it hinders the same and not as it meerly crosses the Will of the Legislator Every Breach of them is more or less Evil as it is more or less prejudicial to the General Good and has in that respect a greater or less Penalty assigned thereunto Penal Laws are made for preventing of Evils that might happen for want of them and not to take Revenge on the Transgressor of the Law for neglecting to observe or for opposing the Law-givers Mind p. 111 SECT XI Faith Hope and Charity are necessary Means for procuring everlasting Bliss Sincere habitual Charity formally expels Mortal Sin and is therefore formal but incompleat Righteousness Perfect Charity formally expels all Sin and is therefore compleat formal Righteousness or the absolute falfilling of the Divine Law. p. 128 SECT XII Neither by the Light of Nature nor by the Law of Moses without Christ could ever any either Jew or Gentile be eternally saved and come to Glory but through him both of them might The Christiam Religion is in many respects preferable to the Law of Nature and the Law of Moses The Injunction of the Judaical Ordinances Rites and Ceremonies had a farther Tendency than than the exacting of bare Obedience p. 163 SECT XIII Nothing is available to Felicity but as it contributes to Charity The Nature of the two Theological Virtues Faith and Hope and how they become useful to the obtaining and augmenting the Habit of Charity p. 176 SECT XIV The Moral Habits Prudence Justice Fortitude and Temperance are truly Virtues in that respect only as they promote Charity What the Office of each of them in particular is in the way of subserviency unto Charity p. 184 SECT XV. Prayer offered to God for all things absolutely necessary to Salvation whether the Theological or Moral Virtues or Remission of Sins is evermore effectual if it be made aright and it is then made aright when it is unfeigned fervent and frequently performed p. 194 SECT XVI Praise and Thanksgiving to God are proper and efficatious Means whereby to get and increase Charity Vocal Prayer Music and Gestures of Body betokening Humility and Reverence towards the Divine Majesty are beneficial for the obtaining of everlasting Felicity p. 219 SECT XVII The two great Sacraments instituted by Christ for the Benefit of his Church Baptism and the Lords Supper were ordained to be serviceable to Charity the one in procuring it the other in preserving it Yea and all other Divine Institutions and Ordinances whatsoever are only so many designed ministerial Helps and Furtherances thereunto p. 225 SECT XVIII In the Exercise of the hearty Love of God or Charity consists the sincere Observance of every Precept of the Decalogue But the absolute entire fulfilling of the Moral Law is not accomplished till Charity have attained its ultimate Perfection in Heaven p. 235 SECT XIX There is not any one Precept of the latter Table of the Decalogue truly kept but when it is observed out of Love to God nor is there a real Breach of any of them but when the Soul is either deprived of the Love of God or has the same abated and weakned in it by the Omission of something which is required or by the Commission of something which is forbidden in the Precept p. 247 SECT XX. Charity or the unfeigned fervent Love of God above all things proved by Scripture to be Righteousness or the sincere keeping of the whole Law of God. p. 265 RELIGION AND REASON Adjusted and Accorded OR A Discourse wherein Divine Revelation is made appear to be a congruous and con-natural Way of affording proper Means for making Man eternally Happy through the perfecting of his Rational Nature SECTION I. There is an absolute perfect Being which is self-existent Eternal only One Infinite Immutable a pure Act entirely Simple one Formality and a Spirit 1. WHatsoever has Perception the same has a Being for what is not can have no Perception And that there is Perception the very Denyer of it if there be any one so vain as to contradict the rest of Mankind may be convinced from his own denyal For the denyal of it if the denyer be serious must proceed from this that he thinks there is no such thing as Perception which Thought of his he cannot otherwise chuse but grant to be either true or false if he grant it to be false he owns in effect there is Perception But in case he will have his Thought to be true he must yield that his very Thought it self is a right Perception and so either way he 'll be necessitated to acknowledg that there is for certain Perception 2. Perception then most certainly there is and consequently something that perceives or that has an actual Being which is the Subject of Perception And whatsoever has an actual Being or doth Exist the same must have it's existence either intrinsecal of it self or from some other thing that is extrinsecal to it Whatsoever receives its existence from any thing that is extrinsecal to it that same it not the perfectest Being that is because it depends upon another for its existence provided there be any Being at all which has nothing of Existence from another 3. And that there is some Being which has nothing of existence from another is clear