rageth and is angry against God and his wicked affections breake forth openly like vnto wilde and vntamed beasts and run out like wilde horses and the more severely that God forbiddeth any evill the more egerly doth miserable man rage and resist it so that a man may sooner wring oyle out of an hard stone then that a man not regenerate should do any good thing that should please God or be avayleable for his salvation Seeing then that man in his whole nature and will is a foe and an enemy to God I see not by what meanes he may deserve life at Gods hands Moreover seeing that man was drenched through sinne in so deepe a pit and bottomlesse gulfe of damnation that he could not vnderstand nor comprehend it therefore also he had perished for ever in it if God by his grace had not plucked him out of it and delivered him through Christ his only begotten Sonne For miserable man is so blinded through sinne that he cannot vnderstand his owne evill much lesse can he cure it Sinne therefore as an vnavoydable destruction lurketh in mans nature as in a deepe pit of hipocrisy and if God had not revealed it in his lawe and withall found a remedy for it in his Gospel man altogether ignorant of his mystery had runne headlong into eternall destruction Againe the least sinne that is in the nature of it is so vgly that it redoundeth to the dishonor of God and deserveth his fierce indignation the greatnes whereof no creature is able to suffer and overcome as a man may see in the Angels that fell and were condemned So that man had for ever perished in his misery if God by the death of his Sonne had not drawne him out of it This vntowardnes of mans nature and backwardnes to all good doth wonderfully set forth Gods mercy and proveth it to be free because God in choosing man being such as he is vnto life doth declare his free bounty and vndeserved mercy Vpon this mercy of God is grounded the hope and consolation of all the faithfull wherefore although they excell in no worthines nor have any merites which they may bring vnto God yet this one thing may be sufficient for them to come to all happines namely that God in his nature is good and mercifull and so far forth good and mercifull as that he would rather help and advance vnto happines miserable men such as were almost past help then those that were of great account and trusted in their owne strength They therefore which trust that God will be their Saviour even for his owne free goodnes sake it necessarily followeth that they have their faith grounded vpon and correspondent vnto the grace of the Gospell But they which trusting in their owne merits thinke that God will be their rewarder have their hope in no wise framed according to the tenor of the Gospell so that they waver in doubtfull and hurtfull perplexities till being at the length overcome they are at the last cast downe and swallowed vp of desperation This therefore is the mutuall and continuall relation betweene a Christian mans faith and Gods free bounty that an humble and prostrate sinner should by fayth lay hold on Gods mercy though he bring nothing else vnto God but a contrite and a broken heart Psa 51.17 for he exacteth this one thing and requireth nothing else Therefore out of this mercy of God miserable sinners may suck this most sweete comfort that by theyr humble and lowly confession and loathing of their sinnes they have Gods exceeding mercy prepared and exhibited vnto them as a certayne and present remedy for all theyr evils Also heere is a thing worthy to be noted that God who of his vndeserved favour did deliver miserable mankinde from so great a mischiefe doth teach and commaund vs by his example that to our power we should helpe those that are in misery Yea and the greater that their misery is the more should every of vs know that we are bound vnto God for to helpe them and if wee do not helpe them as much as we can when neede requireth by that wee shewe our selves to be enemyes and adversaryes to God For they which are wicked against God can not be good towards men And they do indeede declare that they are man-sleyers in the sight of God For if others should forsake them likewise and not helpe them they should decay and perish in their misery and so they are the occasion and cause of theyr death as farre-forth as in them lyeth and therefore are iudged and shall be condemned of God as manifest man-sleyers This the Scripture setteth downe in expresse words saying that iudgement mercilesse shall be to him that sheweth no mercy Heere the wicked and fond fiction of the Papists concerning faith and good works foreseene which they dreame to be the causes of election are confuted as false by playne testimonies of holy scripture CHAP. 12. NOw whatsoever the Papists doe talke of concerning fayth and godlinesse fore-seene is nothing else but a most vayne dreame and foolish fiction For in that they say that God from everlasting knew such or such that they would be good and that they would deserve election by their good workes it is to forge a weake and fond fable about which they may trifle at their pleasure and without feare For God is so the cause and beginning of all good that the least drop of goodnes cannot any where be found of which he is not the onely author and finisher The Papists in this doctrine are confuted by many places of holy scripture and are convinced of manifest vntruth For holynesse and a godly life are the fruites and effects of election For God did elect his from everlasting not because they would be good in themselves and worthy of their election but he elected them being evill that afterwards by his grace they might become good This the Scripture doth testifie in manifest and expresse words when it sayth that God hath chosen vs Ephes 1.4 that wee should be holy and without blame before him through love Heere we may cleerely see that God did not finde such as should be elected good but that being elected of him he maketh them good So that integrity of life and good workes do follow election as the true effects thereof and go not before it as the cause And if good workes should be the cause of election man should have chosen God and God should not have chosen man so salvation should be mans merit and not Gods gift and election should be not because God is mercifull but because man is good and iust Againe the Papists in setting vp workes foreseene as the cause of salvation deny God to be God and make his grace of no account For God alone is good Iam. 1.17 and the only fountaine of goodnes Therefore whosoever thinke that they have the very least good thing in them without God do deny him to be
everlasting death and redeemeth and saveth him in Christ is by infinite degrees greater and more excellent This Mercy of God is the onely refuge for miserable sinners a most sure Sanctuary from all danger and a most welcome refreshing The whole Scripture teacheth vs and dayly experience prooveth it true that God is easiie to be intreated and mercifull vnto none but vnto such only which reverently and humbly fly vnto his Mercie with an vnfeigned confession of theyr sinnes and bewayling of theyr guiltinesse Whosoever therefore seeke for acquitall from sinne without the grace of God and merite of Christ doe set light by the mercy of God and the blood of Christ and shall never attayne to the remission of theyr sinnes For no pleading of a mans own worthines hath any place before Gods heavenly iudgement seate Luke 18.14 but an humble deploring of sinne is there accepted They therefore which desire to bee iustified and to be acquited both from the punishment and from the offence must altogether withdraw themselves from the righteousnesse of workes and betake themselves wholy vnto the Mercy of God onely for hee alone can put away sinne and wipe out the guiltinesse thereof For whomsoever the goodnesse of God and merite of Christ hath not delivered from sinne let him see and try what it is that can set him free from the law and the penalty thereof From this it may be concluded for a most certaine and an approoved thing that wretched men can no other wayes be freed from theyr sinnes but by the Mercy of God onely This therefore is the first and chiefest prop and foundation of our fayth and Salvation that wee are accepted of God not that we deserve this by our owne worthinesse but that our sinnes are forgiven vs by the Mercy of God and not layd to our charge So that God doth iustifie his children by forgiving them their sinnes and imputing the obedience of Christ his life vnto them for righteousnesse Now no man ought to marvell that we are iust before God not by our owne inherent righteousnesse but by that which being in Christ is imputed vnto vs through fayth Certaynely in our selves wee are vnrighteous and cannot by any power of our owne attayne vnto righteousnesse before God But Christ satisfying for our sinnes by his death brought to passe that this satisfaction should be imparted vnto vs and that wee in respect of this should bee accounted iust before God For even as he made our sinnes his so also on the other side he maketh his righteousnesse our righteousnesse In Psal 22. as Saynt Augustine sayth As therefore Christ in our sinnes was guilty so likewise wee in his righteousnesse purchased by him in his death are reputed and become righteous This the Apostle playnely testifieth when he sayth 1. Cor. 1.30 that Christ is made vnto vs of God righteousnesse By which wordes hee signifieth that Christ was appoynted of God for vs a Priest and a Sacrifice to witte that by offering vp himselfe hee might purge our sinnes and obtayne remission of sinnes for vs in which our righteousnesse consisteth before God and also that this obedience which hee yeelded vnto his Father by tasting of death for vs should be imputed vnto vs for righteousnesse And although this obedience of Christ his death is properly that thing which is imputed vnto vs of God for righteousnesse as which God esteemeth as if it had beene done by vs and that wee our selves had satisfied his