the summe of all wee put on Christ hee becomes wholly ours being made vnto vs of God wisedome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption and all in all Now true it is that this vnion is not only internall inuisible reall and peculiar to Gods elect but also externall visible nominall and common to all Christians So that although all Christians in Common as well Hypocrites and false Professors as the sincere and faithfull may claime a share in this vnion so farre forth as it is externall and visible as beeing wrought by externall and visible instruments the Word and Sacraments wherof all Christians are in common partakers yet onely the Elect and Faithfull are partakers of the internall and true reall vnion with Christ as being wrought by a most powerfull Agent the Spirit of Christ and by a most actiue instrument the Faith of Christ. So that Faith in the hand of Gods spirit is the principall yea and sole immediate instrument and meane to vnite vs vnto Christ euen as the spirit in man is the meane to vnite the body and soule together CHAP. IX Of the other Romane Catholicke euasions to elude and frustrate the euidence of Scriptures concerning sole Faith in Iustification FOrasmuch as the holy Scriptures doe abound with cleare euidences to proue our Iustification by Faith alone in the only imputation of Christs righteousnesse apprehended and applyed by Faith altogether excluding workes from hauing any thing to doe in this worke it stood therefore the Church of Rome vpon to vse all art and wit of men and Angels I meane bad Angels to blunder these Chrystall fountaines by their distinctions and to sophisticate the pure simplicitie of truth with their faire false glosses and farre-fetcht interpretations To beginne with the Epistle to the Romanes where the Apostle in setting down the doctrine of Iustification doth so often attribute Iustification to faith without workes or without the works of the Law opposing faith against works grace against merit the Law of Faith against the Law of workes as being incompatible meanes or instruments to iustification The Pontificians can easily reconcile all by vnderstanding the opposition to bee betweene Faith and eyther those workes of the Law which are ceremoniall or those which are done before a man haue Faith but not of those workes which are done in the state of grace after a man haue receiued faith as is intimated in the eight Chapter of the Sixt Session of the Councell of Trent Wherupon* Vega reckoning vp sundry opnions as of some that take those workes excluded by Paul not only for legall and ceremoniall but morall and naturall of others that say St. Paul spake of workes going before Faith and St. Iames of workes comming after Faith c. At length addes his owne opinion spun like a copweb out of the subtiltie of his owne braine and all vpon the preposition Ex diuersly taken of Paul and Iames as this quaint Franciscan hath obserued For this preposition Ex saith he in Paul signifieth merit and debt but in Iames only co-operation and co-efficiency as where Paul saith that no man is iustified ex operibus by workes hee should meane none is iustified by the merits and due deserts of his owne workes And where Iames saith That a man is iustified ex operibus by workes and not ex fide tantum by faith only he should meane that workes do concurre vnto iustification and not faith alone But wee shall not want a broome to sweep downe this subtile webb But let vs adde first another of his webs which hee also fasteneth vpon his Trent-Fathers namely That Paul speakes of the first iustification from which precedent workes are excluded And Iames of the second Iustification in which subsequent workes are included Now for Vega's first reason and note vpon the preposition Ex it is no lesse really absurd than seemingly subtile For if Paul by saying Neminem ex operibus iustificari None is iustified by workes should meane by the merit or due desert of his workes then consequently by saying hominem ex fide iustificari that a man is iustified by Faith he should meane that man is iustified by the merit and due desert of his Faith which Vega himselfe in the selfe same place denyeth Thus the nimble Spider is wrapped and intangled in his owne webbe And as for the Trent-Fathers conceipt of Pauls first and Iames second Iustification wee shall by and by see the vanitie of it For indeede the iustification which Paul ascribeth to Faith without workes and that which Iames attributeth ioyntly to workes with Faith are so different as they differ not in degrees of first and second but in a most opposite respect as much as Iustification in the sight of God differeth from Iustification in the sight of man As wee shall more plainely shew anon Now for Pauls iustification by faith without workes it is cleare that all workes are excluded without exception not onely legall and ceremoniall and morall done before the state of grace but those also done in the state of grace none are excepted of what nature soeuer Paul shuts all out from iustification for if any be iustified by workes yea by workes of grace then Abraham for Abraham is propounded not onely as a particular beleeuer but as the father and figure of all the faithfull But Abraham was not iustified by workes not by any workes not by his best workes done in the state of grace This the Apostle proues manifestly Rom. 4. 5. To him that worketh not instancing of Abraham but beleeueth in him that iustifieth the vngodly his Faith is counted for righteousnesse So that Abraham is iustified not by working but by beleeuing To this purpose Gregory surnamed the Great Bishop of Rome vpon the seuen penitentiall Psalmes in the fourth of them to wit Psalme 51. vpon these words Et exultabit lingua mea iustitiam tuam you must pardon the vulgar barbarisme of the Latine the true English is And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousnesse saith Iustitia Dei fides est the righteousnesse of God is faith And hee instanceth Abraham Abraham beleeued God saith he and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse Quia iustus ex fide viuit Because the iust doth liue by faith Si ergo iusti vita fides est consequens est eandem fidem esse iustitiam sine qua quisque esse iustus non potest If therefore the iust mans life be faith it followeth that the same faith is that righteousnesse without which no man can be iust Or saith hee the righteousnesse of God is that he will not the death of a sinner For it seems iust with man to reuenge his wrong but it is the righteousnesse of God to pardon the penitent So he As therefore Abraham is iustified so euery sonne of Abraham to wit euery beleeuer is iustified namely by faith and not by workes Now was not beleeuing Abraham a regenerate person Did he not bring forth
