit him to harden his own hart so when he would shew mercie to Israel he had no more forcible means to expresse the same than to say I wil take away the stonie hart out of your flesh give you a fleshie hart in steed therof That is I wil take away your hard hart and give you a soft hart that wil be mooved when it is spoken to And of al other blessings and benefits which God doth bestow upon mortal men in this life this soft and tender hart is one of the greatest I mean such an hart as is soone mooved to repentance soone checked and controlled soone pearsed soone made to bleed soone stirred to amendment And on the contrarie part there can be no greater curse or malediction laid upon a Christian than to have an hard and obstinate hart which heapeth every day vengeance unto it selfe and his maister also Saint Paul saith it is compared by the apostle unto the ground which no store of rain can make fruitful though it fal never so often upon the same and therfore he pronounceth rherof Reprobae est maledicto proxima cuius consummatio in combustionem That is It is reprobate and next doore to malediction whose end or consummation must be fire and burning 26 Which thing being so no marvel though the holie scripture do dehort us so carefully from this obduration and hardnes of hart as from the most dangerous and desperate disease that possible may fal upon the Christian being indeed as the apostle signifieth the next doore to reprobation it selfe S. Paul therfore crieth Nolite contristari nolite extinguere spiritum Dei Do you not make sad do you not extinguish the spirit of God by obduration by resisting and impugning the same Again Non obduretvr quis ex vobis fallacia peccati Let no man be hard harted among you through the deceit of sin The prophet David also crieth Hodie si vocem eius audieritis nolite obdurare corda vestra Even this day if you hear the voice of God calling you to repentance see you harden not your harts against him Al which earnest speeches used by Gods holie spirit do give us to understand how carefully we have to flie this most pestilent infection of an hard hart which almightie God by his mercie give us grace to do and indu us with a tender hart towards the ful obedience of his divine majestie such a soft hart I say as the wise man desired when he said to God Da servo tuo cor docile Give unto me thy servant O Lord an hart that is docible and tractable to be instructed such an hart as God himselfe describeth to be in al them whom he loveth saieng Ad quem respiciam nisi ad pauperculum contritum corde timentem sermones meos To whom wil I have regard or shew my favor but unto the poore and humble of hart unto the contrite spirit and to such as trembleth at my speeches 27 Behold deer brother what an hart God requireth at thy hands A little poore humble hart for so much importeth the diminitive Pauperculus also a contrite hart for thine offences past and an hart that trembleth at everie word that commeth to thee from God by his ministers How then wilt thou not fear at so manie words and whole discourses as have been used before for thine awakening for opening thy peril for stirring thee to amendement How wilt thou not fear the threats and judgements of this great Lord for thy sin How wilt thou dare to proceed anie further in his displeasure How wilt thou defer this resolution any longer Surely the lest part of that which hath been said might suffice to moove a tender hart an humble and contrite spirit to present resolution and earnest amendement of life But if al togither cannot moove thee to do the same I can say no more but that thou hast a verie hard hart indeed which I beseech our heavenly father to soften for thy salvation with the pretious hot blood of his onlie son our Savior who was content to shed it for that effect upon the crosse 28 And thus now having said so much as time permitted me concerning the first general part required at our hands for our salvation that is concerning resolution appointed by any division in the beginning to be the subject or matter of this first booke I wil end heer deferring for a time the performance of my purpose for the other two bookes upon the causes and reasons set down in an advertisement to the reader at the very first enterance unto this booke nothing dowting but if God shal vouchsafe to work in anie mans hart by means of this booke or otherwise this first point of resolution the most hard of al other then wil he also give means to perfect the work begun of himselfe and wil supplie by other wais the two principal parts following that is both right beginning and constant perseverance wherunto my other two bookes promised are appointed It wil not be hard for him that were once reformed to find helpers and instructors ynow the holie Ghost in this case being alwais at hand there want not good bookes and better men God be glorified for it in our own countrie at this day which are wel able to guide a zealous spirit in the right waie to vertu and yet as I have promised before so mean I by Gods most holie help and assistance to send thee gentle reader as my time and habilitie wil permit the other two bookes also especially if it shal please his divine majestie to comfort me therunto with the gain or good of any one soul by this which is alreadie done that is if I shal conceive or hope that any one soul so deerly purchased by the pretious blood of the son of God shal be mooved to resolution by any thing that is heer said that is shal be reclaimed from the bondage of sin and restored to the service of our maker redeemer which is the onlie end of my writing as his majestie best knoweth 29 And surely gentle reader though I must confesse that much more might be said for this point of resolution that is heer touched by me or than any man can wel utter in any competent kind of booke or volume yet am I of opinion that either these reasons heer alledged are sufficient or els nothing wil suffice for the conquering of our obstinacie and beating down of our rebellious disobedience in this point Heer thou maist see the principal arguments inducing thee to the service of God and detestation of vice Heer thou maist see the cause end why thou wast created the occasion of thy comming
