liuing God In all this as I haue already said hee shewed very excellent vertues But Moses addeth another sacrifice which is farre greater and much more exquisite that is Abraham was inforced to kill his sonne yea euen his owne only sonne Nowe this was an Obedience vnto God beyond all measure surpassing any mans power to performe although in very deede we ought to be his both in life and death But that which is here commaunded Abraham to doo is farre beyond all the rest For the matter in question is not onely of Abraham his full Obedience towards God in forsaking himselfe and in hauing his sonne to bee taken from him which was giuen him and so to bee quite and cleane rid of him when as it should please God to take him from him and to suffer all this patiently This I say is not the question but the matter is that hee must kill him with his owne handes Now this is such an hard and strange thing as that the very hearing of it once spoken off is able to astonish and kill the very heart of any man It is not then without cause that Moses from the nineteenth Chapter after he had hertofore spoken of the life of Abraham setteth downe this Acte Gen. 12.1 and saith that after these thinges God againe tempted him Now it was a very great temptation when as God tooke him from his fathers house for so the wordes import when he said Get thee out of thy fathers house and from all thy kinsfolkes and from the place where thou wert borne and I pray you where could hee finde a better place to dwell in This is the Countrie which I meane to bring thee vnto a Country forsooth which he neuer knewe and therefore he must be there like a feather cast into the wind not knowing which way to winde himselfe This I say was a grieuous temptation to Abraham when as he must needs go whither God called him not knowing whither and yet neuertheles this was as it were his a b c. Thus we see how God beginneth when as he meneth to teach in his school And hee was no sooner come into the lande but that hee was eftsoones driuen out thereof as it were with famine and his wife also taken from him And the next time also we see that hee was vexed in euery place and could haue no rest any where for there was not any one within all the Country which did not set himselfe against him and yet he patiently endured and suffered all these thinges And yet notwithstanding hee did not once muâ—mure against GOD but indured all the troubles and afflictions that were laid vpon him without discouragement being farre vnlike vnto those that are so delicate and effeminate as that if GOD deale not with them to their owne good liking they will clout it vp together and quite and cleane forget their obedience towardes his Maiestie And although Abraham was this roughly handâ—ed yet conunued he the course hee began But how long suffered he all these tryals hee was not onely thus dealt withall three or fower yeares together but was so tumbled and tossed as that vvhen he had passed tvventy thirty and forty years in that Land he was to beginne againe to abide vvorse stormes than hee had at any time before bidden as to bee inforced to forsake the loue of his eldest sonne and to bee vtterly spoiled of him vvhich vvas to him more griefe and sorrovv than a very kinde of death it selfe After hee had sustained these great and most grieuous temptations that GOD had promised to giue him the Land yet vvas hee so baited as if hee had not beene vvorthy once to haue set his foote in any place of the Land God had also promised him seede Gen. 15.3 but that came not neither vntill such time as hee was foure score yeares olde and his wife barren so as it seemed vnto them that this promise was but a very mockerie And when hee was an hundred yeares olde he had Isaak But Ismael must be thrust out of the dores and bee banished as heretofore we haue heard If we could well sauour and tast these temptations without doubt we should be wonderfully amazed to see Abraham haue such a powerfull and constant faith to fight against such assaults and to ouercome them Now then when it is saide After these things it is to shew that God meaneth to set before vs in the person of Abraham such a spectacle as that whensoeuer wee shall come to the fight it shall not bee hurtfull vnto vs to followe his steppes neither yet thinke it strange or any newe thing to conforme and fashion our selues like vnto him who is father of the whole Church But yet this is most certain that although euery man woulde throughly looke vnto the temptations which he is to suffer yet shall he not be able to see the hundreth part of that which wee see in Abraham And therefore this is to bee noted that as God had bountifully bestowed the giftes and graces of his holy spirite vpon him so also meant hee to make a through tryall of his faith for God will not haue his gifts lie a rusting and bee vnprofitable in vs But will deale with euery man according