to Abrahams Faith without workes for hee vseth the very same Scripture which Paul vseth to shew iustification by Faith without workes Yea but he addeth in the next verse Ye see then how that by workes a man is iustified and not by Faith only This conclusion seems to smile vpon the Papists but in truth it derides their folly for we see the Apostle doth no other here but conclude the former premises shewing what is that Faith which is imputed to a man for righteousnesse to wit not a dead and idle Faith but a liuing and working Faith testified by the proper fruits and effects of it good workes So that Abraham being said to be iustified by workes and not by Faith onely it is but to proue his Faith by his workes and that hee was declared to be iustified by Faith through the euidence of his workes whereby hee was declared iust in the sight of men to whom Faith comes to be testified only by good workes The like is to bee vnderstood of Rahabs iustification by workes for it is another instance seruing to the same purpose of the Apostle to distinguish a liuing and sauing Faith from a dead and vnprofitable Faith And this the Apostle concludeth together with the Chapter with a reason drawne from a similitude For saith hee as the body without the Spirit is dead euen so Faith without workes is dead also Note here how the Apostle most aptly concludeth the constant and vniforme current of this Chapter concerning the difference betweene a dead and a lining Faith which are as it were the two hinges of the Chapter As the body without the spirit is dead euen so Faith without workes is dead also The Pontificians vpon this place doe ground their informing of Faith by charity as if Faith were altogether without forme and life vntill charity be infused into it but their collection is most improper and swarueth not onely from the property of the comparison but also from the maine purpose of the Apostle For the Apostle saith As the body without the Spirit is dead he saith not As the body without the soule is dead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without spirit or breath for so the word signifieth Now if they would herein as they doe vpon other occasions altogether impertinent consult with Philosophy it would tell them that there are three things concurring to the composition of a liuing man the soule the body and the spirit The soule is that which informeth and giueth life to the body but the spirit by which they say the soule body are vnited is that whereby also the man doth breathe and whereby he is knowne to liue For so long as there is breath in a man wee know him to be aliue when a man lyes in a swoune or trance without any motion to know whether he be dead or no we take a Chrystall glasse or such like to discerne whether hee breathe or no if he breathe not we giue him for dead but if he breathe neuer so little we know hee is yet a liuing man To this purpose doth our Apostle apply this comparison that as we cannot know a man from a dead carkasse but by his spirit or breathing so no more can wee know a liuing Faith from a dead Faith but by good workes which are as it were breathed from it Obiect But will some say The word vsed by St. Iames for spirit may be as well taken for the soule which giues life to the body for so it is often taken in Scripture for the soule as Luke 23. 46. and elsewhere Besides doe not most Interpreters take it generally for the soule Why should wee not then rather take it for the soule and spirit of a man that is within him than only for the breath which proceedeth from him Answ. I answer First as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken sometimes for the soule as well as for the spirit so also it is vsed sometime for breath or winde as our Sauiour alludeth Ioh 3. 8. And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken for the praecordia or lungs whence the breath is deriued But the question is how it is to be taken in this place of St Iames. For the true meaning of this word in that place wee must as in the true interpretation of other Scriptures obserue the tenure of the text and context Now the tenure of that whole Chapter of St. Iames is chiefly to discerne true Faith from counterfeit To demonstrate this he instanceth the body of a man Now by what speciall signe is the body of a man known to liue By the spirit saith S. Iames. What spirit the soule or the spirit within a man or his spirit to wit his breath for Spirit may signifie all these By that spirit which doth most liuely plainly shew a man to be aliue that is the breath For when all other signs do faile as speech and motion of any limbe or member in so much as a man is senselesse lyes for dead yet if he breathe it is an euident token that he yet liueth But when he comes once to be as the same Apostle saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without this spirit or breath then he is certainly dead Euen so Faith without the breathing of good workes is dead And this agreeth with that he saith there Shew mee thy Faith by thy workes The soule indeede giues the body to liue but it is the breath that shewes the body to liue when the soule cannot Therefore it seemeth to my reason an vndeniable conclusion that Saint Iames speakes there of the breath of the body the most demonstratiue signe of life And deuout Bernard also excellently to this purpose and place of Iames Vt corporis huius vitam ex motu suo dignoscimus ita fidei vitam ex operibus bonis As we discerne the life of this body of ours by the motion of it so also the life of faith by good workes Nor are we ignorant that St Augustine Lib. 83. quaestionum quaest 76. to reconcile these two Apostles saith that Paul speakes of workes done before faith and Iames of workes after faith which opinion and conceit of his although it not onely want but crosse the euidence of Scripture sith Abrahams offering vp his Sonne was a worke of and so after faith and yet did not iustifie him before God as Paul plainely teacheth and where Augustine doth neuer so little swarue from the Scripure we must craue leaue there to leaue him being else followers of him as he is of the Scriptures according to his owne law yet St. Augustine going about to reconcile Iames with Paul saith not there nor any where else in all his writings that good works done after Faith doe iustifie vs in the sight of God but only that they are necessary duties of euery true beleeuer Wee know also that Body in Scripture is often taken for the whole Compositum or the whole man or person consisting of soule and
