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
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
doe call vpon God Gal. 4.6 as our loving and mercifull Father without trembling So that fayth by which we relie vpon God and love which wee have towardes God and prayer by which wee call vpon him are three most certayne signes of our Iustification For these doe necessarily follow Iustification But of these more shall be spoken hereafter in Glorification Last of all this Iustification belongeth onely to the Elect and such as shal be saved This Paul plainly teacheth here whilest hee sayth that God calleth and iustifyeth those onely whom hee hath predestinate Here therefore Vocation and Iustification are set vnder Predestination as the effects vnder theyr cause So that Iustification doth not reach farther then Predestination For the effectes cannot bee larger and reach farther then theyr causes They therefore which thinke that Iustification belongeth vnto all in generall ought first to teach and proove by the word of God that Predestination or Election is common to every one Agayne Act. 13.48 Tit. 1. Iohn 10.26 the Scripture playnely teacheth vs that Iustification is given and belongeth onely vnto those that are appoynted before vnto Life eternall But this thing is so cleere and manifest that it needeth no long proofe Let these things therefore bee spoken here briefely concerning Iustification Here is declared by what remedy the corruption of our nature is amended and the Image of God restored in man and in what partes especially regeneration is wrought Likewise how grossely the Papists and the grosser sort of Vbiquitaries doe erre which thinke that there is an hidden power in the outward water of Baptisme which is able to convert a man in the very act of Baptizing CHAP. 29. NOw Glorification beeing the last Lincke of Pauls Chayne this followeth to be set vnder Iustification very fitly For so Paul teacheth that the gift of the holy Spirit and the renewing of our corrupt nature vnto the Image of God doth necessarily follow our free receyving into the favour of God and cannot bee separated from it Wherefore Glorification followeth Iustification in a most divine order because it is the finall cause of it For therefore is this or that man iustified that in the end he may be glorified Therefore after Paul had taught that sinnes are forgiven men by the onely free mercy of God now he proceedeth rightly to teach and declare how sinnes are abolished and purged and so sheweth how Glory and the Image of God is recovered in man This hee sheweth in the worde glorifying Therefore to glorifie is nothing els then to abolish the corrupt nature of man and so to reforme man vnto the Image of God and make him fit for eternall Glory So that regeneration from the effect and last end thereof is called by the name of Glorification in asmuch namely as the Elect by it are renewed vnto the Image of God and then translated into everlasting Glory For God wil have his Glory and holinesse to shine in the Elect here after a sort And fayth being in some sort inflamed by the holy Spirite in our calling and our will somewhat changed is here more inflamed and changed But this is perfourmed and brought to passe by no other meanes but onely by our regeneration For God doth not beginne and finish the worke of our regeneration in one day and at one instant but doth continue and perfect it by little and little Here therefore a few things ought to be spoken concerning Regeneration which that they may be handled and intreated of the better and more plainely with the greater fruite wee ought to consider these foure severall heads First what Regeneration is and by what meanes it commeth Secondly in what parts it consisteth and of what sort it is in this life Thirdly how necessary it is and for what thinges it is profitable Fourthly by what signes and tokens it may bee knowne Concerning the first thing Regeneration is not the abolishing of the former substance and the establishing agayne of a new neyther is it the changing of one substance into an other but it is the reforming of our corrupt nature and the repayring and restoring of the Image of God in man So that in this Regeneration there remayneth the same frame of the body and substance but the inward and wicked affections of the mind onely are amended and changed which seeing it is a spirituall change it is felt inwardly before it bee learned as Saint Cyprian speaketh elsewhere And it is nothing els but the amending and abolishing of the corrupt and wicked qualities that remayne in the substance of man Therefore whom God hath iustified those also hee doth regenerate and change vnto his most blessed glorie and purity of life that they may repent and be ashamed of theyr former life that so they may betake themselves vnto a better course For no man can have an earnest desire vnto the grace of God except first he know his sins and be displeased with himselfe in them So that a renewing is required For God will not have his Elect to abuse his gentlenesse and long suffering and therefore doth he renew and frame them to sincere manners and holy actions Therefore they which are effectually regenerated do begin to be displeased with themselves for their sins and to be grieved in their hearts that they have displeased God and with theyr whole heart doe detest all wicked deedes whatsoever so that hereafter they will not commit or doe them and so doe shew theyr thankefulnesse by eschewing of evill and doing of good and there is in them a turning away from Sathan and evill deedes and a turning vnto God and to good workes And although the regenerate doe fall often yet they doe not defend nor allow of theyr sinnes but desire dayly more and more to hate and eschew them So they which are converted begin to savour of better thinges and doe change theyr evill custome and kind of life and revoke theyr former course of living and so convert theyr actions and endevours from evill vnto good as from one contrary vnto an other They which are thus affected doe feele true ioy in theyr hearts in that they have God at one with them for theyr Mediatours sake from whence followeth an earnest desire to obey God in all his Commandements Let the regenerate therefore know that now the time is come wherein they ought to approve and fulfill those most wholesome precepts of divinity not so much by discoursing of them as by performing them constantly living godly because they can by no other way obtaine blessed immortality heavenly Glory but onely by true fayth and ready obedience vnto the commandements of God Therefore how much or little soever it be which the children of God have and savour of regeneration to it they ought to frame theyr manners sayth Augustine Tom. 7. colum 694. Now this renewing as is abovesayd in the Treatise of Vocation is begun and finished by the word and spirit of God By
them with eternall torments This therefore must firmely be resolved vpon that al those things which are brought to passe either by God he himselfe effecting them or which are done by other by his permission are not exempt from his providence but are brought to passe by his iust iudgement And God seeing he is the onely and soveraigne goodnes could not but make man good at the first and like vnto himselfe For every piece of worke vsually is like and correspondent to the workeman because that every cause bringeth forth an effect like it selfe So that it is often seene that a good cause generally and naturally bringeth forth a good effect and an evill cause likewise an evill and corrupt effect But when God by his eternall and vnchangeable decree had appointed mankind for the manifestation partly of his mercy and partly of his iustice it was therefore necessary that man should be created such a one by God as should be meete and fit to attayne vnto those ends for which he was created Therefore although man were created by God good and without sinne yet notwithstanding he was created good and without sinne in such sort that of good he might become evill otherwise God could have neither manifested nor exercised his iustice nor mercy in him and those ends which were fore-knowne and appoynted of God from everlasting had fallen to the ground and had not come to their proper effect and purpose Man therefore was to be created of God not necessarily good but changeably so that in respect of the things that happened in his way he might be changed and become otherwise But if he had bene created necessarily and vnchangeably good he had been rather a God then a creature For vnchangeablenesse in it selfe is the propriety of God alone and cannot be found in any creature which alone is or may be changed But God only is one and the same alwayes constant ever like himselfe and is never changed And howsoever the holy Angels are already and holy men shall be in the world to come placed in such degree of goodnes as that they may by no meanes fall from it into the contrary yet in both these this vnchangeablenes is not a naturall propriety but is and shall be the free gift and benefite of God Moreover God was not the proper author of this change in man from God to evill For he created man such an one that if he would himselfe he might have remayned without