to that measure of his graces which he hath vouchsafed vs. For hee prepareth vs to indure them or els vve vvere neuer able to vndergoe them nor once moue one finger to doo vvel except the Lord doth so dispose the same and giueth vs the power to doo it And therefore whensoeuer he putteth vs to the Combat he bestoweth the graces of his holy spirite vpon vs. Now forsomuch as Abraham had great perfection in comparison of vs according as wee are men see how God also prooued him with such strange sorts of tryalls as wee are neuer able to come nere vnto Howbeit so much the lesse excuse haue wee for our idlenes coldnes and wantonnes if we follow not at least in some measure our father Abraham And although the constancy of our faith be not equal vnto his yet if wee indeuour not our selues to follow him some what aloofe as we say according to our abilitie and infirmitie without doubt we shall be without all excuse So then wee haue from hence to gather That Abraham was all his life long tormented both in soule and bodie and yet when it was come eueÌ„ to the vpcast as we say God would needs prooue him without all comparison more liuely than euer at any time before he had done so that it had beene able to haue madehim a hundred thousand times to haue dispaired had he not in most wonderfuâ— manner confirmed him therein by his holy spirit To vvhat ende is this matter of Abrahams recited vs The benefite that euery one shuld make of these temptations of Abraham It is not because vve should vvonder at his vertue and magnifie and commende his so great povver and strength But to the end to
had no forme or fashion Thus wee see what a iolly imagination the Papistes haue whereby they declare that they know not what faith is For it is an absolute and singular gift of God And after it is said That we receiue the spirite of adoption by which he so renueth and also incorporateth vs into our Lorde Iesus Christ as that wee are made members of his bodie and withall newe creatures VVee see then that the Papistes knowe not these things neither yet vnderstand the principles and rudiments of Christianitie no more than brute beastes without sence And vvhat a feareful thing is this that they do nothing else but brag of these things And yet they thinke themselues to be the greatest diuines in the vvorld vvhen as they haue made a distinction forsooth betvveene vnformed and formed faith vvhich is as much as if they had said a God in vvhome is no povver nor vertue then a God who shevveth himselfe povverfull and iust And thus haue they forged vnto themselues a double faith And vvhy then doeth S. Iames vse here this vvord And vvhy do vvee vse this vvorde Church This vvorde Bishop this saying Gods seruice Deuotion Zeale But vvhen vve speake of the Papistes vve neuer yeelde vnto them in truth that they haue any church vvhich is to be obeyed For in deed they haue nothing but some ruynes of a Church and a certaine canuassing and tossing of seruice of their ovvn deuising and as they thought to serue God vvithall But that is the Church vvhere God dvvelleth by his vvorde Aftervvard vvhen vvee speake of them vvee vse honourable vvordes and yet our meaning is none other but that they vsurpe these titles vvith iolly shevves markes Hovvbeit vvee do not altogether stand vpon vvords And after this manner dealeth S. Iames for he standeth not vpon the vvorde but taketh vpon him to speake of the friuolous vaunting vvhich vvas in the mouth of these scoffers that vvould be taken for good Christians saith your faith that is to saie that faith vvhich you talke of is nothing As if vvee should aske the question at this day vvhat is the Catholicke Church vvhich the Papists so bragge of Surely it is a very harlot For vve knovve that the true Church is the spouse of our Sauiour Iesus Christ vvhich ought to bee purged and vvashed vvith his bloud Eph. 5.27 1. Tim. 3.15 that she might bee as saint Paul saith vvithout spot or vvrinkle and after that to bee the piller of truth And in steede hereof beholde a den of the eues and an harlot vvhich hath corrupted all the seruice of God and begot nothing but Bastards Thus should vve say and then vvee see that vvee should not thinke saint Iames his phrase of reasoning to be strange because it is an ordinarie and common thing amongst vs. VVe novv then first see that vvhen it is saide that Faith iustifieth vs vve speake not of Faith but after the accustomed manner But vvhen saint Iames saith that faith vvithout vvorks is dead it is to barre such as abuse this name and haue a iollitie to bragge and glorie thereof but in deede haue it not Let vs come novv to the second part vvhen saint Iames saith that vvee are iustified by our vvorkes it should by this seeme that hee is contrary vnto saint Paul Novv vvorkes must not be ioined vvith faith to part halfe stakes vvith it as vve haue already said For if that vvere so then vvee should neuer