the earth of the light of the world they may strongly support thy true Religion season and lighten those places which are dark and vnsauory and all for want of faithfull Ministers thus shall they highly magnifie their office and discharge their stewardship by prouiding and sending painfull labourers into euery corner of thy field Inspire and inflame them Lord with that zeale of thine own wherewith thou didst purge thy Temple from profane merchandize that so they may with the whip-cords of sound Doctrine and wholesome Discipline chase out of thy Church all Heresie and Idolatry Why should the world O Lord complaine and cry Where is the spirit of those ancient Bishops and Martyrs and learned Champions of thy truth as of Cranmer Ridley Latimer Hooper Bucer Peter Martyr Iewel and other faithfull witnesses whose eyther bloud hath beene the seed or preaching and writing the watering of this thy noble Vineyard O keepe farre from vs the spirit of cowardise and lukewarmnesse of ambition and loue of the world lest these infeebling and infatuating our soules wee should proue a generation of peruerse and foolish children pulling downe what our religious fore-fathers with such care and paines mature iudgement and sound knowledge in the truth haue built Stirre vp O Lord the noble hearts of the two honourable Chancellors of our Vniuersities that with the ayde of soueraigne authority they may zealously set themselues to preserue those Fountaines and Nurceries from the mudde of Heresie and the bitter root of Impiety Infuse the spirit of courage zeale vprightnesse and hatred of couetousnesse in aboundance vpon all the reuerend Iudges and Iustices of the Land that they may duely execute the Lawes by freeing the poor innocent from the potent oppressor by cutting downe sinne and cutting off the traiterous ring-leaders to Idolatry Thus thy Church being purged Iustice executed Religion maintained sinne reformed our Couenant with thee renewed our vowes of better obedience and thankfulnesse performed and we through thy merits reconciled to thy Father of mercies thou the great Captaine and Lord of Hosts mayst againe take thy peoples part turne the edge of thy Sword against thine enemies and fill our mouthes with a new song of praise thanksgiuing to thee which sittest vpon the Throne with the Father and the Holy Ghost God blessed for euer Amen The Preface to the Reader CHristian Reader loe here the two great mysteries laid open the one of Godlinesse the summe whereof is Christ beleeued on in the World the other of Iniquity the head whereof is Antichrist beleeued on of the World Two Mysteries incompatible as light and darknesse They are the two bounders disterminating Ierusalem from Babylon This Mysterie of iniquity I meane the Romish doctrine of Iustification is the head-doctrine or source whence all their meritorious satisfactions doe flow And Bellarmine with other Pontificians confesseth Iustification to bee the maine Cardo or hinge whereon hangeth the whole body of controuersies betweene them and the Pretestants Nor was it for nothing that the Councell of Trent so improued all their skill and strength to oppose and oppresse the true Catholicke doctrine of Iustification as whereby the Papall magnificence and the gaine of the Romish Craftsmen for their Diana was endangered So that this their Abortiue was a hatching for seuen moneths so long was this Babylonish Ramme wherewith they would force heauen gates a hammering in the Trent-forge so as the History noteth that the most expert in the Church affirmed That if all the Councels assembled from the Apostles times to that were summed vp together they could not make vp so many Articles as the Trent-Fathers had amassed together in this one sixt Session of that Synod the best part whereof also they were beholden to Aristotle for And no maruaile they were so puzzled for they were to encounter sundry difficulties as first the euidence of Scriptures secondly the concent of ancient Fathers thirdly the powerfull preaching and writings of Luther fourthly the dissent of their Schoolemen and fiftly the diuision of the Councell it selfe some being Thomists some Scotists some Dominicans some Franciscans To satisfie and reconcile all which was more than an Herculean labour But what could be difficult to the Papall Omnipotencie who could send his holy Ghost post from Rome to Trent in a Cloake-bagge which loosed all knots and decided all doubts Nor had the Pope wanting in that Councell the most pregnant wits in the Pontifician world besides a numerous multitude of new titular Bishops as titular for learning as liuing to lay on load of down right voyces to conclude and ratifie whatsoeuer the Pope with his Cardinals in their Conclaue at Rome and his dextrous instruments in the Councell had with no lesse sweat than artifice contriued For the first maine obstacle the euidence of Scripture they are faine to collogue and speake it faire and borrow from it certaine broad Phylacteries wouen with Scripture phrases wherewith the Babylonish Whore partly decks her shamelesse forehead and partly adornes the cobwebbe Robe of her counterfeit selfe-Iustification as Coelestis Pater Iesus Christ the Sun of righteousnesse the author and finisher of our faith The Father of mercies and God of all consolation sent his sonne to redeeme Iewes and Gentiles and that all might receiue adoption of sonnes Him hath God sent forth to be a propitiation for our sinnes in his bloud for this Redemption we ought to giue thanks And ch 7. The Meritorious cause of our Iustification is our Lord Iesus Christ c. O holy Councell Will any suspect the Serpent to lurke vnder such flowers of Paradise Or that they goe about to betray Christ with Hayle Master But in this their profound hypocrisie lyeth the whole Mysterie of Iniquity Si tamen hypocrisis dici debet quae iam latere prae abundantia non valet prae impudentiâ non quaerit as Bernard saith of Romes Clergy in his time If that may be called hypocrisie which neither for the abundancy of it can nor for the impudencie of it cares to conceale it selfe Thus by egregious hypocrisie Arrius deluded the Councell of Nice confessing Christ to be God of God yet denyed his consubstantiality with the Father Thus the second Councell of Nice summoned to decree the erection and veneration of Images makes a goodly Preface giuing thankes to God that they were deliuered from Idols Thus Augustine confesseth how he was seduced by the Manichaean hypocrisie Thus dealeth the Trent Councell And besides her hypocrisie her impudencie displayes it selfe while in this Councell Rome alters the Rule of Faith addes her Traditions Decretals and Canons as a party and equall rule with Scripture guelds the Scriptures of their masculine authoritie and genuine sense closing vp all in the Cabinet of the Popes breast where lodgeth his Infallibilitie And thus the sacred Scriptures which till that Idolatrous Councell of Trent were held the sole and entire Catholicke Canon and rule of Faith must now draw in