iust iudgement yet wee must know that the obedience of the life of Christ which he yeelded vnto the Lawe by living holily and that holinesse of the nature of Christ by which he was holy from his Conception are not by this altogether excluded from the matter of Iustification For that holinesse of Christ both of his nature and life was necessary for this purpose that the Sacrifice of Christ might bee imputed and imparted vnto vs for righteousnesse For Christ could not have satisfied for our sinnes by his Sacrifice and so have obtayned remission of them for vs if he had not been an holy Priest and also offered vp an holy Sacrifice Hence is it that Saynt Paul vnto the Hebrewes sayth Hebr. 7.26 27. Such an high Priest became vs which is holie harmelesse vndefiled separate from sinners and made higher then the heavens which needed not dayly as those high Priestes namely the Leviticall to offer vp sacrifice first for his owne sinnes and then for the peoples for that did hee once when he offered vp himselfe Beholde a most cleere and evident testimonie of the holinesse of our Priest Of the holinesse of our Sacrifice 1. Pet. 1 18 19. Saint Peter speaketh when he sayth that wee were not redeemed with gold nor silver but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lambe vndefiled and without spot By these wordes Saint Peter signifieth that those lambes which were killed in the old Testament and did resemble Christ as types and figures ought therefore to bee without blemish that by this the innocency and holinesse of Christ our Sacrifice should bee shadowed forth vnto vs. For Christ as Iohn Baptist sayth is that Lambe of God that is that Sacrifice ordayned of God to take away the sinne of the world By these thinges it may now be vnderstood how and how farre forth the holinesse both of the life and nature of Christ appertayneth vnto this matter of Iustification namely how farre forth it was necessary to this purpose that Christ by his holy Sacrifice or obedience of his death might deserve remission of sinnes for vs in which remission of sinnes consisteth our righteousnesse before God as wee may vnderstand by the wordes of Paul to the Romanes Rom. 5.19 And hence also may this bee gathered whenas Paul to the Romans sayth that by the obedience of one to wit Christ we are made righteous that he meaned it of the obedience of his death which Christ yeelded to his Father by tasting of death for vs. For wee are reconciled vnto God by the death of Christ Rom. 5 9 10 and iustified by his blood as the same Apostle sayth in the same Chapter Furthermore this Iustification is not onely free and perfect but also everlasting in as much as sinne ought not to be imputed vnto them that are iustified any more for ever For whom God hath once receyved into favour having blotted out their sinnes and offences those doth hee still preserve in his favour as righteous so that they can fall from grace and perish by no manner of sinnes they being and remayning pardoned in them For God wil never remember those sinnes to which the regenerate are as yet subiect This the Scripture expresseth and diligently affirmeth in many places For God by Isaias sayth I will remember thine iniquities no more Isay 43.12 Agayne he sayth by Ieremie Ierem. 31.34 I will be mercifull vnto theyr iniquities and remember their sinnes and transgressions no more These
hindred that they cannot come to their purposed and determined end so the effect and end doth not alwayes answere the purpose and intent of the doer because one thing is intended and an other thing happeneth But God doth now see the future events of things and beholdeth them as if they were present and by his almighty power can direct and bring them to their foreappoynted end and scope against all lets and hinderances whatsoever The event therefore and end is alwayes answerable to his eternall intent and purpose so that that commeth to passe in time which he purposed to himselfe before time The will of God is the precise and absolute necessity of things as Augustine elsewhere speaketh Moreover although the first man could not of himselfe change his will that was created good into evill without the motion of God comming in and concurring with it for in God all things are moved and without him there is no motion yet the fault and crime that was committed by the first man can not nor ought not to be ascribed vnto God for that remayneth onely in the will of man That this may be vnderstood more plainely and distinctly of every man there are two things to be considered in sinne to wit the action and the evill that is annexed and knit vnto the action For the action it selfe as far forth as it is an act and worke is good and God doth begin and finish it but as farre forth as it is wicked and hath evill annexed vnto it it proceedeth and floweth from the corrupt nature of man Moreover although God may produce and performe some worke in the evill actions of men yet God doth nothing but that which is good for in him there is no evill therefore also out of him can proceede no worke but good Seeing therefore that he is wholy good likewise must all his works be good also For the effects are wont to imitate and resemble their causes so that they are such as their causes have been before them So that whomesoever God stirreth vp and moveth he doth it well and right wisely although the creature so moved by him may sinne and so fall from him But man sinned against the expresse commaundement of God in that he freely chose the evill therefore the sinne that was committed by him is to be ascribed properly to his owne will and to be iudged as proceeding from it Therefore although the fall of the first man did proceede of his owne free and voluntary will yet could it by no meanes be done without Gods eternall decree because that onely falleth out which God from everlasting did purpose and foresee But sinne it selfe as it is a thing contrary vnto God did spring from the will of man approoving and committing it Gods heavenly will suffering and permitting it Therefore it may be gathered by the fall of man that the first man was pliant and easy to be inclined on eyther side For such a will was given him that if he would he might have stoode still and remayned innocent but he had no promise nor constancie given him to continue so and therefore did he fall so easily and tooke the fruite that was forbidden by GOD and did eate it Wherefore this change and fall from good to bad was by all meanes necessary for the accomplishment of Gods eternall counsell For by it on the one side there was as it were an open dore and a most fit occasion offered for God to shew his mercy by and on the other side an open gappe and a most iust cause given him to exercise his iustice For as the elect could not have been saved by mercy except they had first sinned and thereby deserved Gods most iust wrath and eternall damnation so likewise the reprobate could not have beene condemned by his iustice except they had beene first subiect vnto iust condemnation by reason of their sinne and falling from God So God on the one side did erect his everlasting iudgement seate and on the other side opened and layde forth the infinite treasures of hys mercy God therefore that he might shew forth his power and his wisedome together with his vnspeakeable goodnes thought it better of evill things to produce good things then to suffer no evill things at all In Enchirid cap. 21. sayth Saint Augustine For what can be better and wiser then hee is who knoweth how to bring forth exceeding great goodnes out of that which is very bad and to convert vnto salvation those things that are ready for destruction For except God could have produced good out of evill he would never have suffered the evill to have beene committed In as much therefore as he hindred not the fall of the first man who shall call him into question and who can or dare accuse him of vnrighteousnes for by permitting that fall he gat a most ample occasion to shew forth his glory by So that the fall of the first man Adam was no lesse necessary then the manifestation and execution of Gods eternall purpose By all this it is manifest that God is such a worker that he is able to fulfill and performe his good will even by the wicked and vngodly wills of men not that the wicked have any purpose to be obedient vnto Gods will but because by the secret working of God and his direction they are drawne vnto it themselves not knowing of it For God by his hidden power as with an invisible cord doth draw the wicked although they know it not to the performance of those ends which themselves never aymed at So the vngodly are directed to an end which themselves know not of by the secret power of God without any purpose or indeavour of theirs like as arrows flye without any feeling vnto the marke to which the Archer directeth them Heere behold and admire Gods provident bounty and favour which disdaineth not for our sake to direct the wandring steps and indeavours of the wicked vnto an wholesome end to turne the greatest hurt into the chiefest health and a desperate evill into good In as much therefore as the wicked sinne and do wickedly it is their owne worke but in as much as they bring to passe this or that by their sinning that is by the power of God sayth Saint Augustine Epist 48. ad l'incentium And although that God and wicked men seeme to do one and the selfesame worke yet the men are faulty and God only iust because in that one thing which they do there is not one cause for which they do it Lib. 21 de Gratia libero Arbitrio sayth Augustine So the wicked do not become good nor are held excused although they do the same things which God would have done because in their actions they have not respect vnto the will of God with a desire to obey it but follow their owne lewd counsels and wicked desires So also God becommeth not evill and vniust but remayneth good and