from hence that since the reason of a things existing by virtue of another is because there is some other thing which causes it to exist and that an endless Series or infinite number of things causing others to exist is impossible to have been because a by-past Series of things may be encreased by a new addition made unto it and a Series of things which may be encreased is not infinite for otherwise there might be something that would be more or greater than infinite which questionless cannot be there must of necessity be some first cause which receives nothing from another but exists wholly of it self and is thereupon the most perfect Being 4. That which is the most perfect Being or first Cause must of necessity have always existed or been from Eternity because if there had been a time when it was not it must of nothing have become something seeing it self was first And in case it should of nothing have become something it would have been or existed before it had a Being or Existence and consequently have been and not have been or existed and not existed at once which is impossible For being supposed to be the first Being if ever it had a Beginning it must have been as well the Producer as the thing to be produced and so as it was the Producer must be supposed to have had a Being and as it was the thing to be produced to have had no Being and both at the same Instant which is a manifest Contradiction 5. The prime or first Being then is necessarily eternal à parte antè and what is necessarily Eternal à parte antè is likewise so à parte pòst because having nothing of
will his Love to God be excited till at length if his Faith continue operative it grows into an Habit by which he is put into a State of Salvation or the direct Way to everlasting Bliss Sect. 11. Nor is this the whole benefit of an active Faith for when Charity is thus by its means wrought in the Soul Faith doth not straight give over its Function and begin to be idle but grows more vigorous and lively whilst the Soul being enflamed with the Love of God sets it a fresh on work about the Object the Motives and other Helps of Bliss whence Charity becomes not only confirmed and strengthened but augmented also For although it have frequent need of the Exercise of Faith only to maintain and preserve its Habit that it be not lost by reason of the many Temptations alway ready to ensnare the Affections of the Soul yet in regard the more that Faith is conversant about the Object and Means of Bliss it will from thence be obvious to the Intellect to discover still farther Excellencies in God and greater Love and Kindness in him towards wretched Man it cannot churse but that fresh Representations of Loveliness in God being often made the Soul will become more vigorously affected towards God especially when Charity is in good plight having no present Adversary or Temptation to encounter with 4. After Faith Hope lifts up its Head and 't is twofold either such as precedes Charity or is subsequent to it even as we have seen Faith to be Paragr 3. The Hope which precedes Charity is subservient to Faith in assisting it to beget the Love of God in the Soul in manner here following When Faith has begot some imperfect desires of Bliss before Charity be habitually seated in the Soul some slender hope will arise from the glowings whereby the Soul perceives herself to grow warm in Affection towards God that he will be graciously pleased to perfect the good Work he has already begun in her This Hope tho weak contributes something to Charity if not choaked by fresh Sin for while the Soul hopes for what she desires her desires of what she hopes for is quickned thereby Nevertheless till an habitual Love to God above all things or Charity be throughly framed in the Soul there 's no Spiritual Life therein but only previous dispositions preparing for it Such Hope is therefore by the Schools termed informis and the other Hope which follows Charity is called formata because Charity gives Live and Vigor to it for no man has a firm well grounded Hope that he shall ever inherit Bliss till he find within himself that he has an hearty unfeigned Love to God and really persues the known Means appointed by him to procure a full Fruition of him Thus is Charity the Parent of a true and lively Hope and to this intent that she may be a Stay and Comfort to her Mother for while men rationally hope to enjoy what they love they are cherished confirmed and strengthened thereby in their Love because they have confidence arising from a well-grounded Hope that their Love is not in vain Wherefore the greater our Charity is till perfect that it excludes Hope through possession of the thing hoped for the stronger will our Hope be and the stronger our Hope is the greater Encouragement will be given to Charity which perfected is Felicity Object 2. The Love of God in Heaven may be an adhering with delight to the Object of Felicity or a Complacency Joy and Satisfaction arising from the Beatific Vision or Contemplation of the Divine Excellency But the Love of God upon Earth seems rather to be a Desire only to enjoy him eternally