bee certaine and sure And therefore all consideration of our vvorkes must needes bee excluded or the calling vpon God vvith true confidence to bee taken for his children to hope for the inheritance of the heauenly life vvhich is promised vs vvorks must needes be laid aside for vvhat vvere it if vvorks iustified Novv this vvorde Iustifie is not taken in saint Iames to be approoued before God to reconcile vs vnto him and to make him receiue vs as his children Hovve is it then taken Euen as himself declareth it vvithout any other exposition For he addeth that Abram vvas iustified vvhen hee vvent about to offer vp in sacrifice his sonne Isahack Novv vvee neuer yet read that he sacrificed him to vvit that he meant to make a sacrifice of his sonne vnto God vvhat meant hee then Forsooth this obedience vvhereof vvee shall hereafter speake vvas it that iustified Abram If vvee did speake of the approouing of that vvhich he had at that time done and vvas yet not indeede done VVee must therefore conclude that saint Iames speaketh not in that place hovv vvee are acceptable vnto God but how vve are made righteous For vvhat a blockish speech vvere this to say that the sonne had begotten the Father Novv vvee right vvell knovv that faith is the mother of righteousnes that is to say that it is the meane and instrument by vvhich vve are reconciled vnto God and allovved for his children And therefore faith must go before righteousnes for it is the meane cause the instrumentall or formall cause as vve call it Let vs novv come vnto the obedience of Abram vvhen he vvas readie to sacrifice his sonne for if that be the cause of Abram his righteousnes it must needes be that it vvent before For vvhat a doltish speach vvere this to say that the corne that shall grovve a yere hence shall feede me from this day vntill this time tvvelue monethes Novve there is not the least childe in the vvorld vvhich seeth not this Novv there vvas a long time part before God commaunded Abram to sacrifice his sonne and yet vvas he iustified before VVe see then in summe that vve neede not to looke for any glose out of saint Iames his vvords he saith that he vvas iustified that is to say that he vvas shevved to be iustified For these Scoffers against vvhom hee contendeth saide vvee are iustified by faith and therefore vvhat need vve to take any great care to serue God seeing our vvorkes are of no vvorth neither any reckoning bee made of them in time to come Novv first and formost they peruert all in saying that there shall bee no reckoning made of vvorks For they shal come in account vvith the grace of God But vvhen they shall scoffingly say that it is to no purpose to doo good vvorks is as much as if they vvould teare Iesus Christ in pieces For by faith vve receiue him and are vnited vnto him vvith this condition that he reconcileth vs vnto his father putteth avvay our sinnes and regenerateth and gouerneth vs by his holy spirit And these are inseparable thinges as vve haue alleaged out of saint Paul Seeing then it is so saint Iames had good cause to say how can you be iustified without works For Faith saith he without workes is dead And besides if you bee the faithfull children of God you can be none othervvise iustified than your father Abram vvas Novve Abram vvas so iustified as that good vvorkes vvere ioyned vvith Faith And therefore you must
much lessened For when God worketh by his Ministers yet loseth hee thereby no part of his dignitie neither is his power therby by anie whit obscured or yet anie thing of that which he giueth taken from him But it pleaseth him to vse these means with this cōdition that men should alwaies come againe vnto him not draw any one drop of good from any other fountain then frō that spring head Here we see namely why it is said Blessed art thou Abram of God most high as if Melchisedech should haue said that he is nothing of himself nor can do any thing as of himself But seeing that God had called him to serue him that he should also call vpon him testifie likewise his name vnto Abram We see then that it is the office of Iesus Christ to blesse that is to say to make vs agreeable vnto God to blot out all the iniquitie that is in vs. But this must conduct vs to God a great deale hier that is vnto the inestimable loue of God the Father Rom. 8.32 who spared not his onelie son but deliuered him to death for vs. When the principall cause of our saluation is shewed vnto vs the scripture setteth before vs the loue of God Ioh. 3.16 God then so loued the world as that he spared not his onely sonne Thus wee see how wee are blessed by the priestly power of this Sonne of GOD. Howbeit the Father notwithstanding calleth vs vnto him that wee might honour him and acknowledge so great a benefite that it hath pleased him to bestow vppon vs euen through that spring-head To be short we see here that all the good which wee are to desire and hope