as it neither ariseth nor dependeth of any naturall causes so also can it not bee knowne by them Agayne the knowledge thereof is not to be sought in the secret hidden fore-knowledge of God but to bee found out by the latter namely by the effects and signes thereof For there is nothing more preposterous nothing more dangerous then omitting and neglecting the effects of Vocation to seeke for the certaynety thereof in the counsell of God And they which labour to do this enter into an endlesse Labyrinth out of which the light of mans reason can never ridde or deliver them Now the effects whereby every man may know his Calling are sundry and manifest First whosoever are called effectually vnto Christ Iohn 8 47. do desire earnestly to heare the word of God and to profile truely in it Secondly Gal. 4 6. the holy Ghost doth stirre vp in them a diligent worship of God and doth kindle and inflame theyr hearts with the desire of thinking and doing good workes Tit. 2.14 and doth beget in them a true hatred of evill as to detest avoyd sinne with all their strength They therefore which love God are called of him 1. Cor. 8.3 for no man can love him except first he be called and taught of him Thirdly God doth beget in his children an hatred of this world and a love of theyr heavenly Country which can be in none but in those that are called and regenerate So that faith and the fruites of fayth are the true and infallible effects and signes of a saving Calling all which as vnseparable companions and vndoubted witnesses doe follow an effectuall Calling by which is begotten in a man a lively and an effectuall feeling of the favour of God Whereas otherwise if a man were not called and regenerate his whole mind and will would be set vpon evill things he should feele no true taste of the grace of God and should be able to doe no good thing before God as furnished onely with humane strength They therefore which doe conceave in theyr minde any good thing and feele it in themselves all that hath his beginning from God that calleth them which worketh in them every good thing that maketh for the Salvation of their soules iustification before God For he onely enclineth the wils and the hearts of men to thinke and doe that which is good and iust They therefore which have an hearty desire to doe that which is good howsoever the worthinesse of their worke answere not their will yet neverthelesse they may know that they are called of God and that they have the holy spirite within them which worketh effectually vnto their Salvation For where hee stirreth vp that spirituall contention betweene vertue and vices there doth an effectuall calling manifest it selfe and declareth and sheweth the power that it hath because that striving betweene the spirit and the flesh can be in none but in those that are called and regenerate For sinne doth wholy possesse the vnregenerate men but it doth but onely hinder the regenerate and set vpon them with great and continuall bickerings They therefore which doe acknowledge and confesse themselves to be vnperfect they may certaynely resolve with themselves that they are called and renewed For this is as one sayth the perfection of Christians to acknowledge theyr owne imperfections But if men feele no such effectes at all or very small and slender effects yet from thence they ought to take no occasion to doubt of the mercy of God or of theyr calling For God doth not give all his gifts and benefites at the first and in one day but enlargeth and encreaseth them by degrees Rom. 1.17 and by little and little Agayne there are sundry and divers times of calling Matth. 20. vers 1. and so forward For some he calleth in theyr first age some in theyr middle age some in their old age some for his great mercy sake he draweth to himselfe in theyr last gaspe of life So that they which as this day feele not the effectes of theyr Vocation they may feele them to morrow or the day after But when God deferreth fayth and repentance even vnto the last pang of death then doth hee witnesse his singular love and mercy towardes miserable sinners For by such examples he comforteth them who have fallen into such or such sinnes and have remayned in them as it were ensnared and lulled a sleepe for a long time that they should not for those sinnes though growne old by long continuance be cast downe and despayre of obtayning mercy because that the incomprehensible grace of God doth remit all manner of sinnes vnto those which are penitent from the bottome of theyr hearts and because that the greatnesse and power of grace is of farre more force to save man then the strength and power of iniquitie is to condemne him as Barnard elsewhere speaketh Lastly we must thinke this that true conversion vnto God and repentance is never too late Whosoever therefore shall truely and heartily repent even at the panges and poynt of death for him is the grace of God prepared and hee may hope for certayne Salvation Agayne true and lively experience teacheth vs by the examples of those whom God calleth even in the last gaspe of life that Salvation and Life eternall is altogether free and every way an vndeserved benefite Therefore no man should despayre of the great Grace of God but all should be in very good hope of it as long as they live here in this world And these thinges bee spoken of Vocation Now it remayneth to speake of Iustification Here is intreated of free Iustification and shewed how it may bee knowne by Vocation or Calling also what it is for a man to be iustified after the phrase of the Gospel and lastly what are the speciall causes of Iustification CHAP. 26. IVstification is the fourth lincke in Pauls Chayne and this is set vnder Vocation or calling in a most convenient and methodicall order For after that God hath called a man vnto himselfe and hath wrought fayth in him by his spirite through the word straight wayes are shewed by the Apostle those benefites which fayth seeketh in God and receyveth of him Fayth therefore that ariseth from an effectuall calling hath respect vnto Iustification Moreover fayth doth not by the proper merite and worke thereof absolve and iustifie any man but it is sayd to iustifie a man because it beholdeth and apprehendeth the free mercy of God in his promises So that true fayth embracing the promises of God and applying them vnto it selfe is imputed by God vnto man for righteousnesse or that I may speake more properly the obedience of Christ his death is imputed to him for righteousnesse through fayth For our righteousnesse before God consisteth in the forgivenesse of our sinnes Rom. 4.6.7 as it appeareth by the wordes of Saint Paul vnto the Romanes But the remission of our sinnes could not
be obtayned for vs but by the obedience of Christ his death Therefore sinne which is set as a wall betweene God and vs must first bee taken away For as long as sinne remaineth and is imputed vnto a man there is such and so great disagreement betweene God and man as that he shutteth vp from man all entrance vnto his grace So that the forgivenesse of sinnes without which nothing can fall out happily for any mortall man as it is alwayes the first and greatest benefite of God towards vs as concerning Salvation so alwayes by right it taketh and challengeth vnto it selfe the first place for of it all other the gifts of God doe depend For God doth not lively and savingly doe good and shew favour vnto any but to those whose sinnes he hath first pardoned and forgiven So that when they by the Fatherly compassion of God are taken away and wiped out then the spirit of sanctification commeth in place by the vertue and operation whereof miserable sinners are renewed vnto the patterne and study of godlinesse Therefore God doth first reconcile men vnto himselfe by the free remission of their sinnes Then doth he regenerate them by his spirite into righteousnesse and newnesse of life and calleth them to himselfe and draweth them to Christ Saint Augustine having respect vnto this sayd rightly Regeneration beginneth from the remission of all our sinnes with which saying that holy man would teach vs that God then worketh by his grace in man vnto righteousnesse and eternall life and is then truly and lively perceyved when a mans sinnes are pardoned By this it cleerely appeareth that free remission of sinnes is the first benefite that commeth vnto man in this world tending vnto eternall life They therefore which begin from any other benefite of God which concerneth Salvation are like vnto foolish Phisitians which are carefull onely to curesome griefe and little or nothing desirous at all to know and take away the cause of the disease For that is the sound curing of any disease which beginneth at the cause taketh that away So likewise that is a true deliverance indeed whenas God by the free remission of sinnes sheweth him selfe a good and mercifull father Therefore this remission of sinnes in respect of God goeth before our Calling for God doth not reconcile man vnto himselfe nor take him vnto mercy by any other meanes but by the free remission of sinnes But in respect of vs our Calling goeth before it for by it we beginne to knowe and vnderstand that wee are iustified For when wee are called then is the gate vnto righteousnesse opened vnto vs then is declared what is given vnto vs and what we are to looke for then also doe wee beholde the milde and mercifull countenance of God as in a cleere and chrystall glasse But that Iustification may the more playnely bee vnderstood and the more familiarly conceyved these five thinges ought to be marked and considered First what that word to Iustifie doth signifie and whence it is taken Secondly what true Iustification is and what is the cause thereof Thirdly what manner of thing Iustification is and what proprieties it hath Fourthly what good commeth vnto vs by it and how it may be knowne Fiftly who are they that are iustified and doe obtayne free remission of theyr sinnes To Iustifie in the Hebrew phrase is to acquite one and to pronounce him iust This is a politicall word and a terme of law which is very often and much vsed in civill governement