see what this holy Apostle of christ Iesus thought touching this poynt of mans meriting And I pray you marke how firmely the learned Fathers of the church cleaue vnto the same doctrine My first place out of Paule was that wee are saued not by c. And Saint Ierom one whom your church highly reuerenceth writeth in this manner Hier lib 1 ad Pelag Then are wee iust when wee confesse our selues to be sinners And our iustice consisteth not of our owne merit but of Gods mercy Heere this holy father in the matter of iustification reiecteth with S. Paule all our owne merit and referreth the same wholly to Gods mercy My second place out of the Apostle was that the Wages of sinne is death but the guift of GOD is eternall life through c. Origene one of the most auncient Fathers of the church in exposition of these very words of Paule saith thus Origen in ep ad Ro ca 4 lib 4 The apostle saith that the wages of sin is death but he added not said likewise the wages of iustice is eternall life but he sayeth eternall life is the gratious guift of God to teach vs that wages which is like to debt and reward is a recompence of pun shment and death and to assigne eternall life to grace onely Thus you heare this reuerent father expoundeth Paule that our wickednes iustly meriteth condemnation but that the ballaunce wanteth waight the other way and that our best deedes merite not saluation which is assigned to grace only and if only to grace then are all our workes absolutely excluded in that busines My last place out of paule was The sufferings c. Answerable to this sayeth Saint Barnard on this manner Now concerning eternal life we know the sufferings of this life are not worthy of the glory to come Barn in Anunt Mariae Serm. 1 no not if one man should suffer all heere this deuout and religious father remoueth all doubt touching the former doctrine by a forcible supposition on this manner Admit that the afflictions and persecutions of Paule of Peter of Iames and all the Apostles that the paine and torments of the Primitiue Church and of those fiue and twenty Byshops which successiuely were martyred for the name of Iesus And that all the tortures and sufferings of all the Saints of God in allages from the death of Abell to the last drop of blood that euer shal be shed vpon the earth for the testimony of the Lords truth were laide vppon one man to beare and that it were possible for him onely to vnder go the paines torments and tortures that they all indured yet were the glorye of eternall life to rich a guerdon for those his sufferinges hee coulde not merite heauen thereby for the infinite iustice of God must haue a greater satisfaction This was the holy fathers censure hereupon No not saith he if one man should suffer all Now let me reason with you by an inuincible and familiar argument if the suffrings of Paule or of anye of these holy martyres whose continuall persecutions and torments were insteed of many deaths vnto them Nay if all their paines tortures and deaths ioyned together would not make vp a desert answearable to the meed of euerlasting glory It must needes followe that your deeds and sufferings which cary no neerer a proportion with the other then your span doth with the spatiousnes of the whole earth can merit no such matter and shall neuer for any desert they are of come home so rewarded No no you must not look for such an inrichment after such a reckoning but rather saye with the same Saint Barnard Serm 1 anunt Mar whom your selues confes to be one of the sweetest queresters in the Lords quier What are all our merits to so great glory The gardens of all the Fathers of the Church are thicke set with these flowers they all of them teach if true vnderstood the selfe same doctrine Thus you heare then what the Scriptures and Fathers haue deliuere touching our iustification how they referre the same wholy to the mercy and grace of God in the righteousnesse of Christ Iesus and shake off our owne merits as hauing no hand in that worke nor worthinesse in that degree to be trusted vnto But fearing least you are made beleeue that the Scriptures as we read them are false and the Fathers as we vse to alledge them but wrested as what will not falshood affirme to discountenance the trueth or error be ashamed to say for her owne shelter I will yet attempt another meane which I assure my selfe will cool and am in good hope vtterly extinguishe that your conceit of merritting and it shal be by making knowne vnto you the wonderfull inconuenience you incurre and the dangerous premunire that your soule runs into by holding your workes in such estimation There are two principall vertues whereby our grations God vouchsafeth to manifest himself to the know ledge of his seruants vpon the earth and wherin it pleaseth his diuine omnipotency to be delighted and they are his mercy and his Iustice There are likewise 2. principall offices which our mercifull Sauiour daigned to vndertake for our sakes