is no quaestion but al were sinners and that very often they daily offended Besides al which their good deeds also but few to speak of were so imperfect for want of tru sinceritie and zeal which never are found since the fal of Adam in any of the children of men that if God should deal in his justice only and not in the depth of his mercie withal not one of those works could ever be accepted of him Hence is it that the children of God acknowledge their uncleannes in al their wais not only in such things as commonly go under the name of sin but in al their holines and righteousnes besides too high a point for the children of the world to attain unto In Christ we finde most absolute righteousnes perfectly wrought insomuch that there was never found any il in him either proceeding foorth by his deeds or words or at any time lurking in his secret thoughts and whatsoever he did or said was ever most godly wherunto the inward disposition of his hart and al his thoughts did ever accord And so must it needs be for that he was both God and man For so commeth it to passe that the infinit excellencies of his Godhead could not have sufficient issu in his manhood to shew foorth themselves to the ful but after they had thoroughly filled al his manhood with al perfection and al the organs and powers therof needs must there be immeasurable abundance left besides al which doth witnes his manhood first to be thoroughly filled So not only it might be but also of necessitie it must be and can be no other but that he loved God with al his hart with al his soul with al his strength and his neighbor as himselfe that al his deeds words and thoughts were ever good and the same in most absolute maner to the uttermost pitch that the capacitie of manhood was able to bear How to procure righteousnes to our selves to make it ours is now to be seen Where first if we come to that righteousnes that is of man either of our selves or others we shal never be able to do any good For first as touching our selves wheras we are not able to fulfil the law there is not in us any righteousnes at al to be had If we could fulfil the whole law never offending in deed word nor thought but ever having al our deeds words and thoughts fully answering to that holines and righteousnes that God requireth then might we stand in the favor of God by our own good works without any help at al by Christ and that by the vertu of the former covenant commonly called the old Testament But if we misse any point of this though we do our best indevor yet are we nothing holpen therby in this matter bicause that God hath not covenanted to accept us as righteous for doing our indevor therin but only by fulfilling the whole law in every point to the uttermost jot Neither can he in his justice accept of any other righteousnes but that which is perfect no more than the law wil adjudge any sum a just paiment be it never so much though infinit thousands so long as there wanteth any one penie of that which is covenant Then if we seek unto others those that now are saints in heaven to have the help of their righteousnes to make us righteous neither have they any such as the law requireth but are for that matter as short as we neither did God at any time make any such covenant with any of us that their righteousnes should stand us in any such steed Now therfore to come unto Christ in him only is that righteousnes to be had that can serve our turn and we have it in him by none other means but only by faith For wheras God hath made his other covenant in him which he calleth the new and the last bicause he never meaneth to make any mo besides that wheras we cannot be justified before him by any righteousnes of our own unlesse we were able to fulfil the law and he therfore hath taken this order that his Son should do it for us to the end that al that take hold therof or rest upon him should have his holines and righteousnes theirs hence commeth it both that such as rest in him by the vertu of his latter covenant have his righteousnes theirs and that they are not other wais justified but only by taking hold on him by faith For neither hath God made this righteousnes of Christ so common to al that unbeleevers may have the benefit of it as wel as the faithful neither hath he by this latter covenant declared himselfe to be of purpose to justifie us by the good works or merits of any but only of Christ. In other things without al quaestion there is a special use of our own good works of the good examples that the blessed saints have given us but in this our justification with God there is no use of them at al. Now therfore concerning the place of Saint Iames that seemeth to attribute our justification partly to our own works and not only to faith in Christ it is evident that he doth not treat of this our first justification but only exhorteth to holines of life and so consequently whatsoever he saith there it is not to be heerunto applied Wheras therfore the apostle Saint Paul concludeth his disputation of that matter that We are iustified by faith without the deeds of the law And Saint Iames in like maner concludeth his that Of works a man is iustified and not of faith only Although it may seem at the first sight that these two are directly contrarie one to the other yet the circumstances of the places and the intent and meaning of either of the Apostles being considered it is found very plainly that they are not contrarie but only divers that is one of them doth not denie that which is affirmed by the other both speaking of one thing but having two several or divers matters in hand ech of them holdeth on his own several way For Saint Paul is in hand with a point of doctrine to shew wherin our first justification consisteth before God and Saint Iames is in hand with a point of exhortation to godlines of life and to that end sheweth that our faith is but vain unlesse that it be in some good measure fruitful by works Wheras therfore although they both speak of faith and justification yet the one doth not mean either that faith or that justification that the other meaneth hence may it sufficiently appeer without any further discourse of the matter that the one of them is not against the other If Saint Iames had been of purpose to have shewed how we are justified before God he would have shewed no other way but only by faith in Christ Iesus as in the chapter before he ascribeth the estate that we have in Christ not unto