for commeth from God alone from whome alone we must looke to receiue and haue the same Euerie man desireth to liue easily and pleasantly and to haue whatsoeuer he thinketh to bee fit for him And this is a wish which is common both with the good and the bad But fewe there are that seeke for their felicitie in God They desire all to bee happie and blessed and yet they make no account of him from whome all blessednes and felicitie proceedeth And this kinde of dealing is like vnto a man which were so meruellous thirstie and feeble as that he were readie to giue vp the ghost withall and another should come vnto him and say Behold here is a verie fine spring of water and yet hee would not once vouchsafe to drinke of it and should haue there also water and wine and yet would not once come neere to taste of the same Euen so fareth it with such as desire and couet to vnderstand whatsoeuer commeth into their said braines and which they also knowe to bee meete and requisite for them and yet notwithstandyng doo contemne GOD and will in no wise come neere him Let vs then learne that as often as we desire to haue either for our soules our bodies that which is to be wished to begin at this end that God is merciful vnto vs and doth so receiue vs to his mercie as that wee may approach and haue enterance vnto him and may be so satisfied with his benefites as may bee profitable for our saluation Thus then wee see what it is that wee are to obserue by this saying That Abram is blessed euen of the most high God After this Melchisedech addeth a blessing in that God had giuē victory vnto our father Abram AND BLESSED saith hee BE THE LIVING GOD THAT HATH DELIVERED THINE ENEMIFS INTO THINE HAND By this we are admonished alwaies to ioyne praise and thankesgiuing vnto God with the petitions and supplications which we make vnto him as S. Paul also sheweth vnto vs in his Epistle to the Philippians Philip. 4.6 when hee saith Let your desires and petitions be manifest to God That is to say bite not vpon the bit saith hee as the infidels do when as they see this thing were good and fit for mee They complaine But wherefore Their hearts are euen closed vp and neuer come vnto GOD to craue at his hands the things which they want And therfore the Apostle saith in that place Poure put your petitions thoughts and desires before God that is to say whē you know your selues to want this thing and that seeke for the benefite where it is and there you may finde it to wit in God Let your praiers supplications and thankesgiuings shewe that you are before God when you haue praied as I haue before said Let your thankesgiuing bee conioyned with your petitions For if we pray murmuringly with a grieued and discontented minde that is to blaspheme his holie name And therefore our praiers must be a sacrifice of a sweet smelling sauour For we do him great wrong and iniurie when as we will make him to submit him selfe and be subiect to our appetites and not be contented with his fauour and grace We see then why we ought to be roundly admonished as often as we pray vnto God to render vnto him also praise and thanks yeeld our selues wholly to his will and acknowledge and confesse all the benefits which we haue receiued at his hands as in the Psalme it is said Call vpon me in the day of thy trouble Psal 50. and I will heare thee 〈◊〉 and thou shalt praise and glorifie me And after this sort wee see howe Melchisedech doth here the like as touching Abram Now that we may the more familyarly comprehend this matter we are to note that our praiers are to haue regard as wel vnto the time past as vnto the time to come for the time past to confesse vnto God the benefits which we haue alreadie receiued of him and for the time to come to craue of his maiestie that it would please him to continue and perseuere the same his mercie vnto vs as he hath begun euen vnto the end Now we are here especially to note this one thing that althogh Abram was so mightily aduanced as to be made the father of the faithfull to be blessed of God with all vertues and to haue a most excellent spirit of faith yet Melchisedech neuertheles told him that hee was continually to go forward and increase from grace to grace vnto the ende and daily haue recourse vnto God to call vppon him For when he blessed him he read him eftsoones a lesson which hee was well to looke vnto and to practise the same also all the daies of his life If it behoued then Abram continually to call vpon God what graces soeuer he had receiued and how honourable soeuer he was and yet notwithstanding must alwaies bee exercised in praiers and supplications what then shall become of vs that are so far inferiour vnto him in all these things Thus then wee see why I haue said that our praiers should haue respect vnto the time to come seeing wee haue alwaies need of God his helpe to haue mercie vpon vs and heale vs and more and