whereby the fauour of God which our old notorious pranke had estranged is regaind vnto vs and thorough the blessed means whereof we are not onely become gratious with him in this world but haue assurance of his sight and the happye fruition of eternall felicity in the worlde to come and those are his redeemershippe and mediatorshippe and I pray you what will you thinke of your Religion if the same nay if one branch thereof among twenty as rotten as it selfe if this onely point of attributing merit to your workes in the act of your iustification doeth impaire and manifestly obscure the dignitie of these excellent proprieties of God his mercie and his Iustice and withall disparage and apparantly detract from the Worthynesse of Christ his merite in that his redeemershippe and mediatourshippe if your religion I say be guilty of such heinous treason against the diuine Maiesty will you not then iudge it your securest course to abandon her daungerous fellowship and embrace insteed therof for your comfort true christianity of whome you shall be sure to learne nothing but true faith and true obedience to your heauenly Soueraigne In discouery hereof it is behoouefull for you to conceiue that as the essence of God is infinite and perfect so these proprieties of God his mercy and Iustice because they are essentiall in him must likewise of necessity be perfect and infinite which being graunted doeth not euery opinion that shall intimate defect or insufficiency therein impaire as I saide and manifestly obscure the dignity thereof you cannot denie but it doth neither shall you euer be able substantially to cleere your doctrine of merites from this high and perillous imputation For looke how much you attribute to your owne merits in the purchase of saluation So
yeeld your soule a sweete and delectable sent if you neglect them not and with a conceipt of their vnworthinesse cast them not behind you This is the onely perfection of men if they know themselues to be vnperfect Hier aduer Pelag. Augustine in manualy ca 22 All my hope is in the death of my Lord His death is my merit my refuge saluation life and resurrection my merit is the compassion of my Lord. Let vs hope for forgiuenesse of our sinnes as of faith in christ and not of debt as due for any merit Ambrose lib. 2. ad Poeniten c 8 Euery man shall be rewarded according to his works but not for his workes Gregorie in Psâ— 1 4 2 Barnardde liber arbitr To speake properly of those workes which we call our merits they are but the seede-plats of hope the tokens of our predestination the presagers of our future happinesse the way to the kingdome not the cause of raigning there To conclude whom God hath iustified not those whom he found iust he hath glorified I will make vp this posie with one flower more out of the Garden of the said S. Bernard which I knowe you will hold deere for her sake whose name is written vpon it whom you esteeme to be and while you say no other wise of her I will say with you the most blessed Virgin that euer bare life Bar. Scr. 1 Anunt ma Let them saith S. Bernard seeke for merit that list It is best for vs to study to find grace then he sheweth this reason for Mary standeth not vpon her merit but seeketh grace Now if the Virgin Mary whome you make no lesse then a Goddesse whom you cal the Queene of heauen the Queen of the world and mother of grace and vertue whome you account a generall aduocate for all Gods seruants vpon the earth whom you inuocate euery day whose honor you celebrate at eight solemne feasts euery yeare and to whome you giue power to commaunde Christ her sonne and to commaund him by the authority of a Mother For al which did you heap as many more glittering titles together as there are Starres in the firmament I am perswaded she will neuer giue you thankes for she loueth her sonne her Lord her God too wel to take vnto her selfe any thing that is due vnto him or to smile vpon those that shall rob him of his honour and giue it to any other thogh it be to her selfe If shee I say as Saint Bernard affirmeth pretendeth not her owne merit but resteth vpon the grace and mercy of God her Sauiour What doe you thinke it best for you to do You acknowledge your selfe I knowe inferiour to her in workes in grace and euery way yet be not contrary to her in workes or grace or any way forsake not the grace of GOD which is all in all to fly ynto your owne merite which is nothing for then you are contrarie to her but forsake the merit of your owne workes that hath no solidity in it and fly vnto the grace of God in Christ that is powerfull to saue your soule and so you are not contrary to her for then she becommeth your happy president she is therein vnder the blessed spirit your gratious Schoole mistres You little thought I dare answere for you that any opinion she had helde at least in such a materiall poynt of saluation had bene contrary or so much as repugnant to the doctrine which is established in the