sinne For as his will was made free by God so he also of his owne accord without any outward constraint or compulsion chose the evill that was forbidden by God and by choosing that did contrary to the will of God and so sinned But if God should have made that change in man from good to evill certainely he should have been no lesse accounted the cause of the evill then if he had created it from the beginning For if he had eyther constreyned man to do evill by some forced and violent motion or by any other meanes inclined his will to this evill certaynely God himselfe had sinned together with man yea had sinned much more then man For there remayneth more evill in the cause that doth compell then in the cause that is compelled But in as much as man of his owne accord leaned vnto the perswasion of the Devill and withall of his owne free will without any outward compulsion desired the evill that was forbidden by God and so fell from God this change therefore from good to evill did arise from Sathans perswasion and from mans will freely choosing and committing the evill Therefore Adams free will and the Devils motion are the true causes of mans misery So that although our first Parents were created by God according to his owne image in holines and righteousnes both in body and minde and had free will given vnto them yet this their free will was not sufficient of it selfe to retayne Gods image and originall righteousnes because they were overcome by temptation and sinned But if the participation and ayde of the divine grace had vpheld them they had not fallen but had remayned innocent as at the first they were created Therefore although man was deceived by the temptation and subtilty of Sathan and brought into sinne yet notwithstanding because that of his owne free will he did assent and agree vnto the perswasion of the Devill therefore he himselfe was the first and chiefest cause of his owne ruine and decay for Sathan may perswade a man to evill but he cannot by force draw or compell any man to evill Therefore this willing revolting from good to evill is the cause of originall corruption which first began to be in the first mans will and afterward that infection and corruption by the iust iudgement of God descended and was derived vnto all and every of his posterity which hath made them altogether and every one apart by himselfe subiect to Gods iust iudgement and guilty of eternall damnation and that so that God the continuall enemy and revenger of all evill may iustly suffer all and every of them to be destroyed and to perish in that corruption without doing iniury to any of them because he is indebted to none of them So that the first man was so created of God and so left vnto the free choyse of his owne will that he might remayne in his innocency or fall from it if he would himselfe Although therefore that to fall and not to fall were vnto man indifferent and contingent and eyther of them as well one as the other might have happened and fallen out yet of these things which were otherwise meere matters of contingency that only fell out which God from everlasting had foreseene and decreed that it should happen So that those things which in respect of man are doubtfull and of their owne nature apt to fall out on either side which may happen or not happen or which may come to passe otherwise then man had purposed these very same things I say in respect of God are certayne and determined so that they cannot fall out otherwise then God from everlasting hath fore-ordained Hereby it is manifest that in things that pertayne vnto man if a man respect the counsell and end of man they are as it were matters of chaunce But if a man consider Gods decree and the end appoynted of him there are no matters of chance at all in inferior things nor in any thing els whatsoever For the creatures which are said to be second causes by reason of the want of wisedome do not foresee and know the future events of things and if peradventure they do foresee any yet they have them not in their power nor are indued with any such ability as to accomplish them and bring them to their wished and appoynted end wherefore many things oftentimes fall out and happen contrary to their intent and meaning and even their setled counsels are many times broken off and
scripture for a certaine singular excellency whereby a man may be worthy to be chosen so that he should be called elect which is excellent and singular they I say are the authors of fables and trifle with toyes seeing that every man is esteemed farre otherwise in this civile and earthly court then he is or iudged to be in the court of heaven Moreover no other cause of reprobation can be alleaged or produced out of the scriptures but the iust and vnchangeable will of God for as much as he in that his eternall and secret counsell hath of himselfe and by himselfe adiudged some men vnto eternall death destruction and that before they were and had done any evill For sinne can in no wise be the cause of reprobation For all have sinned and are alike polluted Ephes 2.3 and by nature the children of wrath so that all even every one should have perished if sinne had bin the cause of reprobation Sinne verily is the cause of those things that necessarily follow reprobation of which we shall speake more hereafter Although sinne that is committed of man be in it selfe a iust and efficient cause of damnation yet the cause of reprobation is not to be sought for in man but the first and chiefest cause thereof is even the free and righteous will of God But in as much as the reprobate are damned that they have deserved by their owne sinne this is the iust cause of damnation for if they had not sinned they should not have beene punished For God is every way so iust that he punisheth none except he be inthralled to sinne and most worthy of punishment And now seeing that it is proved by evident testimonies of the scripture that there is praedestination and that the doubtfulnes of the word and divers signification thereof is playnely discussed and that the causes thereof are produced and layd open it remayneth that wee should playnely define what this praedestination is which except it be done those things which follow to be handled cannot be conceaved and vnderstood Praedestination therefore is the eternall free iust and vnchangeable purpose of God by which of his mercy he hath determined to adopt some men for sonnes through Christ and hath appoynted them to eternall life and glory and hath not vouchsafed othersome that grace and favour but hath reiected them by his iust iudgement and appoynted them to eternall death This definition many places of the scripture do deliver and prove Rom. 9.13 Malac. 1.3 but chiefely the example of Iacob and Esau do wonderfully declare it These two although they were bretheren borne of the same parents although they were sinners both alike and by nature the children of wrath yet the wisedome of God did so discerne betweene them that by his free grace he loved and elected one of them and by his iust iudgement hated and reiected the other and that not according to the good or evill workes foreseene eyther of the one or of the other but according vnto his purpose he did choose Iacob Rom. 9.11 and hated Esau and that when as yet neyther of them were borne and had done neyther good nor evill The scriptures have set forth these two persons as it were two opposite and contrary arguments from which it inferreth two generall propositions namely that Almighty God from everlasting before all ages hath so discerned betweene men by his firme and vnchangeable wisedome that some without any merit of theirs should obtayne vndeserved grace and that some should have and vndergoe deserved iustice and due punishment This praedestination is distinguished from providence as a speciall thing from a generall or as a part from the whole seeing that predestination is not so common nor so large as providence For predestination hath his operation and working eyther in the saving or condemning of men although the created spirits namely the Angels may not vnfitly be referred herevnto But providence reacheth further spreading and extending it selfe vnto all the workes of God So that praedestination is as well the iust councell of God in forsaking the reprobate and casting him off into eternall punishment as the voluntary purpose of God in the salvation of the elect to be begun in this life and finished in the life to come Also providence is the eternall counsell of God and such an order and ratified governement in things that are created according to which all things are directed and do fall out to the glory of God and for the profit and salvation of the elect To this his governement even the temptations and sleights of Sathan are held in subiection which are so guided by the most wise God that they still turne to the good of his Saints although his devises are hurtfull in themselves yet God knoweth how to prevent them and to turne them to a contrary event Therefore although the endevours of Sathan are in their owne nature most pernitious yet by Gods direction they become wholesome vnto his children For God is such a workemaister as is able to alter and withdraw the effect from the cause so as the effect