As if an innocent man should bee accused of others as guilty and should stand before the iudgement seat of a iust Iudge there when iudgement shall be given and sentence pronounced according to his innocency then is that man sayd to be iustified before that Iudge Then this word of Iustifying is translated from a politike and civill order vnto spirituall matters and so in the vsuall manner of the Scripture to Iustifie is to forgive and pardon a man his sinne But before this be more largely vnfolded two phrases or fourmes of speach in Divinity are to be explaned for the vnderstanding sake of the more simple sort namely what it is to be iustified by works and what it is to be iustified by faith He is sayd to be iustified by works in whose life and manners there is thought to be so great integrity and holynes as that it may deserve the prayse and testimony of righteousnes before God So in this our time there is found that wicked sect of the Papists which attributeth so great integrity vnto it selfe as that in the perfection thereof it may fully answere and satisfie the iust iudgement of God How true this is Rom. 10. the day of the last and great iudgement of Christ shall declare But they which so establish their owne righteousenes do fall from the truth of the Gospell and lose the mercy of God But he is sayd to be iustified by faith which layeth aside all thought of his owne merits and doth apprehend and apply vnto himselfe the righteousenes of Christ purchased by his death with which being invested and clothed he appeareth in the sight of God not as a sinner but as iust Therefore in this article of iustification wee must pray for true faith and hope from God that wee may be able to renounce our owne merits and worthines and rest our selves vpon the mercy of God onely otherwise we shall never have entrance vnto true righteousenes which is of worth before God for the grace of God only is abundantly sufficient vnto righteousenes as Saint Barnard elsewhere speaketh most wisely and godly when as he sayth It is sufficient for me vnto all righteousenes to have him mercifull vnto me against whom onely I have offended Therefore he is sayd to be iustified before God in the phrase of the Gospel which in his iudgement is thought righteous and is accepted and approved of him for his righteousenes and is no more accounted of him as a sinner but as a righteous man and by that name standeth before his iudgement seate with an vndaunted conscience and ioyfull countenance For a miserable sinner being excluded from his owne righteousnes doth by faith apprehend the righteousnes of Christ that is to say righteousnes purchased by his death whilest that he applyeth the obedience of his death vnto himselfe with which being clothed as with his owne obedience he appeareth now in the sight of God not as a sinner but as a righteous man and being endued with the obedience of Christ his death he is much more gratious in the sight of God then if he had never sinned and had righteousnes of his owne gotten by the iust and perfect works of the law Heere therefore to iustifie is not of vnrighteous to make a man righteous which can be righteous indeede and have no sinne in him but it is to account and repute him for a righteous man which wanteth righteousnes in himselfe to acquite him from
holy although he willeth those things which the vngodly do because God willeth them with a farre other manner of counsell and end then the vngodly do will and do them So in the death of Christ the action of the wicked was so evill that in respect of them it could not be worse nor more vile for they slew the innocent and killed the Lord of glory and intended in that one consent and outrage of theirs to hinder the salvation of mankinde yet that very same action in respect of God was so good and holy that no other coulde bee better nor more holy because he by the death of his sonne would redeeme miserable sinners from eternall death and translate them into heavenly glory and eternall life Wherefore wicked and vniust men oftentimes vnwittingly and intending some other thing doe fulfill and performe the good and righteous will of God Yet notwithstanding afterward God iustly punisheth condemneth them because they pursue their owne wicked desires and vngodly enterprises and respect not nor regarde Gods will at all They preferre their owne perverse affections before God and before his will So the actions of Almighty God and of wicked men differ by their diverse purposes and are distinguished one from another in their diverse ends So also at this day God suffereth many sinnes to bee committed of wicked men throughout sundry Nations and in the greatest kingdomes where he doth not vouchsafe them his word nor reforme them by his spirite and doth not enlighten their mindes with the knowledge of himselfe nor governe and incline their willes and affections so that they may propose to themselves this principall end as their onely marke namely to endevour to execute Gods knowne will earnestly and continually and to frame and fashion themselves their life and their manners vnto it as vnto a continuall rule to walke by and to honor God by their obedience in eschewing of evill and dooing of good these things except God worke in them by his word and spirite whatsoever they intend or doe howsoever before men it may seeme good and iust yet all that in the sight of GOD is nothing else but vglie and execrable sinne For God doth not at all regard nor respect the outward workes except the integrity of the heart go with them and appeare in them therefore where that wanteth there sinnes are accounted for no sinnes and vertue with vices and one thing with an other are confounded and so there will be but little difference betweene honesty and dishonesty Heere the author returneth to his purpose and ioyneth the third degree of praedestination then the causes of praedestination are vnfoulded next the definition of it is given and lastly praedestination is distinguished from providence CHAP. 7. THese things it seemed good to touch by the way and lightly to handle concerning permission which is the second degree of predestination now we must come vnto the third degree of predestination Thirdly to predestinate heere is nothing els then to purpose to choose some and to adopt them for sonnes in Christ out of the vniversall company of wicked men For God by his mercifull foresight did ordayne and appoynt from amongst sinfull men and such as were past cure in respect of themselves to receive some vnto mercy without any merit of theirs to redeeme them through Christ and by him also to bring them vnto eternall life But heere more properly and peculiarly is meant the other acceptation of this word election as in the definition heereof a little before we have declared This word election is taken diversely in the scripture so that sometimes it hath reference vnto some office or duty and sometimes to life eternall After the former manner Saul and Iudas were elected the one of which was chosen to a Kingdome and the other to an Apostleship neyther of them to eternall life But seeing that no definition can rightly be made or vnderstoode vnlesse the causes of which it is compounded and made be well perceived and knowne therefore I thinke I shall not do amisse if first I lay open the causes of predestination before I set downe the definition of it As for the efficient and first moving cause of predestination there can no other be set downe and appoynted but onely the eternall and onely purpose and good pleasure of God For God onely is hee which by his most wise counsell and iudgement doth discerne betweene men and men and hath decreed from everlasting what shall become of every man God hath lively expressed and declared this in his word manifestly and playnely for men considered in themselves and by themselves are all alike corrupted so that some are no whit better then other some Therefore in the iudgement of man some cannot be preferd before others because there is one and the selfesame condicion of all But God the highest iudge of all hath elected some men to eternall life in Christ and hath in his iust iudgement appoynted others to everlasting destruction and whome he hath chosen vnto salvation those hath he chosen by his owne meere mercy and vndeserved grace hee regarded nothing that is without himselfe but whome he hath elected he did onely for himselfe and in himselfe and not for any other cause Moreover he could finde nothing in those whome he hath chosen that might be worthy of election because they were all defiled and strangers from God also he could foresee no good thing in them as proceeding from them for which they should be chosen If he foresaw any good thing in them himselfe wrought it wholy and altogether in them For there can be found no good thing in them nor elsewhere of which God is not the sole author and onely effector Therefore what good thing so ever is and abideth in them that God himselfe wholy beginneth and finisheth in them And he beginneth and finisheth nothing in them but he decreed from everlasting that he would begin it and finish it in them For if in time he should worke any thing in them how little soever which he decreed not before time then should there be found manifest change in God which should do some thing by a new will and not by his eternall will Those things which the Papists pratle of here concerning workes foreseene whose cause and beginning should be man are vayne and frivolous fictions which after in their places shall more largely be confuted and reiected seeing the efficient and first moving cause of election is onely and alone Gods mercy and goodnesse hee by his bountifull and more then fatherly good will hath from everlasting made and finished the whole decree of Election Ephes 2.5 moreover Election is altogether the free and vndeserved favour of God For all men by nature were wholy corrupt and the children of wrath therefore in them God could foresee nothing at all but extreame and most absolute wretchednes They also which take the name of election which is found in many places of the