church of Rome For as you haue bone taught that she was without sin because she bare the sauior of the worlde so are you borne in hand that the said doctrine is without errour because it is established by those that cannot erre But eronious are they that whisper these things in your eares and simple are you that lend such listning thereunto for God hath taught both them and you another lesson Galat 3 22 namely that the scripture hath concluded all not excluding the virgin Mary vnder sinne And that euery man not excepting the Pope is a lyer Rom. 3 4 But to touch these points otherwise then by the waye you might thinke were by the purpose The matter in hand is merit of workes and I hope I haue sufficiently indeared the contrary doctrin vnto you Howbeit that potent obiection of yours as you take it that because God hath promised such a rewarde vnto vs if we doe good workes therefore our good workes deserue that reward I wil auoid another way by discouering the vntruth thereof by a playne and familiar example Suppose I pray you that an earthly king should say to one of his ordinary seruants do such a thinge and I will giue thee such an Earledome for thy labour and that this seruant when he hath perfourmed that which was commaunded him although the same belonged to his place and that he stoode bounde to doe it before shoulde notwithstanding expect this great rewarde from the King as being due vnto him for the little pain hee had taken and as though the very doing of that small matter had deserued it What would you thinke of such a seruant woulde you think him well in his wits or at least well worthy of such aduancement I knowe you would not but rather iudge him an vnthankefull body and hold it pitty that such preferment shoulde be bestowed vppon one that would so abuse his maisters bounty Say you so Why then although I am no prophet as Nathan was I may take you as Nathan tooke Dauid in your owne answeare and say vnto you Thou art the party God hath commaunded you to do good workes and yet no other then belong vnto your calling and such as by the band of your election creation redemption and adoption I hope and iudge the best of you you are bounde vnto and for the doing thereof he promiseth you the rewarde of eternall glory Now admit you do these good workes as God commaundeth you and when you haue done them thinke that for the merit thereof you may expect your reward proposed are you not with the aforesaide seruant very vnthankefull Doe you not vtterly mistake the matter and attribute that vnto your owne merit which is due vnto Goddes mercy Questionlesse you do then how much more are you to be blamed that hauing not done those workes that the Lord commandeth you but being at the best an vnprofitable seruant shall notwithstanding in lieu as I may say of your owne vnworthinesse and for the merit of that which you left vndone look for the reward of eternall felicity I will accompany this example for the conclusion of the point and because I would come home euen to the shallowest capacity with three natural reasons of impossibility that you or the godliest that lyueth vpon the earth should merit saluation as you all that liue after the doctrine of the church of Rome haue bin and are continually misinstructed The first reason is the huge and wonderful
much you detract away from Gods mercy in Christ which is the proper and onely price whereby the same is purchased God which is rich in mercy saith Paule through his great loue wherewith he loued vs Esphe 2 4. euen when we were dead in sinne hath quickened vs together in Christ for by grace are ye saued and hath raised vs vp together and made vs sit together in heauenly things through Christ Iesus And in another place formerly alledged God hath not saued vs for the deeds of righteousnesse which we haue wrought but of his mercy hath he saued vs. Heere the mercye of God appeareth like it selfe Paule giueth it his due and maketh it the only doer of the matter of saluation you on the contrary beleeue that you shal be saued by your works only or at least by your works this grace coupled togither heer the mercy of god is shewed forth vnlike it selfe you rob it of his due making it either nothing at all as when you wil be iustified meerly by your own deeds without it or at least but a partner with you when your deeds must draw in the same yoke with it as coaiutors or fellow workers in that busines Assure you selfe therefore that the perfect and infinite mercy of our good and gratious God doth not agree with the imaginary merit of flesh and blood but is and that not a little indignified by this grosse and presumptuous doctrine for doe but seriously ponder with your selfe whether that mercy can be infinit that hath neede of a supplement and how it can be perfect when it must be eeked out with deedes of imperfection yet is it perfect and infinite and shall euer remaine so let neuer so many millions of your merit founders deserue thereof as