than any the least real participation of Bliss or the Enjoyment of God. Solut. Every true hearted sincere Desire to enjoy God eternally is an Effort and vigorous striving of the Soul to be throughly satisfied with the full fruition of him for ever which since it is caused by the Delight it finds in the solid and devout Consideration and Meditation of the Divine Excellency or of Gods wonderful gracious Kindness to man apprehended by Faith or of both the greater inward Joy and Spiritual Contentment men have in thinking of Gods transcendent Excellency and of his stupendious Kindness shown to Man the stronger will their Desires grow to obtain a full Possession of him to Eternity whence it appears that the Desire to enjoy God is an effect of Charity or Delight taken in him and not Charity it self but is a very great Advancer of it in that it puts men upon the exercise of all things which are known to be available to the Fruition of God and indeed is so like to Charity that it is not without a near Inspection discernable from it yet certainly is distinct from it as may be farther gathered from the constant answer we use to give to one demanding of us why we so earnestly desire this or that thing which is because we have a great Love for it or take much delight in it but do not ever say we love a thing or are delighted with it because we desire it In fine then I take it to be cleared that Charitas viae and Charitas patriae the Love of God here and hereafter differ only as the less and more perfect whence I conceive arose that common Saying of Divines Gratia est semen Gloriae and the occasion of calling aswell Grace as Glory the Kingdom of Heaven in Scripture SECT XIV The Moral habits Prudence Justice Fortitude and Temperance are truly Virtues in that respect only as they further Charity What the Office of each of them in particular is as 't is subservient unto Charity 1. HAving shown after what manner the Theological Virtues Faith and Hope are useful and serviceable unto Charity it follows to be considered of how the moral Virtues Prudence Justice Fortitude and Temperance minister help thereunto in respect of which alone they are truly Virtues and not otherways For since Charity here and hereafter is Felicity the one begun the other perfected Sect. 13. and that Felicity is the ultimate End of Man Sect. 4. it certainly follows that not any thing at all is virtuous or good to man as man or a Rational Creature made to inherit Bliss but what is in some respect or other advantagious and beneficial to Charity so that although he be commonly esteem'd a Prudent Man who discreetly orders his actions to some honest end proposed a just man whose care it is to do uprightly in the Affairs of the World a stout man who behaves himself couragiously against his Countries Foes a temperate man who regularly moderates his Appetite about Meat and Drink yet is not any of these truly virtuous by so doing except he do it out of Love to that End whereunto all his Actions ought either mediately or immediately to tend because in the obtaining of that alone Humane Nature is perfected the Man made happy whereas other
all the Enjoyments of this Life acquires an habitual Love of him and thence desires to be fully satisfied with the knowledge of him despising all terrestrial Pleasures in comparison of the same and in virtue of his Love to God doth heartily wish to all Mankind the like Happiness he wisheth to himself as knowing that things of the same Kind tend by Nature to the same End. This I take to be pure Moral Vertue or Honesty with which if any man depart hence he will at length through Christ be eternally happy sect 12. par 3 4. But so great is the Corruption of Man's Nature through Original and Actual Sin sect 9. that such Virtue or Honesty is attainable by very few Object 3. If the moral Virtues be therefore not good in themselves by reason they have a tendency to a farther good to be obtained by them 't will follow that nothing that has a tendency to a farther good to be obtained by it is good in it self which is very unlikely to be true Solut. When we speak of moral goodness we evermore intend something by it which is perfective of man's Rational Nature so that to enquire whether the moral Virtues be good in themselves or not is the same as to ask whether they be directly and immediately perfective of man's Rational Nature yea or no or be only useful to procure something which is directly and immediately perfective of it This latter I take to be true not the former and my Reason is because the moral Virtues in that they are not any lasting permanent good of the Soul but pass away and leave it when it becomes possessed of its everlasting good Felicity Solut. of Obj. 1. are instrumentally or so far only good unto it as they are necessarily helps and means to procure that good which is the eternally-during Perfection of it whence it seems plain that the Benefit of the moral Virtues and so likewise of all Gifts Graces and Ordinances as Faith Hope Prayer the Sacraments c. which cease upon the full enjoyment of God consists in their very Tendency towards the