by an accident becommeth good and helpfull whose cause was most ill and hurtfull This providence of God although it reach vnto the creation of all things and to the ordering and governement of them yet it chiefely intendeth the counsels and actions of reasonable creatures and is so intentive about them that although they be very much confused and out of order yet it doth most wisely turne and bring them to those ends which from everlasting were foreordayned and appoynted for them So that all those things which God from everlasting by his vnsearchable wisedome did foresee and know before they were those things by his wonderfull and mervailous providence in the instant and moment of time appointed he doth create ordereth them being created maintaineth them being ordered governeth them being mayntayned and in governing them he doth so draw forth the course and line of his providence in this world that nothing can happen or be done in it then that which God from all eternity did fore-ordayne and appoynt All things do so depend and hang vpon this providence and power of God that without it not one action can be done nor one motion be produced in any creature For God is he by whose power and working is brought to passe all in all and that so as without this power and working of God neyther the godly can do that which is good nor the wicked commit that which is evill This providence of God is so ioyned and combined with his foreknowledge that the one of them seemeth as it were to shake hands with the other For what things soever God by this his vnsearchable foreknowledge did from all ages and from everlasting determine to doe those things being created in time he doth by his infinite providence bring vnto those appoynted ends even as he had decreed from everlasting What and how many are the
kindes of praedestination and by what proprieties election which is one of the kindes of praedestination is described which that they might more largely be explaned they are devided into certayne severall Chapters even as they seeme to have most affinity amongst themselves CHAP. 8. SEeing then that praedestination hath two kindes or parts which in their effect and ends do much differ the one from the other to which by reason of their divers obiects and contrary ends one and the selfe same thing can not be attributed nor given vnto them it is behoovefull therefore and necessitie doth require it also that for the more clearenesse and perspicuity sake every of them should be handled severally The order of teaching therefore requireth that in the first place we should speake of the Election and Salvation of the Godly and next of the reiection and destruction of the wicked Election is the eternall free and vnchangeable purpose and good pleasure of Gods Will whereby God hath decreed with himselfe to convert vnto Christ some separated from out of the whole company of Man-kind and in him to save them and through him to give them everlasting Life This Definition as well for the matter of it as the maner and ende we finde expressely set downe in Saint Paul to the Ephesians where the Apostle sayth Cap. 1. vers 4.5 He hath chosen vs in him namely in Christ before the foundations of the worlde that we should bee holy and without blame before him through love who hath predestinated vs into the adoption of children by Iesus Christ vnto himselfe according to the good pleasure of his Will Whereas hee sayth In him that is in Christ he hath chosen vs before the foundations of the world he expressely pointeth at this eternall Counsell for as much as God from all eternitie hath by his determinate Counsell fore-ordayned some men vnto Life eternall Whereas hee sayth In Christ hee sheweth the meanes whereby of vnworthy he made vs worthy to wit that Salvation wholy is gotten and bestowed vpon vs through Christ for he made satisfaction for our sinnes by the sacrifice of his Death and by the power of his Spirite turneth vnto himselfe vs that were gone astray and draweth vs vnto him and grafteth vs into himselfe by a true faith being grafted into him doth mercifully and mightily preserve vs in this life and doth dayly renew and fashion vs more and more according to the Image of God vntill at length wee having put off this flesh and layde aside all other infirmities hee may bring vs into eternall Life Therefore although God hath separated and chosen into the fellowship of Salvation men which in themselves were wholly defiled and most vnworthy from among others to whom in respect of themselves they were every way alike yet by electing them in Christ of most vnworthy hee hath made them most worthy through his worthinesse Whomsoever therefore God hath loved from everlasting those he determined to make deare vnto himselfe in Christ their Redeemer and Saviour As often therefore as in the Scripture there is mention made of the eternall love and election of God so often as concerning the causes of the execution of both there is vnderstood and presupposed Christ the Mediator as the onely ground and sure foundation of them both But that this Definition of Election may the more easily be conceyved and more playnely be vnderstood of every one the Proprieties thereof must orderly be set downe and layd open As for the Proprieties of Election although all of them are not contayned in this short abridgement of the Definition because vsually the Definitions of things are made of more generall words which vnder them contayne the more particular yet all of them are eyther contayned as vnderstood vnder these or doe necessarily follow them in the order of attayning of Salvation and do depend of them like as the Linkes of any Chayne are combined one within an other Here is a most strong Foundation layde for the Fayth of Gods Children for as much as Election and so consequently Salvation that dependeth of it can by no meanes be annihilated and perish because it is stayed grounded on the eternall good pleasure of God CHAP. 9. THe first Propriety therefore of Election is the eternal Decree which was beyond and before all ages in as much as God in his infinite goodnesse did thinke of the Salvation of Mankind before he had created any thing This circumstance of eternal time doth declare that God alone did of himselfe bring to passe the worke of our Salvation according vnto the good pleasure of his will This decree of Election he did only once make before all beginnings which alwayes after remayneth firme for ever and continueth vnchangeable throughout all succeeding ages It is not contrary to this Decree whereas the Prophets say that God yet chooseth Sion and Ierusalem For such an election is the manifestation the continuance and the applying of that heavenly eternal election For God in mans iudgement seemeth then to elect a man when he calleth him blesseth him and maketh him partaker of his Grace And of this Eternity there is often mention made in the holy Scripture that all merits and all other meanes whatsoever to which men are wont to bind attribute their salvation might be wiped out of the number of the causes of salvation that the goodnes of God alone might only be acknowledged honored for the sole cause of our salvation Ephes 1â— So Paul manifestly and in expresse words affirmeth that we were chosen in Christ before the foundations of the world were laid 2. Tim. 1.9 that God hath called vs with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his purpose grace which was given vs in Christ Iesus before the world began By these the like testimonies of scripture are taught that Gods Decree touching our Salvation is no new nor sudden thing but eternall and without any beginning And that God is the onely cause of our Salvation and that he had no regard of our merites or worthinesse because there were none at all for as yet wee our selves were not created As often as there is mention made in the Scriptures of the causes of Salvation wee are called vnto this eternall Election as to the fountayne of Salvation and that for sundry causes These are the especiall causes why God in the matter of our Salvation reduceth vs to his eternall Counsell First that we might know that there is no change in God for if after Sinne committed he had be thought himselfe of compassion towards vs and had taken no care for it before hee might surely seeme changeable as he that willed and appoynted one thing before sinne and another thing after sinne But seeing that God from everlasting hath decreed and ordained Salvation for vs long before sinne was committed hereby is prooved manifestly the setled vnchangeablenesse and continuall constancy of his
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