as vnto euery faithfull receiuer wheresoeuer the visible signe is administred the inuisible grace signified is together exhibited by vertue of the Sacramentall vnion hauing dependance on Christs promise and reference to the condition of faith in the Communicant So such is the vnion betweene Christ and the beleeuer that wheresoeuer faith is there also is Christ with all his graces present to the beleeuer for hee dwels in our hearts by faith Ephes. 3. 17. Fourthly this vnion betweene Christ and the beleeuer is not naturall or natiue as Bernard cals it as that betweene the soule and the body in man because the one of them may be separated from the other by death but Christ and the beleeuer are neuer separated no not in death for to me to liue is Christ and to dye is gaine Phil. 1. 21. For who shall separate vs from the loue of Christ Rom. 8. 35. vers 38. I am perswaded that neither death nor life c. shall be able to separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. But herein they agree as the body hath no life but from the soule so the soule of euery faithfull man hath no life but in and from Christ as the Apostle saith Gal. 2. 20. I am crucified with Christ Neuerthelesse I liue yet not I but Christ liueth in mee and the life which I now liue in the flesh I liue by the faith of the Sonne of God who loued mee and gaue himselfe for me And as the soule and the body make one naturall man so Christ and the beleeuer make one spirituall and mysticall Christ and all beleeuers both of Iewes and Gentiles are made one new man not naturall but supernaturall in him Ephes. 2. 15. Fiftly this vnion between Christ and the beleeuer is not â—n artificiall vnion as that betweene the hand and the instrument of the Artificer for the instrument is subiect to wearing to breaking and at length to casting away when there is no more vse of it but we are so in the hand of Christ as we are preserued for euer as Ioh. 10. 28. I giue vnto them eternall life and they shall neuer perish neither shall any man plucke them out of my hand yet herein it agreeth that as the instrument can do nothing of it selfe not moue not work without the hand of the Artificer so we can do no good thing without the hand of Christ mouing and directing vs as himselfe saith Without mee ye can doe nothing for hee worketh in vs both to will and to worke of his good pleasure That as the Hatchet may not exalt it selfe against him that heweth with it but yeelds the praise of the worke to his workeman so saith euery faithfull soule as Esa. 26. 12. Lord thou wilt ordaine peace for vs for thou also hast wrought all our workes in vs or for vs. Sixtly this vnion betwixt Christ and euery beleeuer is not an accidentall vnion as betweene a man and learning whereby he becomes a learned man for an accident may be both present and absent without the destruction of the subiect as a man may be learned or vnlearned he may get learning and lose it againe and be a man still but the learning of the holy Ghost wherewith all the faithfull are inspired cannot be missing without destruction to the soule He is no faithfull man that wanteth the knowledge of God in Christ whom to know is eternall life and not to know is eternall death for all the faithfull are taught of God as Ier. 31. 33. 34. verses Yet herein doth our vnion with Christ resemble the accidentall vnion because as no man is borne learned or borne a Philosopher but is made so by education and instruction so no man is borne by nature the childe of God the scholar of Christ but in time becomes a Christian Philosopher by the instruction of the Word of God and the inspiration of the Spirit of God whereby hee is made a faithfull man and a Disciple of Christ. Seuenthly this vnion betweene Christ and the beleeuer is not a morall vnion such as is between friends which though it be founded at the best vpon vertue yet it is no lesse mortall than it is morall for if the friendship dye not before the friend dye yet death makes a separation as Dauid lamented the death of his louing friend Ionathan the memory of whom lasted for a while in Dauids kinde vsage of Mephibosheth Ionathans sonne but it soone cooled vpon a small occasion of Mephibosheths false seruant Ziba who by belying his master to Dauid got halfe his masters inheritance from him when himselfe deserued rather to haue beene punished for wronging his master than so rewarded for his dissembling officiousnesse in bringing a present to Dauid of his masters store So friendship is very mortall it dyes often in a mans life time or seldome suruiues death And therefore the Poet said well Foelices ter amplius Quos irrupta tenet copula Nec malis dâ—â—ulsus querimonijs Suprema citiùs soluet amor die O happy and thrice happy they Whom loues knot holds inuiolate Nor loosened till lifes last day By back-complaints begetting hate But the vnion betweene Christ and his faithfull ones though it be somewhat like that betweene morall friends but mortall men as being betweene Christ and his friends as he calleth his faithfull Ioh. 15. 15. I haue called you friends c. yet this friendship between Christ and his excelleth all other friendship The Philosophers could say Amicus est alter idem A friend is another selfe And Animus est non vbi animat sed vbi amat The soule is not where it liueth but where it loueth And Amicorum omnia sunt communia Betweene friends all things are common Now these in comparison as they are in practice amongst men are but in a manner meere sayings nominals rather than realls For as Salomon saith Most men will proclaime euery one his own goodnes but a faithfull man who can find Salomon found one among a thousand which I thinke was the Prophet that told him freely of his folly Such friends few can finde especially such as Salomon was But now whatsoeuer can be spoken in praise of friendship is really true betweene Christ and the beleeuer his faithfull man for they are so mutually each of them alter idem another selfe as that they are indeed oneselfe Their soules and spirits are so interchangeably in each other as the spirit of Christ doth really liue in vs and our soules doe liue in him Wee are in the Spirit and the Spirit of Christ in vs Rom. 8. 9. And Now I liue saith the Apostle yet not I but Christ liueth in mee and the life which I now liue in the flesh I liue by the faith of the Sonne of God who loued mee and gaue himselfe for mee Here is true loue indeede where the soule is not where it liueth but where