say he ordayned Christ from everlasting to bee the Mediator for the Salvation of the world that he might reconcile God vnto the worlde by the Sacrifice of his death Here beholde and admire the inestimable Mercie of God in that hee had rather his owne Sonne should die then that all Mankinde should perish Here agayne beholde and reverently embrace the incomprehensible goodnesse and mercy of the Sonne of God towardes wretched man in that hee accounted the Salvation of Mankinde more precious then his owne life Christ himselfe having respect to this sayth in Saint Iohn Iohn 3.16 So GOD loved the Worlde that he sent his onely begotten Sonne that by him hee might restore and bestow vpon Mankinde Life that was lost and Salvation that was past hope Therefore this provident Wisedome of God was wonderfully necessary for Mankinde and very profitable yea and in such sort that without it all Mankinde had perished So that the Wisedome of God is to be adored and reverenced of vs and ought continually to bee the onely rule and measure of our wisedome and that so as that all other wisedome without it should be base and of no value and be no more regarded then meere folly and foolishnesse it selfe And for as much as God of his infinite Wisedom found a meanes to deliver vs from such a bottomlesse depth of miserie hence should the Godly entertayne and conceyve great hope in all their adversities For seeing hee hath found out a most wise meanes and way out of so deepe and intricate a mischiefe out of which the wisedome of men nor Angelles could give no direction how to escape therefore surely hee can very easily deliver vs from any dangers of this life how great soever they bee for in his hand are many and incredible meanes of delivery So that where there is no counsell nor meanes of delivery with man there is there a certaine issue and ready way with God Therefore in these dangers which threaten assured death presently and savour of nothing else but of the open grave and vn-avoydable destruction in these GOD most wise hath many meanes of helpe and deliverance from them For it is an easie thing with him to make an issue where there is none sooner then in the twinkling of an eye if it bee his pleasure This then is our onely hope and strong consolation in our extreame temptations and troubles that wee have God for our Helper and Deliverer which in the middest of death can stretch forth his handes and restore vs to life and hath many more meanes to helpe vs then there are Creatures in the whole vniversall worlde And thus farre of the thirde Proprietie of Election The free and vndeserved Mercy of God is the true cause of Election and that is greater by many degrees then that the greatest Sinner can or ought rightly to doubt of it though never so little much lesse despaire of it CHAP. XI THe fourth Proprietie is that Gods Election is altogether a mercifull free and voluntary Decree that is to say that God had no other reason to induce him to choose miserable man but onely his owne meere mercie and favourable good-will as is aforesayde in the causes of Predestination This Mercy of God is not any affection in God which beginneth of a sudden sometimes and sometimes endeth of a sudden neyther is it any Passion which sometime increaseth and sometime decreaseth for if there were any such succeeding change in God God should in no wise be God but it is an eternal and a most ready good Will to do good vnto miserable men Therefore this eternal good Wil in God himselfe is the onely and sole cause why he elected miserable man to the attainement of Salvation Aske nowe what is the reason that he hath receyved this or that man into favour and hath pardoned his sinnes and remitted the punishment and there can no other cause bee rendred but even Gods vndeserved Mercy And hee is sayde to be mercifull to him whom he vouchsafeth his favour and grace such a favourable and gratious affection of his good Will to speake after the manner of men is called Mercy which in God is nothing else but an eternall and gratious purpose to have mercy on those on whom hee will have mercy that is to say to give them freedome from their misery This is alwayes one and the selfe same in God which never altereth but standeth and abideth continually in one state and degree For the names of these affections that are given vnto God from the Passions that are in man doe not set forth any Passion or Change in God but paynt out vnto vs his vnspeakeable liking or hatred of those thinges which then are in hand So this Mercy of God is no new or sudden motion and affection in God but his eternall and vnchangeable Proprietie which as it is once such it is alwayes without which God cannot be God As often therefore as any man thinketh of God let him remember his vnspeakeable goodnesse and readinesse to helpe which can in no meanes be separated nor dis-ioyned from God But many times those things that are proper vnto man are attributed vnto him because his Properties cannot be comprehended of man and therefore they are shadowed forth vnto man by the properties of man as it were through a Lattice and so are made knowne vnto him So God doth after a sort represent vnto vs as in a Glasse his spiritual and heavenly Mysteries and hidden Decrees by the speech or affections of man And thus God for his vnspeakeable Loves sake toward Mankinde doth not thinke much to descend from his greatnesse and from the Throane of his Maiestie and debase himselfe so lowe as to apply himselfe to the capacity of a rude and frayle man And from hence is seene better then in any Glasse how great care God taketh for the Salvation of Mankind This Mercie is that most speciall goodnesse of God which is not bounded and restrayned within the limites of this life but stretcheth and reacheth vnto all Eternity so that it bringeth with it everlasting Life and eternall Salvation and contayneth and includeth those onely which are elected from everlasting and those that shall be blessed for evermore This differeth very much from the generall Mercy of God by which hee cherisheth and maintayneth all living Creatures for it is one thing to have a care over all living Creatures to provide thinges necessary for them and mercifully to guide and governe them So that although God in his Fatherly care doth not forsake even the bruite beastes but careth for each of them yet more especially God declareth his goodnesse in Mankinde For he doth good not onely to the righteous and godly but also to the vniust and vnthankefull For hee maketh the Sunne to rise vpon the good and the badde Mat. 5.45 Luke 6.23 sayth Christ in Matthew and in Luke Such benefites of God are temporall and common to the Godly and to the
the selfe-same thing saying that God is gratious Exod. 34.6 Ioel. 2.13 Ionah 4.2 mercifull long-suffering abundant in goodnes and truth so looke how many words are ioyned together for to set forth Gods fatherly love so many mouthes as it were and toongs hath God sounding from heaven by which as with the words of a father our mercifull God inviteth and allureth men vnto his mercy By these so many prayses of Gods mercy we are taught not only that God is the sole fountayne of all goodnes but also this is likewise shewed that we are not so hardly perswaded of any thing as to know and beleeve that God will be gratious and mercifull vnto vs for the praysing of Gods mercy is for the most part a reproofe of mans incredulity The scripture therefore with these prayses of Gods goodnes as with so many wedges doth drive out and expell mans vnbeliefe But the Papists heere do most grievously offend in that they fayne God to be other then indeed he is So that they bewray their owne vnbeliefe and malice in that they attribute and trust more in themselves and their owne workes then in God infinitely mercifull Otherwise they would leave this fable of workes foreseene and rest themselves wholy vpon Gods mercy But they shall surely feele though then too late when God commeth vnto iudgement that they deceive themselves and others by these their fayned and lying workes For he that peevishly resisteth Gods mercy is worthily deprived of it Secondly they doe grossely offend against Gods Iustice because they are not ashamed to bring before God most iust their fayned and defiled works as if they were good perfect as if God were blind wanted iudgement discretion to discerne betweene good and bad betwixt perfect works and vnperfect Surely the Papists in this respect doe like those which take a false cause in hand and yet to make it good they labour to blindfold and corrupt the Iudge with bribes that they might obtayne that by deceyt and bribery which by Iustice and Equitie they could not attayne So the Papistes with their workes fore-seene as with so many rewardes labour to corrupt God and to turne him from the right and draw him to the wrong cause and so doe not onely make God like vnto an vniust Iudge but also much worse For choyce giftes and bountifull rewardes are vsually brought vnto a Iudge that hee may the easier bee corrupted to favour vniust causes But the Papistes bring vnto God not perfect workes but filthy and abominable sinnes For God as wee have sayde before could foresee no good workes but those which he himselfe wrought in man but of these the Papists dispute not in this place We have shewed before that man not partly but wholy take him at the best is corrupted and depraved through sinne Therefore all workes which man of himselfe doth or bringeth forth by his owne proper and native vertue can in no wise be good nor acceptable vnto God For from a corrupt and wicked man can proceede nothing but corrupt and wicked deedes for the effects are vsually like the causes Such therefore as the cause hath beene such effects likewise must needes proceede and follow thereon Therefore as out of an vncleane fountayne there proceedeth an vncleane streame and as from an evill tree there groweth evill fruite