good to be obtained by them But yet if any will be so scrupulously nice as to demand Whether that which is necessarily good and useful in its very Nature though but instrumentally to the perfecting of Man be not good in it self I shall not contend but yield it is provided it will be granted me again that it is instrumentally so and no more for then in consequence thereto it must of necessity be owned that it is not desirable for its own sake but for the sake of that which it is an instrumental Cause to procure In this sense I have proved that Faith and Hope are good in themselves as without which Charity cannot be acquired sect 11. par 2 3 4. and the moral Virtues also in this Section par 2 3 4 5. are made out to be no less and so shall Prayer likewise be manifested in the next Section to be good in it self or in its own Nature necessarily useful for acquiring Man's Chief Good in the everlasting Fruition of which his Rational Being will be perfected SECT XV. Prayer offered to God for all things absolutely necessary to Salvation whether the Theological Virtues or Moral or Remission of Sins is evermore effectual if it be made aright and it is always made aright when it is unfeigned fervent and frequently performed 1. SEeing nothing is good to man as man but what either ultimately compleats and perfects him as such or something that hath a tendency and is serviceable thereto sect 14. 't is evident that nothing ought to be desired of God which may prove any the least hindrance to man's ultimate End. 2. In regard therefore Eternal Felicity or the perfect love of God is man's ultimate End and Perfection sect 4. par 12 13. 't is apparent that nothing which will obstruct the Love of God ought to be prayed for 3. And forasmuch as neither Health nor Wealth nor temporal Honour nor even the Saving of Life but may in some Circumstances prove prejudicial to Charity none of all these are absolutely to be prayed for but conditionally only and so far forth as they may be useful in respect of Charity 4. It remains therefore that nothing besides Charity it self and what always furthers it are absolutely to be begged of God. 5. Wherefore since Virtue whether Theological or Moral is a thing which always furthers Charity sect 11 13 14. 't is clear that Virtue is always to be absolutely prayed for 6. And forasmuch as God who is Goodness it self grudges no man that which is really good for him but ever grants him his desire if he ask not amiss Jam. 4. 3. 't is plain that Prayer always obtains Virtue of God whensoever it is made aright which is then done when it is unfeigned fervent and frequent 7. For since the Almighty does not by the sole force of his omnipotent Will immediately confer his gracious Gifts on Man except on some extraordinary Occasions when ordinary Means are insufficient for the designed End otherwise he should be in a still continued course of working Miracles but conveys them to us by second Causes if it be so that unfeigned fervent and frequent Prayer be an effectual Means whereby he conveys unto us the Theological and Moral Virtues then doth unfeigned fervent and frequent Prayer always obtain them of God. 8. And that such Prayer is an effectual Means or which never fails of conveying all the Virtues to us will be made appear by shewing the efficacious power it has to procure each of them in particular 9. For first He that from an unfeigned heart pours forth fervent and frequent Prayer to God that he may live temperately cannot while he doth so live intemperately but on the contrary will endeavour by frequent Acts of Temperance after a constant temperate course of Life and by frequent Acts are Habits or a facility of acting acquired 10. And whoso beggeth of God in sincerity and fervency of Devotion the Grace to deal uprightly to all men will if he be constant likewise in his Request abhor the injuring or doing wrong to any one and by often excercising Acts of Justice he will certainly obtain the habit thereof 11. Neither will he who unfeignedly ardently and constantly prays that he may overcome all such difficulties as would hinder his arriving at Bliss for fear of Temptations and Evils to be encountred with in pursuit thereof forbear to set himself stoutly to oppose and repel Temptations and to reject the Enticements of the World which would draw him from the Love of his gracious God and supream Good to the vain and transitory Delights of it self and so by frequent doing thereof he 'l contract an easiness in overcoming what would eternally destroy his Soul if yielded to 12. And forasmuch as he that is constant in sincere and fervent Prayer for the Grace of Faith will undoubtedly give himself to