a man shall see him as the scripture speaketh to become a new creature And without doubt we can neuer be said to be right Christians without we be after that maner renued and be made the workemanship of God created in our Lord Iesus Christ to doo the workes which God hath prepared all this I say must be in it But herein may seeme to be some absurditie God iustified the theefe that was hanged because he acknowledged his saluation to be in Iesus Christ and when hee was iustified had hee none other qualitie in him then he had before Yes verely Why then say we that free righteousnes hath hir course all our life long In deed a faithfull man will at the least be well affected to hold himselfe within the compasse of Gods obedience he will be displeased with his sinnes yea groane and greeue for them and his chiefe deâ—â—re wil be to frame his life according to the lawe Now when a faithful man is come to this we must not say that hee is iustified as hee was at the first bicause he was then a dissolute man and altogither estranged from God To this we answere when God at the first iustifieth vs that is to saie when hee hath mercy vpon vs and plucketh vs out from that condemnation wherein we were he vseth then a generall pardon and then when hee iustifieth vs afterward he then acknowkledgeth the benefits which hee hath bestowed vpon vs and auoweth alloweth them for he cannot deny himself when he gouerneth vs by his holy spirit although sinne dwelleth in vs yet reigneth it not in vs as it is written Although wee doo not the good which wee would yet wee striue to do it And therefore God alloweth and liketh of that because it commeth from him but here we are to note that he iustifieth vs both in our persons and also in our workes by faith only For when he receiueth vs at the first he cannot iustifie anie workes that are in vs. And why so because they are all wicked For as wee haue alreadie saide what fruit can a rotten tree bring forth And therefore when God draweth vnto him miserable sinners that are banished and cast out of his kingdome and Church he doth not iustifie their works but beholding their miseries and hauing compassion of their perdition lo for that cause he iustifieth them Now after that hee hath receiued them he iustifieth them in their persons that is to say he accepteth them as his children and after that he iustifieth their workes and how doth he that Forsooth not by calling them to an account nor iudging them rigorously for there will be alwaies as I haue said some corruptioÌ„ amongst or els some slips and by slidings and such like things which wil marre all For if a man put the best wine in the worlde into an vnsauery hogshead or into a fustie bottle the wine wil be all mard Euen so fareth it with all our works for so long as God guideth and gonerneth vs by his holy spirit they ar good holy commendable but marke what vessels we are surely very filthy corrupt Euen so are our works therfore God must purge cleanse them And how is that verily euen by his grace in pardoning the faults imperfectioÌ„s which are in them Wherfore euen as there is diuersitie between a faithfull man whoÌ„ God calleth at the beginning vnto the Gospel so also is there some diuersity in iustificatioÌ„ But it altereth not in this behalf that is that God alwaies iustifieth his freely that is to say that he accepteth them not for anie vertues that are in theÌ„selues for there is none at all in them neither yet for those which he hath bestowed vpon them for they are to be condemned by reason of the infirmitie that is in them But because as Saint Paule saith That those whome hee hath chosen he hath iustified Here then we see in summe what we are to retaine as touching the motion of this question Now we are to note that ouer and besides the thing which the Papists imagine that we may partly obtaine to be righteous and so consequently bee pardoned at Gods hand they are too too grosSecondly deceiued bicaly deceiued in their satisfactions and blind also I say in this they are to thinke themselues to haue certaine vertues which God ought to allow and like of But in very deed they are ashamed to say that their workes doo merite but that they carry some likelihood with them for say they although they do not perfectly merit yet is it meet that God who is iust should accept of that good which they do Yea but they are so farre blinded in their righteousnes as that they vnderstand not their sinnes as we haue alreadie said Againe they are secondly deceiued bicause they think themselues able to acquite themselues by their satisfactions I will heere forbeare to speake what their satisfactions are because they are most foolish whereby they do nothing else but prouoke the heauy wrath of God against them thinking to pay him with filthie toyes and trifles to wit with superstitions deuised of their owne braine for what satisfactions can we make to deliuer vs from the