so also by a corrupt and wicked man can be wrought nothing but corrupt and wicked deeds and endevours For the effectes can not bee better nor more excellent then their causes So that when the Papistes make such workes the cause of Election doe they not after a sorte turne God into a sinfull man doe they not make him the patrone and allower of wickednesse wherein is seene their Sathanicall blindenesse and divelish madnesse So that out of this Fiction of the Papistes as out of a glasse manifestly appeareth what a terrible and dangerous mischiefe it is lewdly to stray out of the worde of God and to whirle vp and downe in franticke speculations and to fayne and suppose false causes for true Agayne if God from everlasting could have foreseene that very good and perfect workes would proceede from man yet those by no meanes could haue beene sufficient to deserve or get Salvation by For an eternall and infinite life cannot be attayned as a reward for a temporall labour and finite worke because there ought to be a iust proportion betweene the labour and the hyre that according as the labour was so also should the wages be payd So that for a great labour there is vsually allotted and appoynted a great reward But Life eternall and heavenly Glory is a farre greater and more excellent good thing then can bee deserved by mans labour or industrie nay Life eternall doth in the worth greatnesse and excellency of it farre exceede and surpasse the heavens and the whole world nay nothing that is created may iustly be compared vnto it So that as there is no comparison betweene a temporall desert and an eternall benefite so also is there no proportion betweene an infinit good a finite worke Whosoever therefore braggeth of his owne workes let him take heed that he be not punished rather then rewarded Thirdly they offend against the Wisedome of God in that they endevour to shewe an other way to attayne Salvation then hee hath revealed in his word For God will have his Mercy and free Election to bee the onely way and gate into eternall Life That the Scriptures teach manifestly in divers places saying Blessed are all they whose sinnes are forgiven Psal 32.1 Rom. 4.6 7 8. and to whom the Lorde imputeth not sinne But the Papistes preferre theyr good workes fore-seene to bee the cause of Salvation rather then Gods goodnesse So they would erect and set vp their owne righteousnesse which God bestoweth not vpon them by faith neyther hath Christ merited by his Passion Wherefore they do not obey Gods divine wisedom and counsell neyther will they be subiect vnto it which in the ende shall fall out evill for them and turne to theyr destruction For they which despise and cast off Gods counsell doe loose his mercy and are condemned as Augustine sayth in one place Wherefore their wisedome is not onely vayne but also tending to destruction which are wise against God But surely such wisedome speaking properly and according to divinity is not to bee called wisedome but the subtilty of Sathan and craftinesse of wicked men whereby they mocke God delude men For the wisedom of God is so the fountaine and spring of all wisdom that no other living creature can have any greater wisedome then God doth communicate and bestow vpon him Looke therefore howe much wisedome God doth worke and preserve in a man so much wisedome hee hath and better or more wisedome hee cannot have They therefore which will be more wise then God would have them their wisedome commeth not so much of God as of the divell Therefore the superstitious and
be created of him vnto destruction By this most fit example we are taught that it is in the free choyse of God onely to make a difference betweene men and by his wisedome to ordeyne and appoynt what shall be done with every one So that God doth love and choose most freely whomesoever he loveth and chooseth as also he doth refuse and condemne most freely whomesoever he refuseth and condemneth For this is the force and liberty of predestination namely that God hath freewill to save and choose that man whom of his meere grace he chooseth and saveth so also that he hath free liberty to reiect and condemne whomesoever in his iust iudgement he will have refused and condemned So that this is the eternall and vnchangeable will of God of his vndeserved favour to choose and save some and in his iust iudgement to cast others off from all mercy and to condemne them This will of God in both these decrees is most absolute and simple which hath no other cause so that he saveth some because it is his pleasure and wil and he condemneth others because it is his pleasure likewise Therefore it is at Gods free choyce to shew or deny mercy to whomesoever he will It is in his power to have mercy on whom he will Rom. 9.18 and whom he will to harden And he taketh mercy of his owne great goodnes only and hardneth with no iniustice that he that is saved should not boast of his owne merits and he that is condemned should complayne of nothing but of his owne deserts In Euchiriad Laurentium ca. 99. as Augustine sayth So there is no cause above Gods will but that is in the highest degree that vnto vs it might be in steed of all causes So the will of God is the first and chiefest determiner of our election and of all other things Therefore the onely absolute will of God ought to suffice every one as the most weighty cause and the chiefest reason of every thing So that it is an execrable wickednes to aske the causes of the will of God seeing that is the first and the onely sufficient of all other causes which hath no other cause above it Lib. de pradestina sanc 1.9 wherefore Saint Augustine sayd most truly and most rightly Call not into question why God chooseth this man or reprobateth that man except thou wilt fall into errour for this will of God is sure and constant because hee hath created mankinde Rom. 9.22 partly to shew his free mercy and partly to declare his iustice for he were vnmercifull if he should condemne all and on the other side hee might seeme vnmindfull of his iustice if hee should save all Therefore God created men such that they might fall that by their fall he might shew what the benefit of his mercy and the iudgement of his iustice were able to do of which reade Augustine in his booke De correp grat And this ought not to trouble the godly because that all are not appoynted to salvation and but a few onely shall be saved for they know and beleeve having learned it by the word of God that all have fallen into most iust condemnation and why all men are not delivered from thence is not in mans power to determine and iudge but must be left wholely to the iudgement and wisedome of God Further it doth hence appeare that all are not elected because that the scripture affirmeth in many places that some onely are elected and the rest reiected Agayne the scripture sayth manifestly that he hath mercy on whom he will Rom. 9. â—8 and whom he will he hardeneth Agayne if all were elected the Gospell of the sonne of God should be preached every where throughout the whole earth and faith should be given at randam to all and every one Cap. 1.1 For Paule to Titus teacheth that faith is proper to the elect But the Gospell is not preached through all parts of the earth 2. Thes 3.2 and faith is not given to all men therefore all men are not appoynted vnto salvation And that faith is not given vnto all men it is evident Mat. 25.46 because many shall be condemned and go away into everlasting paine Agayne it may hence appeare that all are not elected and shall be saved because that election or choosing is of some and not of all for if all were received there were no election so that there are some elect and some reprobates But they which have a true and a lively faith in Iesus Christ our onely Saviour and do put their whole trust and confidence of salvation in him alone they are the very elect for to this end are they elected of God that by the power of the spirit they should beleeve in Christ and in him obteyne salvation And let such embrace with thankefull hearts the incomparable goodnes of God towards them and freely with their mouth make the same knowne vnto others praysing God And although God hath not ordeyned every one vnto salvation but hath appoynted some vnto eternall destruction yet there is no accepting of persons with him as if God did elect and save this or that man for any outward good things such as are riches honours noblenes of birth cuntry comely proportion beauty excellent knowledge and learning and other things of the like sort these things albeit among men they are in great estimation yet with God they are of no account For God respecteth and esteemeth the sincerity of the heart and the innocency of life although that as concerning the decree of election he respecteth not these neither but these outward good things howsoever they be most pretious and to be esteemed as the good gifts of God and his name ought to be praysed for them yet in the matter of election he setteth nothing by them for they are not of such worth as that any for them should be elected vnto eternall life If they were the cause of election it would manifestly follow that everlasting salvation might be attayned by the goods of nature or by the study and merits of man Wherefore they which heere make a question of the accepting of persons do neyther know themselves nor the iustice of God rightly as they ought to do and do grievously offend herein because that in this matter they stick not to liken and compare God with lying and deceiveable men who often times are blinded with the outward hew of things and are withdrawne from the right way so that they give their verdit and sentence in the behalfe of vniust causes Moreover they fall into a fallacy full of ignorance or else of wickednes for they foyst in fayned and imaginary causes in stead of true and necessary causes as if they should set mouse-doong to sale in stead of pepper For if those outward good things were the cause why these or these should be chosen then surely oftentimes the worst should be elected and the