read with diligence and devotion the holy Scripture to frequent the hearing of the Word preached and to meditate often on the Contents of Sacred Writ how can it otherwise be but that he should by so doing acquire a firm and stedfast pious Belief of Divine Truths revealed by Christ and his Apostles 13. And in regard that he whose Petition to God is unfeigned and ardent and withal frequently used for obtaining of Hope and putting his Trust and Confidence in God that he will be graciously pleased to excite his Desires and prosper his Endeavours for the attainment of Bliss will doubtless be induced thereby to refrain from those things which he knows must destroy all hope of Salvation and to addict himself to a stricter Course of Life than he had formerly led and so by the daily Use and Exercise of such Ways and Means as are conducible to Felicity he 'l increase his Hope till it grow by degrees into an Habit. 14. And as for Charity whosoever heartily and with earnestness and constancy of Desire to attain to the Love of God above all things makes his humble address to the Heavenly Throne for the same it cannot otherwise fall out but that he must often be put upon the serious consideration of the unmerited great Love of God to Man in creating preserving and redeeming him of the transcendent value of the immense and endless Joys of Heaven and of the Vanity of the short and transitory Pleasures of this World which if pursued will bring him to intolerable and perpetual Misery whence he 'l learn to despise all sublunary fading Delights in comparison of the everlasting enjoyment of his most gracious Maker Sustainer and Saviour the greater and greater desire of which in his Heart cannot chuse but grow by an ardent constancy in Prayer for the same till Charity be habitually seated in the Soul. 15. Thus we see that Prayer if it be such as God commands doth certainly as a subordinate Cause under himself who is the principal Author of all good whatsoever always prove an effectual Means of instilling every Virtue both Theological and Moral into the Soul of Man so that all other Virtues not here particularly treated of as Humility Patience c. are as effectually got by fervent and frequent Prayer proceeding from a sincere affection and desire of them as those which have been handled be Yea and temporal Blessings both for our selves and others are also obtained of God by devout Prayer when the Divine Wisdom sees the bestowing of them will be a Means to improve in Godliness for the Prayers sake the Souls of those for whom the Prayer is made 16. And if Prayer rightly made be so potent and prevalent to procure the Habits of Virtue as we have seen it is how much more easily will it preserve them being once obtained since every time we seriously pray after the Soul is possessed with the habitual Love of God we are exercising and cultivating Faith Hope and Charity whilst he that loves God above all things firmly resolves that the grand and main Design of his whole Life shall be a continued Tendency through God's gracious Assistance towards the perpetual Fruition of him in Heaven so that whenever he makes his pious Addresses to God in Prayer they are always performed in Faith or a stedfast Belief of the Truth and faithful Performance of all Gospel Revelations and Promises and in an assured Hope and Confidence in the Mercy and Goodness of God towards him from the unfeigned Love he finds he has to God so that the more a pious man pray the more he exercises the Graces of Faith Hope and Charity whence their Habits must needs be confirmed and strengthened accordingly 17. The like is also true of the Moral Virtues whose Habits are corroborated and more firmly fixed by the devout Prayers of a godly person for the better one is established in Faith Hope and Charity the greater Vigilancy and Diligence will he use to subdue and keep under by Temperance his carnal appetite to do right by Justice to every one and to strive through Fortitude against all sinful Temptations and the practice of those Virtues cannot fail to invigorate and fortifie them proportionably to the measure thereof Object 1. Why may not you 'l say the meer Consideration of the necessity of Virtue for the obtaining of Blis put men upon the practice of all such things as are apt either to procure it or to keep it when it is procured And if it may what peculiar Excellency or benefit is there in devout Prayer Solut. That the sole Consideration if serious and frequent of the necessity of Virtue in order to Felicity will excite men to desire and seek after it and if already acquired to preserve it there 's no doubt to be made But nevertheless there is a Benefit peculiar to Prayer above and beyond the Utility of such Consideration For First in applying our selves to God who is our sole supream Good we fix our Thoughts more steadily on the Means available to the gaining thereof when we earnestly beg them of him to that end yea and the very Consideration of the Necessity of Virtue will it self be much improved and heightned thereby Secondly Whenever we devoutly pray we comport our selves with great reverence and Humility as before the Throne of God which rendring the Action of Prayer serious and sacred makes it to work a deeper impression of the Virtue prayed for in our Thoughts than the bare consideration of the Virtue without such Prayer would do Thirdly When with earnestness of Desire we petition our heavenly Father to grant us his merciful Assistance for the obtaining any Virtue we on our parts plainly engage our selves thereby to him to