give his glory to another which by the Prophet Esaias he flatly denieth to doe saying Esay 48.11 I will not give my glory to another that is God will not cause that any Creature should have infinite strength or infinite wisedome For of ones selfe to perfourme and bring forth those workes which may merite Election and eternall life is not in the power of any creature For life eternall is a farre more excellent good and greater worke then mans strength is able to compasse That life is heavenly and infinite and therefore not to bee gotten or procured but by an heavenly and infinite power For as wee have sayde before there is no comparison nor proportion betweene an infinite good thing and a finite worke and merite Therefore when as the Papists brag that they are able to make themselves worthy of their elelection by their owne proper workes and merits they doe more foolishly and fottishly then if they should take in hand to build and set vp a new heaven and a newe earth with mallets and other tooles For albeit that this bee altogether impossible for them to doe yet that other is farre more hard and much more impossible For God the onely Almighty One was able to create the Heaven and the Earth and all that is contained in Heaven and in Earth by his word onely without any difficulty but he could not redeeme Mankinde from eternall damnation but by the precious blood of his Sonne So the Scripture calleth them that shall bee saved the Chosen in Christ namely in that hee hath redeemed them by his blood and restored Gods Image in them Wherefore seeing that Salvation could not bee recovered by any other meanes but by the most bitter death and passion of Christ hence it clearely followeth that there-obtayning of Salvation doth farre exceed the strength and power of any creature whatsoever Wherefore it is most false and wicked which the Papists dreame of that man is elected vnto Salvation for such or such good works foreseene Because those workes cannot pacifie the exceeding great wrath of God nor make satisfaction for the sinnes of man For as we have sayde before they are altogether repugnant and contrary vnto God therefore they doe not pacifie him but offend him and provoke him the more to anger Surely the whole masse of the worlde may farre more easily bee stayed vp with a staffe of reede then Salvation can bee gotten or obtayned by the power of man But that fiction concerning workes fore-seene should have the more likelyhood of trueth if they did bring forth such workes to deserve Salvation as were truely good but they can bring forth no such for as wee have sayde before man is wholly corrupt and wicked therefore there can bee expected from him nothing but corrupt and wicked deedes Lastly by theyr workes fore-seene they doe manifestly tempt God as if he were not able to save his Elect and bring them to happinesse by his meere grace being apprehended by fayth vnlesse they should put to theyr owne good workes as helpers and furtherers of his Grace And surely by offering theyr workes they shew that they are in doubt whether the Grace of God bee able and sufficient to save them and so denie God to be God For God cannot bee God vnlesse hee bee absolutely good and infinitely mercifull otherwise he should be imperfect and conditionally good such an one as the Papistes doe make him to bee with theyr good workes and merites fore-seene And a greater dishonour cannot redound vnto God then for a man to doubt of his infinite goodnesse and free mercy and God cannot be iniured more then if a man should preferre his owne workes fore-seene before the mercy of God as if by them God could bee mooved or turned this way or that way like man Certaynely whomsoever he hath not chosen for his owne mercy sake him wil he not chuse hereafter for any fore-seene good works of his owne For it is all alike to choose a man to Salvation for his owne workes as if God should cease to be God For if God should choose a man for his workes there would bee found manifest change in God and so God should cease to bee God but they which thinke themselves vnworthy of Election and yet doe truely and constantly beleeve that they are from everlasting elected vnto Salvation by the free mercy of God they give vnto God his deserved honour For a greater honour cannot be given vnto God then that hee is much more good and mercifull vnto vs in Christ then if wee had never sinned at all For hee that beleeveth in Christ and layeth hold on him by a true fayth hee hath the love of God and shall as truely and certaynely attayne life everlasting for his Passion sake as God in his Nature is everlasting and vnchangeable in his Will But the Papists which make their owne workes and merites the cause of theyr Election doe labour to abolish his mercy and to establish theyr owne integrity and righteousnesse as if God had chosen man not because he himselfe was God and mercifull but because man was thought acceptable and approoved of God for such or such good workes fore-seene when as the Gospel teacheth the cleane contrary Luke 18. that before Gods iudgement seate no workes nor merites of man may be suffered to approach but that a lowly and humble prayer powred out in the blood and merites of Christ shall bee heard and accepted Therefore the least imagination or establishment of mans merit is the manifest abolishing of the grace of God and the merits of Christ and a most certayne hazard and losse of eternall life By these things that are spoken it appeareth evidently enough that this fiction of workes fore-seene is as an il favoured head which hath many vnseemely members vnder it For where one absurdity is graunted a great many must needes followe after 2. Tim. 2.17 For errour is as a fretting canker For where the least chincke is opened to errour there the very greatest Monsters of errours throng in by troopes other most vngodly sins are heaped together vpon them So out of this false opinion as out of Pandoraes box there do flie horrible reproaches and blasphemies agaynst God For they which doe misvnderstand and falsely expound one place of Scripture it must needes follow that they mis-interpret and misvnderstand many places Because that all the Articles of Christian fayth are so artificially lincked together that one of them cannot be hurt but all the rest are wronged neyther can one bee taken out from amongst the rest but the whole rancke and order of all the rest will be broken and fall to nothing Certaynely the Papists being the subtile teachers and patrones of good workes fore seene doe openly declare that they neyther know the strength of sinne nor the vntowardnesse of our corrupted nature nor the iustice and wrath of God against sinne and so they are most ignorant of that which it
best reiected For there are many good men found which want those outward things and many times they are wicked which overflow and abound with them Therefore that obiection of the accepting of persons is not simple but doth comprehend many evils vnder it by which Sathan on the one side doth with mayne force push at the glory of God and on the other side doth openly set himselfe against the salvation of mankind and laboureth to overthrow and hinder it For salvation cannot be obteyned if the true cause of salvation be not vnderstoode and knowne for nothing can be brought forth by any thing else but by his owne proper and true cause But if this obiection should take place salvation should be transported from the true cause thereof vnto a false cause and so be in ieoperdy of losing Moreover God when he elected vs did call vs as it were from nothing For there was no good thing in our nature which could be acceptable and approved vnto him therefore of his free goodnes and mercy he decreed to adopt vs for children by election By all these things it evidently appeareth and is sufficiently proved that God hath absolute power and free will in the electing and reprobating of men For God is bereft of the chiefest part of his honor and glory vnlesse this authority be granted him over men to be the only iudge and disposer of life and death eternal Although God from everlasting hath in his iust iudgement cast away the reprobates from all hope of salvation yet they are condemned for nothing but for their owne sinnes and misdeedes so that they cannot complayne but of their owne deservings CHAP. 19. ELeventhly this decree of Predestination is a iust decree For God in his works is not onely most free but also in the same is most iust and vpright Therefore whatsoever he willeth and doeth he willeth and doeth iustly In as much therefore as he hath reprobated some men and appoynted them to eternall damnation he hath reprobated and decreed to condemne them iustly But that this question may the more cleerely be discussed and the better vnderstoode we must note two things First that God in his nature is iust Secondly that over and besides his nature he willeth and doeth nothing in his workes but that which is iust Moreover God is so iust in his nature as that his iustice is not any accidentall quality which is gotten and attayned by such or such actions or which sometimes admitteth augmentation and sometimes diminution but it is an essentiall propriety in God which cannot be absent from God except he cease to be God So that iustice most properly agreeth vnto God for he is iust indeede properly and so iust that not the least part of iustice can be found to be which proceedeth and commeth not from Gods iustice Therefore the creatures have so much iustice and vprightnes as it pleaseth God to instill and powre into them So that Gods iustice is the fountayne and welspring of all other iustice Certaynely God in his nature and will is so iust that no vniust thing can not onely be found in him but withall likewise he can endure no iniquity in his creatures For the will of God is not onely iust continually but also it