iudgement of God And what is the committing of one sinne worthie of Truely we thinke that when wee haue violated the righteousnes of God and haue payd some small portion for it that we haue done inough Must we not thinke that Sathan wholly possesseth vs when as we become thus arrogant Now this is the greatest part of Popish doctrine to be pardoned when as we haue deserued rather to be punished And this proceedeth herehence because they think they should be iustified by their workes and therefore they saie that this is but coniecturall for they cannot choose but see that if wee examine our selues we shal come short in the end neither can wee haue that which is requisite for the making vp of our accountes before God to say that we are discharged But ouer and besides this coniecture they haue another foolish toye in their heads which is this why say they if it were true that God fououred vs to day it may be that hee would not doo so to morrow Now they neuer thinke that faith is alwaies accompanied with hope and that hope extendeth it selfe both in life death And we see also besides that there is a farre greater fault that is they neuer looke vnto the last article of death whereof we will speake God willing hereafter And therefore we will at this time go on with that wee haue begun which is they thinke to satisfie and appaise God when as they bring with them some recompence for the sinnes iniquities which they haue committed Wherin they robbe God of his honor for if it were so then hee alone were not sufficient to reconcile vs vnto God his father Now it is not without cause that he is called our ransome for hee made himselfe our suretie vpon
charitable because they right well knowe that they shall not loose their labour as it is written Yea but how know they that Forsooth by the testimonie of the Gospell Now what are the words of the Gospel Verily Rom. 3. that God will bee mercifull vnto vs if so wee beleeue in his onelie sonne For the righteousnes which is there offered vs as saint Paul saith hath borne witnes of the law But is not holpen by the law that is to say by whatsoeuer works we are able to doo But because wee are grounded on the grace of our Lorde Iesus Christ This Text then sheweth vs that the faithfull may bee a great deale better and more earnestly disposed to serue God because they knowe that their paines shall be accepted And yet notwithstanding they rest themselues vpon this free goodnes which is promised them because they flie vnto our Sauiour Iesus Christ Heere wee see how grosly the Papists are deceiued For from this word Reward they draw the word Merite as if they would play the Alcumistes Now there is great difference betweene the one and the other For what importeth this word Merite To Merite is to make God bound vnto vs that we might say I haue wel deserued this thing or that I am worthy of it And he which doth not acknowledge the Merite is vnthankfull if hee discharge his duetie vnto him vnto whom he is bound and beholden If we could then deserue any thing at Gods handes it must needs follow that he for his part should he beholden vnto vs and doo vs wrong if he paid vs not that which he ought vs. True it is that he is pur debtor but a voluntary debtor For hee shall neuer find any thing in vs why hee should be beholden vnto vs but bindeth himselfe by his promises Now in very deede hee hath promised vs Reward but it is of his owne free gift and of no desert of ours for that were to come from a poste to a pudding-prick to go so from one to another and to conclude that these two words are all one where there is so great diuersitie Wherefore let vs not meruaile though the Papistes still conclude their Arguments thus and storme when we say That works cannot iustifie vs. For their supposall is false that is to say that if GOD rewardeth those that are his that therefore he is bound to doo it and that they are also worthy of it and that their workes import some Merite Nowe all this is not worth a straw The reason I haue alredy shewed to wit that when God promiseth vs Reward it is not because that wee are worthy thereof but because it pleaseth him to adde grace vnto grace and all of his meere mercie goodnes and liberalitie Now we are alwaies to keepe this in minde and in very deede what should we look for at his hands if we had nothing but that that we deserue Assuredly we should be driuen to that vnquietnes vvhereof vvee erst spake that vve should alvvaies bee in doubt and perplexed And therefore our faith must bee certaine And this is that in summe vvhich heere vve are to remember Let vs now come vnto the wordes of Saint Iames who seemeth to be contrarie vnto S. Paul and all the rest of the holie Scriptures as we haue alreadie spoken Iames. 