employ our own Care and Endeavours towards the acquiring thereof which must needs cause a stronger inclination in the Soul and a more sedulous diligence in our Actions to obtain the Virtue petitioned for than the sole Consideration of the Benefit thereof towards Bliss could possibly do Fourthly There is nothing more quickens the Desire and encourages the Endeavours after any thing we highly value than a well grounded Hope to obtain it by the Means used to obtain it by and we have his Promises who is no less faithful than able to perform that if we ask not amiss as we never do when we pray for Virtue with Sincerity Fervency and Constancy of Mind as is clear by what has been said in this Section we shall most certainly have our Request Object 2. If Sincerity Fervency and Frequency of Prayer be necessary for the acquiring of Virtue it is but rarely I fear attain'd unto for although many pray frequently and with a real desire of what they pray for yet are there but few that do it with much earnestness or fervency of Spirit Solut. There are several degrees of Fervency or Earnestness the lowest of all which and Sincerity of Affection always implies some degree thereof if
within us doth justifie us and deserve our Justification for that were to count our selves to be justified by some Act or Vertue within our selves The Act or Vertue here mentioned being set in opposition to the Merits of Christ which are an efficient Cause 't is in effect as if it were said The Merit of Christ only and not any Act or Virtue of our own whatsoever is the efficient Cause of our Justification But the true understanding and meaning hereof is that although we hear Gods Word and believe it and although we have Faith Hope and Charity Repentance Dread and Fear of God within and do never so many Works thereunto yet we must renounce the merit of all our said Virtues of Faith Hope and Charity and all other Vertues and good Works which we either have done shall do or can do as things that be far too weak and unsufficient and imperfect to deserve remission of our Sins and our Justification and therefore we must trust only in Gods Mercy and that Sacrifice which our High Priest and Saviour offered upon the Cross Lo here again Christs Merits and Mans are set one against the other which would be impertinent if they were not spoken of the same sort of Causes but of Causes different in kind and a meritorious Cause is an efficient Cause as was seen above The Merit of Christ then in the 11th Article of our Religion is not to be understood of the Formal Cause of Mans Justification or Righteousness but of the efficient Cause thereof in respect of which I assert it to be most truly said that We are justified by Faith only because by it alone Christs Merits are applied to us SECT XII Neither by the Light of Nature nor by the Law of Moses without Christ could ever any either Jew or Gentile be eternally saved and come to Glory but through him both of them might The Christian Religion is in many respects preferable to the Law of Nature and the Law of Moses The Injunction of the Judaical Ordinances Rites and Ceremonies had a farther Tendency then the exacting of meer Obedience 1. SInce the ultimate End of creating Man was that he might be eternally happy through the perfect Love of God for ever Sect. 4. it plainly follows that inasmuch as no man since Adams Fall can attain to the perfect Love of God but through Christ Sect. 9. and 11. There is none other Name under Heaven given among Men whereby we must be saved Acts 4. 12. 2. For though some few do by nature i. e. the Light of natural Reason the things contained in the Law viz. the Moral for the Gentiles could not by the Law of Nature observe the Ceremonial Law of the Jews Rom. 2. 14. by being brought through a serious Consideration of the glorious Structure of the World more especially of Man himself and of Gods Providence in preserving and governing all things to adore the Divine Majesty to pray to him and to praise him as the Author of all Good and thence contract an habitual Love to him above the Enjoyment of the vain Pleasures of the World. And albeit many by the Law of Moses have not only obtained the habit of Charity but have also acquired an high degree and measure thereof yet in that neither Jew nor Gentile could ever without Christ attain to the perfect Love of God Sect. 9. and 11. 't is clear that through Christ they must do it if ever they arrive at eternal Bliss 3. Which most blessed State forasmuch as God is no respecter of Persons but in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him Acts 10. 34 35. and that he who habitually loves God above all things is Righteous Sect. 11. every one who departs this Life with an habitual Love to God shall at length obtain For seeing all must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his Body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5. 10. 