it loueth And between these friends all things are most freely common He partakes of our flesh we of his spirit Hee of our nature we of his grace He of our infirmities we of his perfections He of our pouerty we of his riches yea Hee of our sinnes which hee bare vpon the Tree wee of his righteousnesse the best Robe He is called the sonne of man we the Sonnes of God He the Lord our righteousnesse and we the Lord our righteousnesse yea He and we one Christ. O incomparable communion O incomprehensible vnion Neuer such an immediate intercourse and community betweene friends And this not for a day or a yeare or for terme of life but for life without terme For as Christs loue to his is from euerlasting so it is to euerlasting it is without beginning and therefore without ending Ioh. 13. 1. So that of this loue betweene Christ and his faithfull friends and brethren we may sing the Psalme of Dauid the burthen whereof is principally the loue between Christ and his brethren Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in vnity It is like the precious oyntment vpon the head that ran downe vpon the beard euen Aarons beard and went downe to the skirts of his garments As the deaw of Hermon and as the deaw that descended vpon the mountaines of Sion for there the Lord commanded the blessing euen life for euermore This Psalme is a mirrour and cleare type of that vnion and communion of grace betweene Christ and the faithfull Behold therefore it is Christ that maketh his faithfull ones to dwell together in vnitie to bee of one minde in the house of God Psalme 68. 6. He it is that perswades Iaphet to dwell in the Tents of Sem the Gentiles to become one Family with the Iew vnder Christ that one head whose type was Aaron From him our head our high Priest flowes downe the oyle of grace vpon vs vnto the skirts of his clothing euen vpon vs whose nakednesse hee hath couered with the skirts of the robes of his righteousnesse of whose fulnesse wee haue all receiued and grace for grace His head is full of the dew of grace distilling vpon the barren Mountaines of his Sion his Church and chosen to poure a blessing vpon it and there to giue life for euermore Such is the vnion betweene Christ his faithfull ones farre passing the loue betweene dearest friends euen that betweene Ionathan and Dauid passing the loue of women Eightly nor is this vnion betweene Christ and the beleeuer a ciuill vnion such as is betweene the King and the Subiect for alas to what dis-vnion and diuision is this subiect too especially where the Pope is Lord Paramount whenas eyther his roaring Buls of excommunication and deposition of Kings or the poysoned steellettoes or pistols of his all-daring brats doe euen teare the head from the body as too lamentable experience hath proued True it is that Christ is our King and we his seruants hee commands vs wee obey him he is our Princely head we his members but his commandements are not grieuous his yoke is easie and his burden light He hath lightened the burden and sweetened the yoke vnto vs by both hauing borne the grieuousnesse and bitternes of it himselfe alone and for the remnant hee both beares it with vs and giues vs strength to beare it yea he hath so loued vs and so shed his loue abroad in our hearts by his holy Spirit giuen vnto vs that as hee can neuer deny vs the grace and protection of a louing Prince so hee hath giuen vs grace neuer to deny him our most humble homage and louing obedience So that neuer was there such a strait bond betweene Prince and People as betweene Christ and the Beleeuer Ninthly this vnion betweene Christ and the Beleeuer is not a coniugall vnion such as is betweene a man and his wife although this be a mysticall resemblance whereby Christ setteth forth his vnion with vs. For this Coniugall vnion suffereth dissolution and death giues the Suruiuer libertie to marry a new mate Not so with Christ and his Spouse This is a band indissoluble The marriage band is but during this life it holds not in heauen for there they neither marry nor are giuen in marriage but this with Christ suffereth no diuorse but death is a degree to the full consummation of it Also the man and the wife are but one flesh but Christ and the beleeuer one spirit In a word this vnion betweene Christ and the Beleeuer is not the vnion of dependency as between the Creature the Creator for this is common to all the Creatures who haue their being life and sustentation in a dependency from the Creator his raine showreth and his sunne shineth vpon the good and euill vpon the iust and the vniust indifferently All depend and waite vpon thee saith Dauid and thou giuest them their meate in due season when thou openest thine hand they are filled with good when thou withdrawest their breath they returne to their dust But the vnion betweene Christ and his although it be an vnion of dependency wherein the Beleeuers eternall well-beeing hath a necessary dependance on Christ yet this dependance is proper and peculiar to the faithfull and not common with any other Creature vnlesse with the elect Angels who depend vpon Christ for the perpetuation of their happinesse So that the faithfull haue their dependance on Christ not onely as their Creator being the eternall Word common with other Creatures but chiefly as their Redeemer and Sauiour proper to them only and that not only for the supply of things temporall but much more of graces spirituall and glory eternall Thus by shewing what kinde of vnion this between Christ and the Beleeuer is not wee come to see the more cleerely what it is The Scripture also setteth forth this vnion by sundry similitudes especially foure as betweene a house and the foundation betweene the vine and the branches or the oliue roote and the tree betweene the man and the wife betweene the head and the members What more neare the foundation and building make one house the vine and branches one tree the man and wife one flesh the head and members one body So Christ and the beleeuer are one spirit Being vnited to Iesus our head hee becomes the Sauiour of vs his body Ephes. 5. 23. Beeing vnited to Christ wee are annoynted with all his titles and graces we are made Kings and Priests to God his Father Beeing vnited to this foundation we become liuing stones growing vp to an holy Temple in the Lord. Being vnited to this Vine this Oliue we partake of the sweetnesse of the one and of the fatnesse of the other Being vnited to this Spouse wee are endowed with all his goods Being vnited to this head wee receiue the rich influence of spirituall life and motion quickning euery member Yea that which is