2.24 For Saint Iames saith That we are not iustified by faith but by workes A man would thinke that there could not be found two places more contrarie one to the other as to say That we are iustified by faith onely without works and that we are iustified by workes and not by faith and yet notwithstanding it is most certaine that S. Iames who spake by the spirite of God gainsaid not the doctrine which was preached and published from the beginning in the Church ratified by the Prophets and which hath beene lastly more notably confirmed by our Lorde Iesus Christ and by his Apostles Howbeit the solution is verie easie when as wee shall looke into the drift and meaning of S. Iames For he reasoneth not there what true faith may do neither doeth he speake at all of true faith but of a counterfait faith and such as is but like vnto an image and an illusion For he reasoneth there against such as vnder the colour of Christianitie will take libertie to do al wickednes as at this daye there are too too many And besides the diuel doth so bestirre himselfe to blind vs as he would make vs beleeue that all our sinnes are forgiuen vs and so vnder the name of Christianitie would make vs become verie brutish and thereby peruert all And to bring also the doctrine of the Gospell professors into a slaunder to the end also it might be thought that the doctrine of the Gospell did ouerthrow good workes would not haue vs worship and serue God as the Papistes at this day despitefully reproche vs therewithall VVherefore S. Iames seeing many dissolute and profane people thus falsly abuse the name of the Gospell and pretended the name Faith He saith well Let mee see thy faith without workes and I will shewe thee my faith by my workes whereby he sufficiently sheweth that his meaning was not to speake of such a faith as we haue defined that is that we should be certaine and sure of the goodnes of God by his word and knowe him to be our Father through our Lorde Iesus Christ Now S. Iames speaketh not of such a faith as this is and that which is not such a one cannot bring foorth workes VVe haue alreadie said that by faith we receiue the spirite of our Lord Iesus Christ And he and his spirite cannot be separated And wee knowe that it is said That it is not giuen vnto vs onely for righteousnes but for sanctification also that is to say that wee might be purged of all the filthie lustes of our flesh That we might be made like vnto the righteousnes of God So then if S. Iames had spoken of this true faith it had beene great follie for him to haue said Shewe me thy faith without workes and I will shewe thee my faith by my worlds as is he would haue said that true faith is so conioyned with good workes as without them it is dead to wit it is no faith as afterward he saith And therefore S. Iames right well sheweth that he spake not of a faith which embraceth the promises of God and by which we are certified of our saluation And herein the Papistes do grossely abuse them-selues to forge vnto themselues a faith which they call vnformed that is to say without figure or shape and say that faith of it selfe is as it were but like a piece of earth or claye which a man shoulde take to dawbe withall Here yee see say they what faith is And besides they saie that when Charitie is conioyned thereto then it is like a pot that is made of the same piece or lump of earth which before
shevve your selues like vnto him or else you mocke God in prophaning so holy and sacred a thing as the name of faith and righteousnes is Here vve see saint Iames his meaning out of this Text But these Popish mastiue Curres can no vvhit skill of this and vvhat is the reason Verily because they contemne God hovvbeit you shall heare them vvith open mouth talke of good vvorkes and a man vvoulde thinke to heare them debate thereof that they vvere Angels and yet you may see vvhat they are And I vvould to God that the vvhole state of their life vvere not altogether dissolute for a man shall finde neither Monke nor Fryar Doctor nor yet any of that shorne Rable but they are either rybauldes skorners of God vvhoremongers drunkards blasphemers To bee short it shoulde seeme that they had conspired vvith the Diuell to bring the vvhole vvorld vnto confusion And yet for all this they vvil pretend good vvorks and speake of nothing else And therefore it is no meruaile although they bee so blind But to speak but a vvord of that vvhich vve haue explaned out of saint Iames vve are to note that vve ar iustified but not vvithout vvorks yet vve are iustified vvithout vvorks vvhen vve say that vvee are iustified but not vvithout vvorkes vve separate not this And hovv so verily because that he vvho is iustified before God by faith is as much to say that God forgiueth him his sinnes beleeueth in the passion and death of our Lord Iesus Christ and knoweth that by his resurrection he receiueth life from him So then vvhosoeuer beleeueth after this sort is not iustified vvithout vvorkes And vvhy Because that God bestovveth his holie spirit vpon him vvhich so reformeth