is the onely imitable measure and rule of all other righteousnes and that so that no other things can be eyther iust or vniust but those which GOD shall pronounce iust or vniust Therefore whatsoever he shall iudge vniust cannot in any wise be iust and on the contrary those things which he shall esteeme as iust no man ought to thinke vniust Therefore seeing that GOD both in his nature and in his will is exceeding iust it followeth that all things which hee willeth and doeth must needes bee iust For as every cause doth bring forth his effect so also that effect doth declare of what sort the cause is For as the essence of the effect proceedeth from the cause so in like manner the knowledge of the cause is by his effect For such as the cause was such also must the effect needes follow therefore from a iust cause there must needes proceede iust effects wherefore in that that God hath reprobated many men and reiected them from his grace he hath reprobated them and reiected them iustly For all the works of God are iust as the scripture sayth but reprobation is a worke of God therefore it must needes be iust For who would deny that to be in the * Species particular kinde which is in the )( Genus generall or who would say that the nature of the causes is not in the effects This iustice or righteousnes of God is altogether incomprehensible and stretcheth and enlargeth it selfe as farre as the very nature and essence of God doth Therefore God can deliberate and do many and infinite things farre above the capacity of man and that most vprightly although they seeme to be otherwise in the wisedome of man Therefore howsoever God from everlasting hath appoynted certayne men to eternall perdition before they were created or had done any evill yet for all this he cannot be convinced of any iniustice because that he hath free power over all things and a iust will in all things so that he may iustly do in all his creatures whatsoever he doth or will do Therefore in that he hath appoynted some men vnto everlasting destruction hee hath done iustly for hee is a most free agent Therefore though he take pity vpon some and reiect others though he regenerate some and harden others though he save some and destroy others yet these and such like works are the iust works of God which he may do freely Is it not lawfull forme sayth that Lord of the Vineyard in the Parable Mat. 20.15 to do what I will with mine owne Therefore those works as they are done of God are iust and good works but if the same works or the like to these should be done of man they were vniust and great offences because they would be manifestly repugnant contrary to the law of God For the law commandeth that men should love others as themselves and that they should at all times and by all meanes and dutyes that they can save and defend them and not destroy them So that God gave a law vnto men to love and save others but he gave not that law to himselfe for he may iustly hate them whom men by the law are commanded to love Therefore God is iust at all times and in every place although some things which he willeth and doeth seeme very vniust vnto flesh and the wisedome of man For what can seeme more vnrighteous or vniust vnto flesh then to condemne a man vnto eternall destruction before he hath done any evill when as notwithstanding it is the iust worke of God which is therefore iust because it is Gods will This worke and decree of reprobation in the iudgement of man seemeth contrary
to the law and Christian charity For the law commandeth and charity willeth that there be no hurt done to any man but good vnto all but there is no good but hurt done vnto them which are ordeyned vnto this miserable condition and cursed estate therefore it is repugnant to charity and contrary to the lawe I answere God is not bound nor subiect vnto the lawe so that he gave that commandement to men only and not to himselfe Agayne the iustice of God is altogether infinite whose greatnes the shallownes of mans capacity cannot conteyne nor search out therefore it is not to be measured by the law and rule of civile iustice For there is no consequence from an infinite thing vnto a finite thing because there is no proportion betweene them Therefore a man in this matter must renounce all naturall reason and submit himselfe wholy vnto the onely wise God knowing that the iustice of God cannot be examined or comprehended by the shallow conceit of man nor be measured according to the rule of civill iustice Therfore it were extreme madnes blasphemous impiety not to attribute more wisedome vprightnes vnto God then man can vnderstand or imagine Surely this were to erect and worship a vaine idoll in the steed of God or rather to deny God himselfe Moreover there are certaine particular works of God which are not to be reduced to the generall rule of equity as for example the fact of Abraham who in his obedience vnto God would have killed his sonne and have sacrificed him vnto God when as notwithstanding the law sayth Thou shalt not kill The holy man of God knew that God was not subiect to the law but that it was given vnto men onely so that he did not examine the speciall commaundement which he had received concerning the sacrificing of his Sonne according to the lawe but simply obeyed the commaundement of God and desired to execute it with a ready and good will By this example we are taught first that God sometimes doth decree somewhat in his secret will which he prescribeth not in his lawe Secondly that we must obey this his secret will when God commaundeth though the lawe after a sort commaund the contrary otherwise the will of God revealed in his word is the onely continuall rule of good life So there may be some worke which God doth not therefore will because it is iust but it is therefore iust because he willeth it and thinketh it good Furthermore although of two men of which neyther had done any thing he hath predestinated the one vnto life the other vnto death and that before the foundation of the world yet this predestination is no lesse iust then if both had bin created and committed many great offences But it apeareth manifestly that reprobation was decreed before all time and not ordeined in time both from the nature of God and also by the holy scripture From the nature of God it appeareth because God doth nothing with a new will but all things by his everlasting will whatsoever therefore God doth in time that did he determine to do before all time otherwise there should manifest change be found in him if he should do the least thing in time which he did not determine to do before time from everlasting By the scripture it is evident because that every where as well in the doctrine of reprobation as election it reduceth vs vnto the eternall counsell of God that men might certaynely be perswaded that nothing happeneth vnto them in this life which was not ordeyned and decreed for them by God from everlasting So that that happeneth to them in time which God hath fore-ordeyned before time Moreover although the reprobates be reiected from this mercy of salvation by the iust and eternall iudgement of God yet they are not condemned but for their owne sinnes and misdeeds by which they deserve and pull vpon their owne heads the iust wrath of God and eternall destruction Therefore although they are not reprobated reiected for any infidelity or wicked deeds foreseene but because God hath so willed it and decreed it iustly yet they shall not be condemned but for their owne vngodlines To conclude as there is no merit foregoing in election so also is there no desert foregoing in reprobation but both do proceede and flowe from the good pleasure of God Now heere remayneth to be shewed briefly for what causes the reprobates are subiect and liable vnto iust condemnation The first cause of their destruction is the corruption of their nature this is so great that it is fully sufficient for to condemne them iustly as we may see in the death and condemnation of infants and little children that are reprobated who although they be polluted with fewe or none actuall sinnes yet for the originall corruption of their nature they are thrust hedlong into everlasting destruction Therefore this corruption of nature is the first and meritorious cause of damnation Agayne God vouchsafeth not to bestow vpon them the mercy of regeneration but leaveth them by his iust iudgement in their former depravation of nature Neyther can God be accused or charged with iniury because he doth not reforme nor better them for God doth not owe them so much because he hath not promised it vnto them and therefore is not bound to perfourme it And as for the promises although by the publike ministery of the Church they be pronounced vnto all that heare in generall yet indeed and effectually they do properly pertayne and belong vnto the elect only for whatsoever God hath promised in the Gospell and in the matter of salvation they onely obteyne and enioy Agayne the promises do not declare what God hath decreed and determined concerning every one but do shew how he is affected towards them that beleeve therefore they belong to none but to the beleevers so that God oweth nothing to the reprobates but deserved wrath and iust indignation Therefore in that he doth not call them nor draw them to Christ nor iustify them in him nor create faith in them it is for this cause because he hath not chosen them so that when the cause is denyed them the effects must needs be denyed them also For to whomesoever he vouchsafeth not election he also denyeth those blessings and benefits which are the effects of election These being by the iust iudgement of God thus left to themselves are hardned daily more more so that they feare not to commit great detestable sinnes and iniquities neither stand in awe of Gods vengeance but nuzsle themselves in their sinnes with delight and love and commit sinnes willingly and that so proudly and securely as if God the avenger of wickednes did winke at them and would take no account of them for their lives passed These God doth not only reiect and repell from all saving grace and all the effects thereof but also in his iust iudgement doth deliver thē over being so reiected partly