body as Heb 10. 5. A body hast thou prepared me meaning the whole humanity of Christ. So Rom. 12. 1. I beseech you Brethren by the mercy of God that ye present your bodies a liuing sacrifice c. meaning the whole man the soule as well as the body for the body without the soule is not a liuing but a dead sacrifice So the Apostle here telleth vs that as the body to wit a man without the Spirit or without breathing is dead that is is knowne to be dead Euen so faith without workes is knowne to be a dead faith And so our Apostles conclusion here is a pregnant confirmation of what he had formerly said concerning the proofe and euidence of a sauing and liuing faith which is knowne and distinguished from an idle and dead faith onely by good workes by the working whereof faith is knowne to liue as a man by breathing So then it is cleare that Pauls iustification by faith excluding workes is that whereby wee are iustified truly and really in the sight and account of God and that other iustification which Iames speakes of wherein hee ioyneth workes with faith is onely a declaratiue iustification in the fight and account of men to whom wee manifect the truth of that faith whereby we are iustified in the sight of God by our good workes whereby men take notice that wee are true no counterfeit beleeuers Wee will conclude this place of St. Iames with the interpretation of Aquinas In Epist. Iacobi Cap. 2. Iacobus loquitur de operibus sequentibus fidem quae dicuntur iustificare non secundum quod iustificare dicitur infusio sed secundum quod dicitur iustitiae exercitatio vel ostensio vel consummatio res enim fieri dicitur quando perficitur innotescit Iames saith he speaketh of workes following faith which are said to iustifie not in that sense that iustification is called infusion but in that it is called the exercise or manifestation or perfection of righteousnesse for a thing is said to be done when it is perfected and made manifest In the last place the Pontificians alledge Paul to the Galathians where say they speaking of iustification by faith without the workes of the Law hee meaneth yea and mentioneth the ceremonials of the Law as Circumcision therfore hee doth not thereby exclude from Iustification the workes of grace done in vs and by vs. I answer first their allegation is false for the Apostle thereby the Law or the workes of the Law meaneth not only the ceremonials but the very morals of the Law as Gal. 3. 10. for it is written Cursed is euery one that continueth not in all things which are written in the Booke of the Law to doe them All things exclude nothing Secondly he speaketh of the workes of the Law both ceremoniall and morall as they are done euen by the faithfull and regenerate also and not onely by others that euen in that respect they iustifie not in the sight of God To this end the Apostle saith Gal. 3. 11. But that no man is iustified by the Law in the sight of God it is euident for the iust shall liue by faith No man is iustified by the Law therefore not the regenerate not Abraham though hee did workes of the Law for he had the Law already written in the tables of his heart before it came to be written in stone But say they Abraham was iustified through workes True But how iustified In the sight of God No saith our Apostle No man is iustified by the Law in the sight of God In the sight of man he may as St. Iames meaneth but not in the sight of God as St. Paul plainely expresseth both here in the forenamed place to the Romanes Rom 4. 2. If Abraham were iustified by workes hee hath whereof to glory but not before God So that the Scripture in two most euident and pregnant testimonies excludes all iustification by workes yea by any workes in the sight of God and before God that by two witnesses of holy Scripture this word of grace of iustification by Faith excluding all workes whatsoeuer ceremoniall or morall yea euen in the regenerate themselues as was faithfull Abraham the type of all the faithfull might be established against all Popish Sophistrie and doctrines of Diuels Thirdly admit the Apostle meant only legall Ceremonies not morall Duties though the contrary is manifest yet of those Ceremonies Circumcision is nominated by the Apostle for one speciall one Of which he saith Gal. 5. 2. Behold I Paul say vnto you that if ye be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing Circumcision then is vtterly excluded from Iustification and to depend vpon it makes a man a debtor to the whole Law Gal. 5. 3. But will some say for a Christian as these Galathians were to hold the necessity of Circumcision still together with Baptisme makes Christ vnprofitable and himselfe a debtor to the whole Law But did not Circumcision iustifie the Iewes before the vse of Baptisme as Baptisme doth now iustifie comming in the stead of Circumcision Surely much alike For if Baptisme now iustifieth as Pontificians teach ex opere operato then Circumcision once iustified which the same Pontificians deny But if Circumcision did not iustifie the Iewes as the Apostle affirmeth and Papists themselues confesse then Baptisme doth no more iustifie Christians Seeing that Baptisme is the same and no other to vs than Circumcision was to the Iewes though Papists put a great difference betweene them saying that the Sacraments of the New Testament do conferre grace ex opere operato but the Sacraments of the Old not so Wherein as in other doctrines of the mysterie of godlinesse they bewray their grosse ignorance But this by the way But now if circumcision and other ceremonials of the Law of God be excluded from hauing any thing to doe in our iustification in the sight of God by the obseruation of them then what part can Popish Ceremonies beeing not the ordinances of God but the inuentions of men yea most of them the doctrines of Diuels what part I say can these challenge in the worke of Iustification How shall the going a Pilgrimage to such a Shrine or to Rome in their yeare of Iubilee or the obseruation of Canonicall houres for reciting prayers not vnderstood or saying ouer by the Bead row so many Pater-nosters and Aue-Maries before such or such an Image or buriall in a Friars Cowle and a thousand such trumperies and meere mockeries yet all of them very meritorious with that notorious Meretrix of Rome how shall these things come-in for a share in Iustification Lastly wee may obserue how the Apostle as to the Romanes so to the Galathians doth oppose the Law and Faith as Gal. 3. 12. The Law is not of Faith But in what respect doth he oppose them first in respect of their natures the one consisting in working the other in beleeuing as Rom. 4. 5. To him that worketh not