him as that good vvorkes cannot be chosen but be ioyned together vvith faith And yet is the other saying also true to vvite that vve are iustified vvithout vvorkes that is to saie vvithout any helpe of good vvorkes so as vve alvvaies remain bound vnto God Here vvee see tvvo places vvithout altering the vvordes vvherein it should seeme they vvere altogether diuers and sundry as to say that we are iustified without works that we are not iustified without works howbeit the meaning is that works are not for all this the cause of our saluation as to make them merite any whit before God so as to accept vs according to our worthines But it is because that as I haue already said our Sauiour Iesus Christ beareth vs not onely a simple grace and fauour but a double that is to say that on the one side he couereth all our iniquities and offences through his pure obedience and appeaseth the wrath of God his father by that Sacrifice which hee offered vp once for all to make satisfaction for our sinnes And yet hee so ruleth and gouerneth vs in the meane while by his holy spirite whome hee hath receiued in all fulnes and resteth vpon him that if so be we doo not abuse his grace bestowed vpon vs we are freed from the bands of Sathan that we might take good heede as S. Peter saith not to follow the lusts and desires of the flesh This then wee see may suffice for the exposition of this place Nowe Moses addeth immediately following that God spake againe vnto Abram and said I am the Lord which brought thee out of Vr of the Chaldees to giue thee this Land to inherite it Here we see that God reitereateth his promises for the confirming nourishing and increasing of Abram his faith vntill such time as it was growne vnto a full perfection VVherevppon wee are to conclude that although Abram was the mirrour and patterne of all the faithfull and the very Image of righteousnes yet was his faith imperfect For else the promise that is here set downe were superfluous For if the faith of Abram was so throughly confirmed as that it coulde not bee amended God needed not to haue spoken any more And why so The promises haue this vse and benefit that they draw vs vnto faith and when wee haue gotten it they are to leade vs to the right way to incourage and stirre vs vp to goe on valiantly to refresh vs when we are almost weary to augment our vertue when it beginneth to faile and to be weake Here I say we see why our Sauiour Iesus Christ testifieth declareth vnto vs of his meere goodnes that he is our God that is to begin faith in vs or els to bring it to perfection And therefore wee must conclude that it was needfull for Abram to goe somewhat further And hereby we see that although our faith be vnperfect yet that God ceaseth not to iustifie vs. And what is the reason Because he imputeth not the infirmity that is in it vnto vs but how euer it is wee are here admonished by this place not to bee preuented by any foolish opinion of our owne as a great many of men are who thinke themselues to be such great Clarks as that they will not once vouchsafe to come any more vnto the schoole of God Let vs therefore vnderstand and know that although our faith were greater and more powerfull than now it is yet must wee be schollers all our life long to haue the word of God sounding in our cares and to haue our memories rubbed ouer refreshed that we might not forget that which wee haue learned that that which hath not taken deepe roote in our heartes may receiue a better and deeper impression and that God when he hath cast his seede into vs according to saint Paul his comparison wee may daily water it in vs For it were not inough to haue the seede cast into the grounde without God shoulde sende downe raine from heauen and bedewe it for when the husband-man shall haue done his duety in tilling the lande it is to no purpose without GOD should giue increase thereof from heauen Euen so must it bee with vs when as wee shall haue receiued the seede of the incorruptible life GOD must raine downe from heauen that is to say hee must continually benefite and strengthen our faith which cannot be except we be daily instructed from his mouth Let vs nowe come to the contents of this sentence I am the Lord which brought the out of Vr of the chaldees These words here are inserted for Abram to cause him to eschew all Idolatry and superstition wherein he had been hertofore brought vp For as it is often shewed vnto vs out of the holy Scripture that we must not worship God confusedly nor imagine him to bee such a one as we thinke But wee must know what God that is which we must flie vnto and must bee separated distinguished from all the imaginations deuises of mans braine whereby we so greatly deceiue our selues and are also deceiued by Sathan And that is the reason which S. Paul maketh in his Epistle to the Hebrewes the eleuenth Chapter and the sixth verse saying When wee will come