and is very profitable for the Elect and the godly For they being affrighted by the hurt and example of others are thereby more humbled in spirite and the more mooved and stirred vp to the better acknowledgement and more earnest desire of Gods grace and mercy Agayne that they may learne the more diligently and studiously to hate and eschew sinne which hath procured so great dammage and such fearefull condemnation vnto others and heartily to abhorre it And on the contrary that they may frame and apply theyr whole studies and endevours to this namely to the care of conforming themselves their life and manners according to the will of God in all things that there may bee betweene their God and them one and the same will and one and the same vnwillingnesse in all thinges as there is wont to be betweene mutual and faythfull friendes So that no evill can bee so great so noysome or hurtfull but God knoweth how to order and direct it vnto the edifying and Salvation of his chosen whereby every man may easily perceyve with what tender affection God loveth his Children when as out of deadly poyson he produceth instruction and wholesome medicine for them Let them therefore with fervent prayers give great thankes to God their so good and mercifull Father in that he hath vouchsafed to save them from eternall death and confusion and to elect them vnto everlasting Salvation and Glory before others whom they excelled neyther by nature nor byrth nor were in the least respect better then they From hence it clearely appeareth and is without all controversie true that the reprobates and such as shall be condemned have not onely any iust cause for which they should murmure agaynst God and frette at his so severe iudgement but farre contrariwise they are bound to prayse and thanke God for his benefites receyved partly because they were by him created men partly because hee hath forborne them here a long time Rom. 2.4 with much patience and long suffering and hath bestowed sundry and great benefites vpon them filling them and refreshing their hearts with meat and drinke Actes 14.17 partly because he hath beautified adorned many of them with notable and excellent giftes whilest he hath made some excellent in the knowledge of narurall things some he hath not debarred from the knowledge of his word but hath wrought in them a certayne consent vnto religion and begotten in them some shew of fayth as appeareth in Iudas the traytor and in Balaam and in many others of whom Christ speaketh in Saint Matthew Cap. 7.22 But when these doe wickedly abuse those benefites and spirituall giftes they do turne to them to their greater damnation Therefore by how much they have receyved from God the greater benefites and more excellent giftes by so much the more grievous iudgement and more bitter punishment doe they by their owne default deserve and plucke vpon their owne heads Further likewise the longer that their life lasteth here the greater curse is there prepared for them But in that hee forbore them here so long and bestowed on them so many good turnes it is his incredible goodnesse and admirable clemency And in condemning of them on the one side he sheweth his iustice and on the other side he setteth forth his power his iustice in that he hth condemned them for sinne which his holy Nature and Will cannot suffer vnpunished and his power in this that hee could impose and inflict vpon them everlasting punishment and most exquisite torments Lastly the reprobates while they are in this life doe hate God their Creator cast away and make no account of his worde and grace and doe deryde and mocke at the whole religion and worship of his divine Maiestie and so honour and love not God but the divell rather Agayne many times they doe most cruelly persecute the religious worshippers of God which professe and embrace his holy Gospell that so they might satisfie their hatred they beare agaynst God and doe molest and kill them with most exquisite torments So that they are the cause of many troubles vnto the godly in this life and incense and arme the hatred and power of the whole world against them all which thinges notwithstanding God for his vnspeakeable goodnesse and love sake towards the Elect doth so guide and direct that by them theyr fayth is the more edified and theyr Salvation furthered For all things both externall and internall must needes turne and worke together for the best to them which have the most mightie God for theyr Father For although that godly men be predestinated by God and elected vnto the heavenly Glory through Christ from everlasting yet they can come vnto that glory by no other way but by the bitter crosse and sundrie troubles and afflictions of this life 2. Tim. 3 2â— Psal 34.20 For although that GOD doe love them with his most tender love that surmounteth all things yet such a lotte and condition is assigned and appointed vnto them in this life that an heavie and a continuall crosse is ioyned as an vnseparable companion vnto that his more then fatherly love For God loveth his children not with a pleasing but with a severe love so that hee chasteneth them sharpely here for their great profit that they might be made partakers of his holinesse But this is their onely hope and most strong consolation that the fatherly will of God for the verifyng and performance of their Salvation is more strong then an vnbatterable wall of brasse This reprobation ought to be preached abroad as wel as Election because that this is a great part of the holy Scriptures which are to be propounded wholy and not piece meale Rom 9.18 So Saint Paul flatly and freely affirmeth that God hardeneth who he will So the same Paul affirmeth 2. Tim. 2.20 that in a great house there are some vessels for dishonour So the same Paul sayth that Pharaoh was raised vp and appoynted for this Rom. 9.21 that God might shew his power in him Rom. 9.12 So also he affirmeth that Esau was reprobated of God Rom. 9.11 before hee had done any evill So also Christ himselfe denyeth Iohn 10.26 that the vnbeleeving Iewes are any of his stocke Matth. 22.11 So likewise he affirmeth in Matthew that to them which are without it is not given to vnderstand the mysteries of the kingdome of heaven So also in the same Gospel of Saint Matthew Cap. 13.19 hee doth by sure signes and infallible tokens discerne and make a difference betweene the elect and the reprobates and there calleth the Elect the wheate of God and the reprobate the tares of the Divell These and the like sayings and testimonies of Scriptures doe teach vs that the doctrine of reprobation ought publikely to be propounded and preached and that for these causes First that the Elect might so much the more certainely and surely repose themselves in the free
open vnder our eyes And therefore if any things though never so little should be exempt from the knowledge of God his wisedome and providence should not be infinite which ought to extend it selfe as well above all things as through all things and so God should not be God whose knowledge were straightened vnto a fewe things and particular and not enlarged vnto all things and vniversall Also here is further to be noted briefely and by the way that there are many more reprobated then elected This may first by most manifest testimonies of Scripture and then by dayly experience be truely verified and declared Christ himselfe playnely affirmeth and pronounceth in Saint Matthew that many are called Mat. 22.14 but few are chosen Luke 12.32 For this cause also in Saint Luke Christ calleth the number of the Elect a little flocke Also the Parable of the seede in Saint Matthew Mat. 13.4 doth in evident and expresse words explane and set forth this when as onely the fourth part of men are capable of the heavenly and spirituall seede and bring forth fruite And the rest eyther doe not receyve that spirituall seede Mat. 13.19 or else suffer it not to growe but set theyr studies and desires vpon things below which shall perish so that they neglect and and contemne the treasure of eternall Life By this Similitude Christ himselfe declareth who are elect and who reprobate the Elect are compared to the good and fruitfull ground and bring forth fruite eyther more or lesse according to the measure of the grace that is bestowed vpon them But the reprobate