this thou canst not number vp so many good dueties which thou hast done as this all-seeing Iudge can number and set before thee greater and weightier duties which thou hast altogether omitted And more than that too this Iudge can muster vp vnto thee whole Legions of sins which thou hast committed the least whereof all the men in the world with all their merits their arrogant works of supererogation the fained treasure of the Church with Masses and Dirges and whatsoeuer else man or Angel can deuise cannot possibly appease the wrath and satisfie the iustice of this Iudge for For if all the Creatures in the world could satisfie Gods iustice for one sinne wherefore dyed the innocent Lambe and the only Sonne of God Well then in this case what wilt thou doe whither wilt thou flye where wilt thou seeke reliefe for thy perplexed spirit where comfort for thine appalled conscience where a sanctuary for thy soule now pursued with the hue and cry of diuiue iustice and reuenge of hell and Satan of the guilt of thy tormenting conscience for sinne Thy good workes and merits They cry guilty before Gods throne of many imperfections defects corruptions If thy actuall transgressions which are many if thy totall omissions of dueties which thou oughtest to haue done should bee silent yet euen thy best actions which thou bringest to pleade for thee would and must tell the truth and become a full grand Iurie to bring-in the verdict of thy condemnation And then thou shalt be found such as the Gospell hath doomed who pleading their great workes before the Iudge receiued this sentence I know you not depart from mee yee workers of iniquitie Dost thou not thinke it safest now to bee of thy Brother or thy Father Bellarmines minde who howsoeuer as a member of the Papall State he writ mainely against the truth of iustification yet one time speaking his conscience and vttering his priuate iudgement said Propter incertitudinem propriae iustitiae periculum inanis gloriae tutissimum est fiduciam in sola Dei misericordia benignitate reponere Because of the vncertainty of our owne righteousnesse and the perill of vaine glory it is most safe to repose our confidence in the only mercy and fauour of God Only herein be vnlike this Brother or Father of thine For this sentence of his standing in his workes shall rise vp in iudgement against him at the latter day for all his lyes spoken through hypocrisie but let it teach thee so to renounce all thy supposed merits as reposing thy selfe in the only mercies of God and merits of Christ thou mayst flying from Babylon finde mercy and saluation in the great day of the Lord Iesus Let me hereunto adde a passage or two one out of Augustine his Manual which Booke though it bee fathered vpon some other Author yet the chiefe matter of it is confessed to bee collected out of Augustines Workes In omnibus aduersitatibus non inuenio tam efficax remedium quà m vulnera Christi in illis dormio securus requiesco intrepidus Christus mortuus est prâ—nobis Nihil tam ad mortem amarum quod morte Christi non sanâ—tur Tota spes mea est in morte Domini mei Mors eius meritum meum refugium meum salus vita resurrectio mea merituâ— meum miseratio Domini Non sum meriti inops quamdiu ille miserationum Dominus non defuerit Et misericordiae Domini multae multus ego sum in meritis Quanto ille potentior est ad saluandum tanto ego securior Peccaut peccatum grande multorum sum mihi conscius delictorum nec sic despero quia vbi abundauerunt delicta superabundauit gratia In all aduersities saith hee I find not a more effectuall remedy than the wounds of Christ in them I sleepe securely in them I rest without feare Christ dyed for vs. There is nothing in death so bitter which cannot be cured with the death of Christ. All my hope is in the death of my Lord. His death is my demerit my refuge my saluation life and resurrection my merit is the Lords mercy I want no merit so long as the Lord of mercies is not wanting And while the Lord is rich in mercies I am rich in merits The more able he is to saue the more am I secure I haue committed some haynous sin and am guilty of many trespasses yet I despaire not because where sins haue abounded there grace hath also super abounded And in the 23. Chapter Inter bâ—achia Saluatoris mei viuere volo mori cupio Betweene the armes of my Sauiour it is both my will to liue and my wish to dye Another passage to this purpose I finde in Gregory in the conclusion of that singular worke of his Morals where speaking of mans good workes and good intentions concludeth thus St de his diuinitus districtè discutimur quis inter ista remanet salutis locus quando mala nostra pura mala sunt bona quae nos habere credimus pura bona esse nequaquam possunt If saith he we be strictly sifted by God concerning these things what place would bee left for saluation in them seeing that both our euill actions are simply euill and the good things which we beleeue we haue cannot be simply good Which place of Gregory beeing alledged by Luther to proue none can bee certaine that hee doth not alwaies mortally sinne although Iohn Bishop of Rochester would haue Gregory to meane not all workes but only such as we vainely boast of as Sixtus Senensis relateth Yet Gregories meaning is easily discouered by the title or contents prefixed to the said Chapter in these words Quod Sanctus Gregorius in his quae iam recta intentione protulit vanae gloriae vel laudis hâ—manae fauorem subrepsisse sibi formidat pro recompensatione operis postulat orationem lectoris that is That St. Gregory in those things which he did with a right intention feareth lest some affectation of vaine glory or humane applause might haue crept in vpon him and for a recompence of his worke desireth the Readers prayers And it is plaine also by the whole tenure of that Chapter that Gregory durst not trust his best workes vpon the tryall of Gods strict iudgement seeing that a mans best intentions are subiect to bee tainted with secret pride and vaine glory And the said Bishop of Rochester may seeme too sharpe in his censure the sequell whereof tends to a flat condemnation of Gregories best intentions as if he had beene directly conscious of pride in them whereas Gregory onely feareth least some such corruption might haue secretly stollen in vpon him And to confirme this and put it out of all question Gregory in another place speaketh excellently to this purpose Omnis humana iustitia iniustitia esse conuincitur si districtè iudicetur Prece ergo post iustitiam indiget vt quae succumbere