't is plain that every righteous man whatsoever shall receive a righteous mans Reward at the last day which Reward is everlasting Bliss 4. For since nothing is wanting to one endued with sincere Charity but something to perfect the same in him to make him for ever happy and that the glorious appearance of Christ coming to Judgment will throughly purge out of the Soul of every one habitually possessed of Charity all the Relicks of worldly Affections Sect. 11. Solut. of Object 4. and thereby entirely disposed and ultimately and immediately prepared to obtain the Beatific Vision 't is evident that the Reward which every righteous man shall have at the last day is everlasting Bliss Object 1. If every one of all Mankind from the beginning of the World to the end thereof that habitually loves God above all things and consequently his Neighbour as himself Sect. 11. Solut. of Object 2. when he leaves this World shall at length be eternally blessed through Christ what need men concern themselves so much as they do what Religion they be of Solut. It concerns every one so much as his Salvation is worth to be solicitous to be a Member of the Catholic Christian Religion not only because there 's small hopes that he who is not desirous to take the best course he can to be saved will in sincerity of heart observe the Rules of any Law whatever but also because if notwithstanding the Divine Excellency of the Precepts Motives and Discipline of the Gospel-Dispensation thousands perish within the Bosom of Christ's Visible Church through the strong Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil wherewith they are overcome the perdition of Souls will be certainly much greater and more general where those potent Adversaries of man's Bliss find small Resistance made against them Wherefore since no man ever attain'd to live a virtuous Life in order to the End for which he was created but in regard he was directed and inclined thereunto either by the Law of Nature or by some Revealed Law of which later sort there are only two the Jewish and the Christian 't is apparent that if the Christian Religion be in many respects highly preferable for the obtaining of Felicity by it to them both it alone where it can be had is to be chosen and embraced And that the Christian Religion is in many respects highly preferable to them both for that End is evident For First It doth exceedingly much more fully and clearly reveal to the World the Nature of God the Immortality of the Soul the Excellency of the Fruit of a virtuous godly Life after Death and the intolerable Torments of the Wicked in the World to come Secondly It gives far more perfect Rules and shews abundantly more efficacious Helps and Means of leading such a Life as must bring men to Felicity if ever they attain thereto Thirdly It propounds infinitely more convincing and powerful Arguments
opposition to the customs of the Nations adjoyning to the Land of Judea as we are assured from Learned men out of Maimon for I never had a sight of his Writings my self who proveth out of ancient Books that the Precepts of the Jewish Law of this kind are still with a Reflex upon the Heathen Rites and not of those only of simple Idolatry but most of all such as were complicated with magical and unreasonable Superstition and that the respect of those Laws were not so large and indistinct as to look on all the Heathens in general but in particular to the Egyptians Canaanites Chaldeans and Amorites Yea the same Author it is said hath reconciled the strangeness of the Ceremonial Precepts to any man's proportion of Reason and Belief of which I 'le produce one Instance It is forbidden that any man of Israel should eat Blood. Also it is commanded that the Blood be sprinkled on the Altar and moreover that it be covered with dust or spilt on the ground as water Some of the Zabii did use to eat the Blood some others who reckoned this to inhumanity at the killing of a Beast reserved the Blood and gathered it up into a Vessel or Trench and then sitting down in a Circle about the Blood they ate up the Flesh and satisfied themselves with an Opinion that their Daemons fed upon the Blood entertaining a strong Conceit that this manner of sitting at the same Table with their Gods would engage them to a nearer Tye of Conversation and Familiarity and promising to themselves also that the Spirits would insinuate themselves in Dreams and render them capable of Prophecy and things to come In reference to these Ways of the Amorites God expresly forbad his People to eat Blood for so some of the Zabii did and to meet with others who gathered it up into a Vessel he commanded the Blood should be spilt on the ground like Water And because they ate their Sacrifice in a Circle round about the Blood he also commanded that the Blood should be sprinkled not about but upon the Altar Mr. Gregory of Oxford in his Notes and Observations upon several Passages of Scripture Chap. 19. More Instances of the like sort may be seen in Dr. Stillingfleet's Origin Sacr. Book 2. Ch. 7. Where he writeth that the Precept against Woollen and Linnen was occasioned because the Idolatrous Priests went so cloathed That the Jews were forbidden to round the Corners of their Heads because it was the Custom of the Arabians and others of the Babylonian Priests to round them That because the Idolaters threatened all Parents that their Children would never live unless they caused them to pass through the Fire was that strict Prohibition of giving their children to Molech which was by that custom of passing through the Fire These and several other Precepts of the Law of Moses are deduced saith the Doctor by that very Learned Rabbi Maimonides from Idolatrous Customs as the Occasions of them which seems to have the more Reason says he because that God in the general forbad the Jews to walk after the Custom of the Nations about them Levit. 