are compared eyther to barren and stony ground or to thornes which doe choke the heavenly seed by one meanes or an other and bring forth no fruite So that in Gods iust iudgement they are left in the corruption of nature and are not renewed therefore they are reprobates and shall be condemned And although that there are more reprobated then elected yet the number of the Elect is so great that it contayneth infinite millions of men so that with Moses they are compared vnto the starres of the skie and the sands of the Sea Agayne dayly experience teacheth vs that the number of the reprobate is greater then the number of the elect For how many and how great kingdomes and regions are there where the blessed Gospel of the Sonne of God was never preached nor heard of For none can attayne true Fayth and Salvation in Christ without the word of God preached or taught For faith sayth the Scripture Rom. 10.17 commeth of hearing and hearing by the word of God They therefore which neyther have not heare the word of God cannot attayne vnto fayth and so to Salvation And to dreame of some secret inspiration without the ministery of the worde is an hare-braind conceyt which needeth no confuting For although God bee not tyed vnto the outward word and that an extraordinary way may bring men vnto fayth yet he hath so tyed vs vnto the word that without it in this matter we cannot iudge any thing Therefore how many millions of men as well yong as old have departed out of this life before they have heard any thing at all concerning Christ and his Gospel Such ought rather to be left vnto the iudgement of God then to bee iudged by the censures of men For it is evident that Salvation commeth from nothing els but from fayth and faith proceedeth from nothing Tit. 1.1 Iohn 17.3 but from a true and sincere knowledge of God of Christ And this true knowledge of God and of Christ cannot bee had el ewhere but from the Gospel onely Therefore how can they obtayne fayth and Salvation which have neyther heard nor read the Gospel But seeing this kind of men is one of the foure secret mysteries of God which man ought not to search out and determine as Augustine elsewhere speaketh we must leave them to God and must hope that for his great Mercy sake if they bee not converted to day they may bee to morrow converted Concerning false christians which are mingled among the true ones as tares amongst the good corne I say nothing in this place That Similitude of the seede and of the Sower in Saynt Matthew doth playnely show Matt. 13.3.4 that there are many of them For we are taught by that Similitude that all are not true Christians before God which heare Gods word and professe themselves to be such for because that many bragge and boast of the shew and title of godlinesse whose heart notwithstanding is most farre from it Therefore our fayth will bee shaken and waver except wee remember that many of them are false brethren which speake and boast of the name of Christ Let not their falling away which surely will come overthrow our fayth and bring it to ruine As by the multitude of them that shall be damned the greatnesse of Gods wrath against them may be gathered so also by the scarcitie of those that shall be saved the aboundance of the Love of God towards them may be collected And men ought to examine by theyr fayth in what account they are with God CHAP. 22. ANd in as much as there are more condemned then saved it may from hence easily be gathered how great the wrath of God is against rebellious and vnrepentant persons which being oftentimes admonished by the word of God or endued with other good benefites or afflicted with such or such calamities yet repent not nor cease from sinne Agayne by how much the greater and more severe the wrath of God is against the rebellious stiffe-necked by so much the greater and more notable is his Love and Mercie towardes the penitent and such as cease from evill So that the fewer they are the dearer they are vnto God for rare thinges are vsually more fervently beloved and more carefully tendered This scarcity of the Elect and multitude of the reprobates ought to trouble no man nor weaken any mans fayth neyther is the grace and mercy of God for that to be thought straitned into a narrow roome and Christians ought not to despayre for this cause but to be in the better hope For where the Gospel of Christ is preached and taught and the holy Ghost made powerfull by it there God hath his Elect. Therefore all they which embrace the Gospel of Christ and by a true faith put theyr whole trust and confidence of the obtayning of Salvation in the sole mercy of God and in the onely Sacrifice of Christ and are not strangers from the holy Spirite but doe bewayle theyr sinne and have an hearty desire and care to profite in true faith and amendment of life they may surely perswade themselves that they are elected from everlasting and that they shall never perish For the Scripture doth every where reduce men vnto Christ and to true fayth in him that men might confirme themselves concerning their Election and pronouncerh such blessed And
of man a false and fayned cause thereof And although the scripture do oftentimes promise a reward vnto the workes of the godly yet from thence can be gathered no merit wherein God as a debtor should be bound vnto vs because that reward dependeth vpon the meere mercy of God and not vpon any worthines of the workes Therefore the Papists whilst that in this question they do ioyne the reward and merit in a mutuall relation are very much deceived Certainely such are despised and reiected of God which shall put the least part of their confidence in their owne workes This doth the Sonne of God lively expresse and teach vs in the example of the Pharisy Luk. 18.11 Moreover the Papists get nothing in this when as they bring forth the examples of the Saints how that they oftentimes did freely rehearse and plead their integrity innocency before God this they do not to this end purpose as if they would declare themselves to be free and exempt from all imperfection and stayne of sinne nor as if they hoped that they could stand in the sight of God being indued with their owne power but they do it to a far other end namely to shew that they have a good lawfull cause against their adversaryes of whom they are vniustly hurt and oppressed So that the holy men do not compare their owne integrity by the sâ—uare rule of Gods iustice but they oppose it against the violent iniury of their enemyes and do call God as a iust iudge and the onely witnes of the truth betweene themselves and their enemyes Therefore by that comparison made with their enemyes by whom they are vniustly oppressed they shew forth their owne righteousnes and singlenes of heart that by that reason they might the more easily perswade God to help them This therefore is the reason why the holy meÌ„ do labour so earnestly in pleading the cause of their owne righteousnes so that in those speaches of their owne cause the question is not concerning their whole life and continuall perfection and innocency thereof but onely the goodnes of the cause is layd open and declared against the iniury of the wicked Agayne although the Saincts sometimes lay open their good workes 2. King 20.4 Psa 18.21 that they have walked before God with an vpright heart and have not departed from his commaundements yet notwithstanding they doe not produce those works as meritorious but onely bring them in as signes and fruites of their calling that they might comfort themselves concerning their free adoption and so do not extoll and prayse their owne merits but the gifts and benefits of God and do testify that they do rely with a quiet conscience vpon the only favour of God and obedience of Christ Also sometimes when the Scripture speaketh of the integrity of the Saincts it distinguisheth them from hipocrites to whom it is sufficient to have an outward shew of godlines So this integrity is not every way the perfection of the whole life but it is taken for the singlenes of heart which is contrary to dissimulation Also the Papists by their interpretation doe corrupt all those places of Scripture which promise a reward vnto good workes and wrest them into an other sence and so doe fall into a fallacy of the ambiguity of a word And further because they ascribe that vnto the merits of man which is due alone vnto the grace of God and to the onely merit of Christ they mingle contrary causes together and out of them do frame and forge I know not what But to enforce some merit from a free reward they do not only make a foolish and rash consequence but also do deny God to be the onely fountayne of all goodnes and do conclude that there is some good thing in wretched sinners which are wholy corrupted Furthermore that which they babble of inherent righteousnes is altogether vayne and foolish for the free forgivenes of sinnes and the imputation of Christ his merit doth quite overthrow as well this inherent righteousnes as that righteousnes of workes for these are two contraryes which can never stand together nor be attributed vnto one and the selfe-same thing but one of them alwayes confoundeth and driveth away the other Surely such fictions of the Devill and vayne men are altogether to be reiected and condemned which pull in pieces the whole doctrine of the free remission of sinnes For they which goe about to establish and set vp theyr owne righteousnes do not submit themselves vnto the righteousnes of God Rom. 10.3 they do not onely deceive and as much as in them lyeth condemne themselves and others but also they arrogate the honour of God vnto themselves or at the leastwise much weaken it for as soone as they set vp their owne righteousnes they throw downe the righteousnes of God for this is the onely beginning to obteyne the righâ—…nes of God that men should altogether renouâ—â—â—â—heir owne righteousnes and to confesse and acknâ—â—â—â—dge themselves to be voyd of all righteousnes For as long as a man thinketh that he hath the least good thing of his owne he is vnfit to receive the righteousnes of God which he giveth and imputeth freely for God receiveth into favour and saveth none but sinners such as are voyd of all righteousnes Hence is it that the Prophets and Apostles do set the only grace of God and sole merit of the Messias Dan. 9. 