be the immediate instrument of Gods holy spirit to sanctifie the whole soule and body as the Scripture ascribes the worke of sanctification to faith as the immediate Instrument Acts 26. 18. Sanctified by Faith in me said Christ to his new conuert Apostle The Councell of Trent it selfe confesseth that faith is the roote of other graces Faith say they is the roote of all Iustification placing their iustification in hope and loue c. How then is Faith the roote If it be the roote the roote is not a bare disposition to a tree as they would haue Faith to bee to their iustification A dead roote cannot beare a liuing tree but like roote like tree But a roote naturally produceth and shooteth forth the tree for the life and substance of the tree is originally in the roote and comes from the roote Take away the roote and the tree witherereth for it liues in the roote And the roote giueth life to the tree not the tree to the roote As the Apostle said to the ingraffed Gentile once the Wilde Oliffe Thou bearest not the roote but the roote thee With what reason then can the Pontificians say That charity which is the branch not the roote giues life to the root which is Faith Herein how far themselues differ from senslesse stockes or come short of the vegetable trees I define not Now as the whole tree drawes hislife and nourishment from the roote so all the fruits of holinesse haue their life and nourishment from faith for faith is the roote of them all And as the Apostle saith If the roote be holy so are the branches But Faith the roote of other graces is holy yea most holy as Iude speaketh therfore hope loue and all other graces growing in and from Faith are sanctified by and from Faith for as much as Faith is rooted in Christ from whom it receiues the life as of iustification so of sanctification Hence it is that deuout Bernard saith excellently to this purpose Primum syncera radix sancta fidei in terra humani cordis plantatur cumque fides plenè adulta fuerit velut quaedam magna est Arbor diuersa in se habens poma exquibus reficitur anima plena Deo First the sincere roote of holy Faith is planted in the ground of mans heart and when faith is fully growne vp it becomes as a great Tree hauing in it sundry sorts of Apples wherewith the soule being full of God is refreshed Without Faith saith the Apostle it is impossible to please God But whatsoeuer action proceedeth from Faith therein it pleaseth God By Faith was Abels sacrifice made acceptable to God By Faith Enoch walking with God pleased God And are not all those actions of the Patriarches and Saints of God related in that eleuenth Chapter to the Hebrewes all referred to Faith as the roote from whence they sprang and receiued their life and louelinesse It is Faith that graceth euery action of the iust man for the iust man shall liue by his Faith Whatsoeuer fruite growes not from this roote it is sinne Whatsoeuer is not of Faith is sinne is as true in generall of sauing Faith as it is in particular of the Conscience called Faith by the Apostle Rom 14 23. Now the reason of all this that Faith giues life and beeing to euery grace for as much as euery grace is radically in faith is because where faith is Christ is Now Faith is in the heart and consequently Christ dwelleth in the heart by Faith And if in the heart then in euery part and faculty of the soule and body So that as the soule quickneth euery part of the body so Faith quickneth and sanctifieth euery faculty of the soule As St Augustine saith Fides quae credit in Deum vita animae existit per hanc iustus viuit Faith which beleeueth in God is the life of the soule and by this faith the iust man liueth And elsewhere he saith Vnde mors in anima quia non est fides Vnde in corpore quia non est ibi anima Ergo animae tuae anima fides est Whence is death in the soule because faith is not there Whence in the body because the soule is not there Therefore the soule of thy soule is Faith And as the soule is in the body Tota in toto tota in qualibet parte The whole soule is in the whole body and whole in euery part So Fides tota est in toto tota in qualibet parte Whole faith is in the whole heart and whole in euery faculty of the soule Hence the Apostle making himselfe the instance of the life of faith saith I am crucified with Christ. Neuerthelesse I liue yet not I but Christ liueth in me and the life which I now liue in the flesh I liue by the faith of the Son of God who loued me and gaue himselfe for me Christ therefore is not to be found in that part or faculty of the soule where faith is not If Faith bee not in the will Christ is not there and so in the rest And where Christ is not there is no life no sanctification Our wils therefore our memories our affections our motions and cogitations are dead prophane all out of order if Christ be not and liue not in euery one of them And Christ is not in any of them if Faith be not there Hence it is that Faith is all because as the roote it containes all graces In the vnderstanding it knoweth God in the will it hopeth and loueth God in the memory it thinketh of God with thankefulnesse for his mercies in the affections it feareth God it sorroweth for sinne it patiently suffereth it reioyceth in God in all it serueth God How so From Faith it is that the vnderstanding knoweth God in his Sonne Iesus Christ the knowledge of whom is eternall life And therefore Diuines by knowledge in that place vnderstand Faith And St. Augustine saith Intellectus merces est fidei Ergo noli quaerere intelligere vt credas sed crede vt intelligas Vnderstanding is the reward of Faith Doe not therefore seeke to know that thou mayst beleeue but beleeue that thou mayst vnderstand From Faith it is that the will hopes in God loues God and cleaueth vnto him and so in the rest And therefore St. Augustine placeth Faith in the will saying A Domino praeparatur voluntas hominis vt sit fidei receptaculum The will is prepared of the Lord to be the receptacle of faith And againe Omne quod non est ex fide peccatum est Ac per hoc bona voluntas quae se abstrabit à peccato fidelis est quia iustus ex fide viuit Whatsoeuer is not of Faith is sinne And therefore the good will which withdrawes it selfe from sinne is faithfull because the iust man liueth by Faith Hence it is that Bernard saith Credere in Deum est in eum