ill as they can by such their confidency in their owne deseruinges The same indignity you profer to the iustice of God which being likewise as his mercy is perfect and infinite you hope neuerthelesse will be satisfied with corrupted intigrety and appeased with your poluted righteousnesse but you are as wide from the truth as the East is from the West for there is no iustice that can stand against the iustice of God but that which carrieth proportion answearable therunto It requireth an entire and ful paiment And it is not the low-prized drosse of Egypt our stained impure actions but the refined gold of Saba the vnspotted and pure righteousnesse of christ Iesus that in the great day of our accompt will passe for currant No no you should be so far from arrogating vnto your selfe any ability to the answering of that so infinite and awful iustice of God almighty as rather firmely and constantly to rest assured that the vprightnes of al the men on earth though the same indeede respectiuely be pleasing and acceptable vnto God nor the integrity of all the Angels of heauen yet I know they excell in strength and are now confirmed from euer falling nor the holinesse of all the Saintes both in heauen and in earth albeit I confesse they make vp that church which christ himselfe calleth faire and without spot and honoreth beside with the title of his sister his loue his spouse his doue and his vndefiled That the vprightnes I say integrity and holinesse of all these Angels and saints nay the power of all their desert ioyned together cannot calme the tempest of Gods iustice from showring downe indignation vpon all the sons of Adam for their originall and actuall transgression nor so much as qualifie the said iustice towards your selfe in particular nor make a condigne satisfaction for your sins only no not for the least sinne though you extenuate and mince it to the least of your veniall sins that euer you committed for any sinne is a breach of the whole law and who knoweth not the transgression of the law is that proper act of rebellion whereby this infinite iustice is so worthily incensed as without an infinite satisfaction neuer to be apeased yet are you bold of your selfe to rush in vpon that displeased maiesty and hauing no lawfull warrant to present the same with an hollow bird of your owne worthinesse but you haue often heard that it is ill dallieng with saints and let me by the way aduise you to beware how you iest any more with such edg-tooles as Gods iustice Howbeit your doctrine of merites for all these wronges both to the mercye and Iustice of God doth not yet finde lymits to bound his outrage in but breaketh out further to ouerflow euen the obedience and sufferinges of our mercifull sauior christ Iesus and as much as lieth in the handes of heresie to annihilate his blessed righteousnesse the very truth only and al-sufficient act of our redemption This righteousnesse of christ which none but the rabble of Antichrist will deny you must vnderstand is perfect And it is necessary it should be so for it encountereth the perfect iustice of god and is layed in the ballance to waygh against the same for a wonderfull valew a valew of no lesse worth then the welfar and whole estate of euery christian soule that euer was or euer shall be imprisoned in the corrupt tabernacle of flesh and blood Now you not contented to set down your whole rest vpon the sufficiency of this righteousnesse either pull the same quite out of the ballance and put in steede thereof your own or at least lay yours vpon his to make vp the waight as though the other were sufficient wherein what derogation you proffer to the merit of christs obedience it is most manifest the same being of it selfe so absolute and what madnes you shew therin may be wondered at when al your merits vnto christs are for substance not a drop to the maine Ocean and for waight not so much as a feather to the whole earth The spirit of truth that holy charmer himselfe wil quickly resolue you herein if Adderlike you stop not your eares against him as methinks you should not howsoeuer you be inioyned by man because he alwaies charmeth most wisely Esay 63 3 In one place Christ alone hath troden down the winepresse neither was there any at al that helped him God forbid that I should reioyce in any thing but in the crosse Gala. 6 14 death and passion of our Lord Iesus christ The blood of Iesus christ the son of God clenseth vs from all sinne 1 Ioh 1 7 Now if christ aloue hath troden down that presse that would haue pressed vs to death If we must reioyce in nothing but only in the death of christ Iesus If the precious blood of that sweete sauiour of ours doth only clense vs from all our sins what should we thinke of our selues and of our works What haue we to do that of our selues are but worms of the earth in comparison What haue our works to do that of themselues are but meere vnworthines in the sight of the almighty What I say haue we