1. Tim. 1.15 as contrary vnto all the merits of man and all outward causes which prophane and wicked men in their inconstancy and rash attempts do invent for by this meanes they teach vs that there is no other way for men to become righteous and enter into heaven but the onely and meere goodnes of God and the merit of Christ alone Agayne they teach vs that all and singular the endevours and merits of man by which men go about to deserve the grace of God are nothing else but manifest illusions and sleights of the Devill by which ignorant men are made strangers from God and throwne headlong into the deepe pit of condemnation Therefore this free iustification ought alwayes to be remembred and thought of for Sathan laboureth and watcheth for nothing more then that he might quite put out or at the least darken this free iustification of faith This he hath gone about in all ages and obtained in many places But let this suffice to be spoken of the first quality of iustification Secondly this iustification is by all meanes perfect and most absolute for God doth not pardon one or two sinnes only but he forgiveth all and every sinne Neither doth he only forgive sinnes that are already committed past but he doth remit the dayly falls of his children if they repent This the scripture teacheth vs in many places and diligently vrgeth Iohn sayth playnely 1. Iohn 1.7 that the bloud of Christ cleanseth vs from all sinne S. Paul to the Colossians
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
And so the good workes of the best are partly imperfect and evill If therefore they should bee examined and weighed in themselves and by themselves in the iust ballance of the Lawe of almighty God beeing defiled and polluted with theyr owne vncleannesse filthinesse and deformity they will be found much more vile and vnsavory in the sight of God then any leprosie by the vncleannesse thereof can bee vnsightly and abominable in the sight of men This Esayas doth confesse freely of himselfe and other religious worshippers of God Esay 64.6 saying We are all of vs as an vncleane thing and all our righteousnesse as a filthy and most vile cloth Here rhe Prophet although hee had profited much in the matter of godlinesse and in the worship of God yet he confesseth that he is infected and polluted with many and filthy sinnes If the workes of so great a Prophet were defiled with sinne as with the vncleannesse of leprosie what shall wee thinke of our owne works which are in no sort to bee compared with his Certaynely hee is altogether vncleane that seeth not his owne vncleannesse But the more holy that a man is the more also doth he confesse and acknowledge his owne pollution and vncleannesse as the example and confession of the Prophet doth manifest and declare So that no man can be certayne of the free pardon and remission of his sinnes except by a sound fayth and steadfast assurance he do relye vpon the sole and meere goodnesse of God and consider with himselfe and detest his owne imperfection and manifold sinnes For God doth nothing by the halfes Therefore hee hath determined eyther to save him wholy or els is ready to condemne him wholy So that workes if they bee considered in themselves and without mercy are worthy to be cast together with men into everlasting torments Here the Papists do agayne betray theyr owne grosse ignorance or obstinate malice in that they dreame and dare affirme that the workes of the Saynts are not onely every way perfect in this life but also more exact then the law of God requireth to which God oweth Life everlasting and Salvation And those works they call by a new found name merits ex condigno to which rewards are due and ought to be payd even for the worth of the worke according vnto the rule of Iustice So these will have the works of the godly to be altogether perfect in this life and wholy agreeable vnto the Law of God so that they may by theyr inward vertue deserve the grace of God as a reward For so they make an equalitie betweene those works and life eternall so that God should be bound by right to yeeld a reward vnto them This imagination of the Papists is vayne and fond because that bond in which God first bound himselfe is not meritorious of the least reward but dependeth wholy vpon the promise and mercy of God But the works of the godly in this life are vnperfect and onely but begunne therefore there cannot be in them such force and power as that by them the sinnes of the godly should be made a meanes for and put away and the grace of God attayned as these would have it Therefore this obligation or bond wherein God is bound cannot be prooved to proceed from the worth of theyr works and so this equality which they have forged and drawne out of theyr owne brayne is altogether voyd So Iob being regenerate sayth most truely and confesseth his owne imperfection and frailty when he sayth If I would iustifie my selfe mine owne mouth shall condemne me if I shall say I am perfect he shall iudge me wicked Let every man therefore confesse and acknowledge that he is vnperfect that hee may have passage and entrance vnto the mercy of God Farre therefore bee the name of perfection and righteousnesse from those works which by Gods owne mouth are convinced to be full of pollution and vncleannesse They adde yet further that they are able to performe and doe more and better workes then the Law prescribeth and commandeth for which cause they terme them very impudently the workes of Supererogation And in these they do not onely put much confidence but also do ascribe the prayse of theyr righteousnesse vnto them and do place no smal part of their glory in them By this vayne wicked fiction they do offend most grievously First in that they dare fayne that these workes are wholy consonant vnto the law of God yea more absolute then the law it selfe and stick not to vaunt and thrust out these fayned works vnto God and the Church as if they were true and very works indeed Secondly in that they are not afrayd by these workes to dimme the glory of God and to make the merir of Christ of none effect Lastly in that they are not ashamed to put and attribute that confidence and glory vnto theyr execrable wickednesse and great offences which is due and proper onely to God and the merit of Christ But the Sonne of God doth altogether overthrow batter downe these works of the Papists as well those of Supererogation as those of Congruity in the Evangelist Saynt Luke For hee sayth flatly vnto his Apostles Luke 17.10 When ye have done all that is commanded you say we are vnprofitable servants we have done that which was our duty to doe Therefore let that most vaine dreame of the Papistes and manifest invention of the divell with great detestation be hissed out of doores and condemned vnto the pit of hell because it doth derogate from the glory of God and hazardeth the fayth of the godly But let the godly seriously acknowledge and vnfaynedly confesse theyr owne imperfection that they may be clothed and crowned with true perfection and the glory of Christ by the Sonne of God in his blessed comming But the works of the Papists by which they boast themselves and make such a shew are chiefely these to interpret the whole Scripture of God wickedly and frowardly and wrest it into a contrary sense to adde many hurtfull opinions vnto it and to take many wholesome things from it and so to call in question the whole Scripture to heape vp idolatry and innumerable superstitions without measure or end to waver vp and down like a reed by vnbeleefe to doubt and be vncertayne of the goodnesse of God and merit of Christ with a staggering fayth and to despayre of Salvation to commit whoredome without feare or respect in the contempt of Matrimony so that they feare not to exercise theyr most filthy lustes and commit execrable wickednes These are the principall works of the Papists in which they chiefely exercise and weary themselves so that they call them heretikes which refuse to commit the like thinges with them and persecute them with most exquisite torments and punishments vntil by some meanes or other they have taken them out of the way And whereas God in many places of the Scripture doth promise