iustification and salvation that without it God will not be mercifull and favourable no not to any one They therefore which do behold this victory of Christ with a true faith have wherewith they may fortifie themselves against the assaults of Sathan they have whereby they may set light by his sleights and subtilties they have wherein they may place their faith and hope in Christ alone and in his merit onely In this iustification howbeit we are iustified and acquitted of our sinnes by the onely merit of Christ yet there is no let but that the three holy and inseparable persons of the Trinity may have and execute their severall actions in it For the Father is therefore sayd to iustifie vs because that of his owne meere grace and free love 1. Pet. 1.20 Gal. 4.4 he hath from everlasting fore-appoynted his onely begotten Sonne to redeeme vs and sent him at the time appoynted The Sonne is therefore sayd to iustifie vs because that for his incomprehensible and vnspeakeable goodnes sake towards vs vouchsafing by the power of the holy ghost to take mans nature vpon him he was obediēt vnto his Father even vnto the death of the crosse Phil. 2. and so satisfied the iustice of God for vs and delivered vs from all the power of the Devill by making amends for our sinnes The Holy Ghost also is sayd to iustifie vs as farre forth as he doth beget in vs true and stedfast faith by which we may apprehend and apply vnto our selves the righteousenes that is purchased by the obedience of the death of Christ Therefore this free remission of sinnes is the onely very fourme of iustification by which iustification is that which it is and is distinguished from all other false and fained satisfactions and sacrifices of which sort the Papists doe invent many and offer them vnto God And the finall cause of iustification is the prayse and glory of Gods goodnes and the everlasting happines and excellent blessed estate of those which are thus iustified Now there was nothing else which moved God to iustifie vs but his owne love towards vs and the obedience of Christ and our misery But the instrumentall cause is a true and a lively faith laying hold on and applying to it selfe the obedience of Christ and righteousnes purchased thereby and relying with a good conscience vpon the sole mercy of God and the onely merit of Christ This iustification is then avayleable and acceptable vnto vs whenas every of vs doth stand as guilty before the heavenly iudge and being carefull of his acquitall doth of his owne accord humble and prostrate himselfe as vnworthy And this is profitably done when a man doth seriously weigh and consider with himselfe the perfection and severity of Gods iustice on the one side and the multitude and greatnes of his sinnes on the other side For by such a consideration hee is seriously humbled with the feeling of his misery and rightly prepared to desire and embrace the mercy of Christ So that by how much the more every of vs shall be severe in condemning himselfe by so much shall we finde God more mercifull and more easy to be intreated for then will a man be capable of the grace of God and benefite of Christ when hee shall knowe himselfe and his whole nature to bee full of vncleanenes and filthines and shall condemne it For he which iudgeth himselfe vnworthy of the grace of God as one sayth him doth God receyve into favour and maketh him worthy through Christ But they which swell and are filled with the opinion of their owne righteousnes and hunger not after the righteousnes of God they perish in their miseries and never come vnto true righteousenes Againe they which being hardned with the custome of sinning and drunken with the delight of their vices do extenuate their faults and securely despise the iudgement of God they shut vp from themselves the gate of mercy What manner of thing Iustification is where are set forth the three proprieties thereof namely that it is free perfect and everlasting and withall there is refuted the opinion of the Papists concerning the merit of works being contrary to the first propriety CHAP. 27. NOw we must lay open what manner of thing iustification is and the quality thereof consisteth especially in three things first that it is free for the remission of sinnes is not for any merits of man but it is a meere grace and an vndeserved mercy promised for Christ his sake alone For God findeth nothing in a man whom he iustifieth but an horrible sinke of sinne and extreame misery The scripture every where affirmeth that Christ only is the author of all grace and the whole hope of our salvation consisteth in the bloud of Christ alone Without the merit of Christ there can be no iustification for he alone hath deserved righteousenes for vs and having deserved it he giveth and imputeth it vnto vs. They therefore which desire to be righteous without the merit of Christ are altogether without God and prophane And they which dreame that they are iustified partly by grace and partly by merit are Pelagians or Papists the followers of their heresie but they which beleeve that they are iustified by the onely merit of Christ are true Christians These by beleeving and receiving the righteousnes of Christ purchased by his death as the righteousnes of an other are iustified indeede but they which by theyr workes and merits do affect theyr owne righteousnes shall never attayne vnto it The Papists therefore have forged a certaine kinde of merit which is weake of it selfe but when it is dipped in the bloud of Christ it is effectuall and forcible and so they say that a man is partly iustified by grace and partly by workes But this cannot be because that grace and merit are two manifest contraryes from which one and the selfe same thing cannot be brought forth For this is the nature and rule of contraryes that from contrary causes contrary effects proceede likewise Moreover wee are all debtors for wee are obliged and bound vnto God so that he may iustly challenge as his due whatsoever good thing can proceede or be perfourmed of vs. Now that which may be demaunded of vs as duty that can not merit But Christ sayth that what good thing soever we do or can do Luk. 17.10 all that how much soever it be is our duty wherefore there is no merit at all Agayne the cause of iustification to wit eternall election in Christ is free therefore likewise iustification it selfe must needes be free for there cannot be more in the effect then there is in the cause thereof Therefore the Papists whilest that they dreame of any merit in vs they do commit a manifest fallacy from that which is no cause as if it were a cause for they remove the merit of Christ which is the perfect and true cause of iustification and set in the roome thereof the merit
sayth expressely Cap. 2.13 that God pardoneth all our trespasses I have put away sayth God by Isayas all thy sinnes as a cloud and thine iniquities as a mist Isay 44.22 Againe in the same Prophet he speaketh thus I am he which putteth away thine iniquities Isay 43.25 and that for mine owne sake and will remember thy sinnes no more So also David teacheth vs Psal 103.12 that God removeth our sinnes as farre from vs as the East is from the West So also Michah teacheth vs Michah 7.19 that God will cast all our sinnes into the bottome of the sea and blot them quite out Likewise S. Iohn in the Revelation affirmeth Revel 1.5 that Christ hath loved vs and washed vs from our sinnes in his bloud The same Isayas likewise affirmeth Isay 1.18 saying though your sinnes were as Crimsin they shall be made white as snow though they were red as Scarlet they shall be as wooll So the holy Prophets and Apostles speake all as with one mouth and constantly affirme that not some of our sinnes onely are forgiven vs of God but that all our sinnes are pardoned vnto vs how great and fearefull how many and sundry soever they be But God doth not only wipe out those sinnes that are committed and past but doth also pardon the dayly slips of the penitent This let no man storme at as a paradox vnheard of For if God would punish the dayly falls of his children and take vengeance on them for theyr sinnes that are to come and yet pardon those that are past what would it profit I pray you So that the great and incredible goodnes and mercy of God doth extend and stretch it selfe as well to the pardoning of sinnes that are to come as to the remitting of those that are past otherwise the mercy of forgivenes of sinnes should be but halfe a mercy onely and not perfect and absolute None of vs ought to take vnto himselfe liberty to sinne from this fatherly compassion of God for this were to make a mocke of God and to tread his grace vnder foote and to shew that a man is a stranger from God and from his spirit For the least sinne cannot be committed of any man without manifest contempt of God But it should rather be an encouragement and provocation vnto vs to the more earnest study of godlynes for by how much the greater benefits God hath bestowed vpon vs by so much the greater obedience are we bound to yeeld him which we cannot performe without a studious care to avoyd evill and to do good They therefore which sinne rashly and securely do indeede shewe that they are prophane and have nothing to do with God Iude. 4. This the scripture delivereth playnely saying that they are appoynted of old vnto condemnation which from the grace of God take to themselves liberty to sinne securely and let loose the reynes to their owne lusts and obey them for they which so abuse the grace of God and his lenity in pardoning vnto wantonnes do not onely abrogate the kingdome of Christ and deny that there is a God but also do shew that they are wholy given over vnto Sathan as his very bondslaves But the godly which do feare and obey God as their father and Lord though there were no hell nor punishment to be feared yet they would vtterly abhorre to sinne and displease God Wherefore that infinite goodnes of God in forgiving sinne should be vnto no man an enticement to sinne but a teacher vnto every one to live holy and without blame For he which liveth wickedly loseth the price of his redemption and belongeth not vnto Christ as long as he sinneth securely and defileth and poluteth himselfe with abhomination But they which earnestly labour to order and frame themselves according to the rule of Gods law they do indeed and lively declare that they have the holy spirit and belong vnto Christ Moreover it ought to move nor trouble no man because that some of the promises of the forgivenes of sins before rehearsed are spoken without any generall note and seeme to be as it were particular So that we must know that notwithstanding they are indeed vniversall and generall for indefinite propositions are equall vnto generall propositions This the multitude of them doth argue and shew Or if a particular word or a word that signifieth but one thing be set downe Iohn 1.29 as The Sonne of God taketh away the sinne of the world then the generall word is signified which conteineth vnder it all and every particular kind And he that taketh away the generall thing it must needs be that he must take away also all and every particular kind thereof For sinne that is heere put in the singular number although it be referred by some vnto the common vice corruption of nature and that not amisse yet nothing hindreth but that it may be taken figuratively for every iniquity Synecdoche as if the Evangelist should have said whatsoever corruption or vnrighteousnes is amongst men by which God may be offended or alienated from mē all that is taken away and satisfied for everlastingly by the only sacrifice of Christ made once for all This benefite of Christ ought to be enlarged and applied as well vnto all actuall sinnes as vnto the originall sinne and corruption of nature that all occasion of cavilling should be shut vp from the Papists which in their Synagogues do babble and blatter that Christ hath satisfied only for originall sinnes not for actuall for which they impudently say that we ought to make satisfaction So that sinne in the singular number with the Evangelist is as an il-favoured head vnder which many vnseemely members are couched and it is as an vncleane fountaine out of which many vncleane chanels do spring flow and as an evill and corrupt tree out of which much evill and corrupt fruit do bud and grow all which and every of which the Lambe of God hath taken away with his pretious bloud In this free forgivenesse of sinnes the most excellent glory of the Mercy of God shineth brightly and triumpheth infinitely over the rest of the workes of God Therefore the Prophet sayth in expresse words Psal 145.9 God is loving vnto every one but his mercy is above all his workes For the Hebrew word which the Prophet vseth in the place rehearsed signifieth an inward Mercy such as remaineth in the very bowels which the Scripture is wont to vse when there is any speech of the Free-mercy of God and the receyving of a wretched sinner vnto grace Therefore the Prophet doth preferre the infinite mercy of God farre before all temporall benefites as if hee should have sayd The goodnesse of God is great in that he mercifully vpholdeth this world in that hee favourably provideth for all creatures and maintayneth and keepeth them in their estate but that goodnesse of God by which hee plucketh miserable man out of
morall workes which by their owne worth can make men gratious and acceptable vnto God before they have bin regenerate and grafted into Christ by faith And those merits they call merits ex congruo so called because that as they say by right and equity they deserve some reward which God by right is bound to repay them If this were true why then man belike should not be wholy infected and corrupted with originall sin But man as we have testimonyes in the holy scripture is wholy infected and corrupted with originall sinne Gen. 6.5 Psal 51.7 therefore that idle fiction of the Papists is nothing else but a meere invention of the Devill Surely those works which proceede from any man before his regeneration are every way foule and vgly sinnes to which by right and equity there is no reward else due but onely everlasting torment But it goeth very well and fayrely with vs if God doe not punish them in vs as they deserve Agayne all those workes of men although they seeme fayre and comely in the sight of man yet if they be skanned according to the rule of Gods lawe they will be found to be meere filth and vnsavoury pollution And that as the Starres which although they seeme most bright in the night time yet at the arising and presence of the Sunne they lose their brightnes so likewise those workes of men which in the common view seeme to be right and beautifull shall be manifest iniquity in the sight of God so lawdable sincerity heere shall be greater vncleanenes there and that which heere is approved as great glory shall there be reiected as extreame shame and reproach Farre therefore be from vs these faire-shewing and foule-meaning hipocrites which cover the corruption and wickednes that is wrapped vp in the heart of man with a vayne flourish and fayned maske and by their merits which are worse then extreame filthines doe labour to winne the favour of God and to make him beholding vnto them Surely it is without all doubt that they do provoke God more and more by these their workes seeing that they are execrable sinnes Agayne they doe plucke vpon their heads the more grievous iudgement and do aggravate theyr punishment in that they thinke that theyr workes which are nothing else but damnable sinnes extreamely contrary vnto the lawe and will of God are pleasing vnto God and worthy of his favour for by this meanes as much as in them lyeth they do as it were change God into a Devill and make him the patrone of sinnes to appoynt a reward for them therefore farre be from a Christian mans heart all those workes which are thus farre opposite vnto the will of God and condemned of him as meere offences Then after that God hath begun to renew men by the power of his spirit of evill they become good and that but in part onely for the corruption of nature is but onely restrayned and amended in some sort for as is aforesayd the elect are regenerate but imperfectly in this life therefore they are not wholy good and conformeable vnto the lawe of God wherefore theyr workes also can be good but in part onely and not perfect for there cannot be more in the effect then there is in the cause but whatsoever is in the effect that shall be in the cause much more therefore the workes of the godly are partly good and partly evill They are good as they proceede from the operation and motion of the holy spirit and are agreeable vnto the law of God And they are evill as they proceede from the flesh and vnregenerate part and do decline and stray from the rule and obedience of Gods law By this it manifestly appeareth that no worke of man is so prayse-worthy as Augustine sayth well which is not defiled and stayned with some blemish or other These works deserve nothing at all toward the attainement of salvation because they are imperfect and stray and swarve very farre from the law of God For the law requireth so great perfection as that it condemneth the least thought of the least sinne Agayne vnperfect works according vnto the Canonicall rule which the Lawyers so call are as if they were not done at all for such as the cause is such also must the effect needs be Seeing therefore that the cause is vnperfect the effect must needs follow vnperfect for it were extreame and ridiculous madnes to loke for a perfect and durable worke from an imperfect and transitory cause therefore these workes are proved and convinced to be vnperfect from their cause which is vnperfect so that if a man seeke for a reward by them he shall finde punishment as Saint Augustine saith for man in the least thing is not able to perfourme so much as the lawe requireth therefore he cannot be thought righteous and acquited before God and before his iust iudgement seate by the merit of his owne works Wo therefore vnto the life of men even the most commendable as the same Augustine sayth if it should be iudged according vnto the strict rigor of the lawe without the mercy of God Moreover seeing these good works proceed not from mans strength but do spring the power and grace of the holy spirit man cannot deserve or get any thing by them seeing they be not his owne but the works of God for man doth them not of himself but God doth worke them in him So that to do that which God commandeth to receive those things which he promiseth are both the gift of God and so man had no merits of his owne therefore the free works of God fall not within the compas of mans merit because those works are the effects of the holy ghost and not the deeds of mē proceeding from their own strēgth Therefore the Papists in as much as they hunt for salvation by these works are of all hunters the most vayne for their labours and endeavours are alwayes frustrate and without effect for they shall never attayne vnto that which they seeke for by them and they play the fooles more absurdly then if they should say they were able to strike fire out of the sea Certaynely in this their foole-hardy enterprise they do manifestly tempt God in that they go about to bring to passe things that are infinitely farre greater then their strength will suffer or permit Agayne in that they boast their owne deserts so confidently and boldly it is a manifest signe that they are not regenerate and that they know not themselves at all for by how much the more a man is regenerate by so much the more doth hee see and bewayle his owne sinnes and infirmityes and so findeth and perceiveth by experience that hee can do no good thing without the grace of God Therefore from his heart doth he humble himselfe before God and in the griefe of his heart with much lamenting doth he earnestly pray against those plagues which he hath deserved also he confesseth his