20. 23. Thus by what in the whole has been said of the Jewish Law it appears that it had a Tendency to the same great End which both the Law of Nature and the Christian Law look unto namely the Love of God as sole Sovereign Good of the Soul. SECT XIII Nothing is available to Felicity but as it contributes to Charity The nature of the two Theological Virtues Faith and Hope and how they become useful and beneficial to the obtaining and encreasing of Charity 1 SInce the ultimate End not only of Mans Creation Sect. 4. but of his Redemption also Sect. 9. is his own Eternal Felicity and that Felicity consists in the perfect Love of God clearly seen Sect. 4. 't is evidently consequent that neither Faith nor Hope nor the moral Virtues nor any Duty nor Ordinance nor Institution whatsoever is at all available to everlasting Bliss save only as in some kind or other they contribute to Charity either in helping to procure it to preserve it to augment it or to compleat it provided Charity begun here in this world and that which is Felicity in the next differ not in nature but only in degree 2. And that Felicity is the same Charity perfected in the other World which is begun in this is manifest both from Reason and Scripture For since the Love of God apprehended by Faith and the Love of God proceeding from Vision have both of them God as he is the sole Sovereign Good of the Soul for their only Object they are of the very same Nature each of them being a Complacency or Delight taken in God under the self same Notion to wit as he is the Supream Good of Man so that albeit the Love which proceeds from Vision by reason of the clearer knowledg it affords of God must needs be greater then the Love which comes by Faith yet their difference is not in essence but in degree only Neither doth Reason give Testimony to the Truth thereof alone but Scripture also which expresly tells us that Charity never faileth 1. Cor. 13. 8. Object 1. If the Love of God in this and in the World to come be both of them Charity how comes Charity here to be accounted a Theological Virtue together with Faith and Hope which are only Means and Furtherers of Bliss and Charity hereafter Bliss it self Solut. The reason is because Charity here doth not always proceed to and necessarily end in Charity hereafter and therefore is looked upon as an Help to Felicity rather than any degree thereof though in verity it be in all those who finally lose it not but depart hence habitually endued therewith Felicity really begun in them to be compleated and perfected in Heaven Paragr 2. 3. Faith is the first in order of the Theological Virtues because the Foundation of the Christian Religion quoad nos whilst by it we are ascertained of the whole Mystery of the Gospel of Christ For what is Faith in general but Knowledge grounded on Testimony to which an assent is given And what Christian Faith in particular but the Belief of Christ's Doctrine upon the account of his Divine Word relating or testifying the same unto us Hence it will certainly be that whosoever believes the Holy Scripture will believe the Incarnation Life Death Resurrection Ascension and coming to Judgment of our Saviour Jesus Christ and that either superficially and carelesly or cordially and concernedly if the former he does it not to that intent the Belief of them was proposed by God and so no wonder if he be not bettered by it but if the latter his Belief will be apt to work an answerable Love in him towards the Author and Offerer of such transcendent Kindness as in the Gospel is held forth and therefore the more firm and frequent acts of Faith he exercises the more
no influence at all from them but is wholly miraculous as every Effect immediately produced by God is To me it seems more rational to say that as those Children who live till they be of years capable of understanding the Reason and Use of Baptism are appointed by the Church to be informed thereof that they may make good the Engagement of their Sureties without doing of which their Baptism will not avail them to Salvation so Infant-Children upon the separation of Soul and Body are illuminated by their Angels for are they not ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be Heirs of Salvation Heb. 1. 14. And that Baptized Children are such we be taught by the Answer to the second Question in our Catechism where the Word Inheritor is rendred in the Latin Haeres and in the Greek κληÏονόμος with the Knowledg of their Baptism for then they are capable of apprehending any thing offered to the intellect it proceeding from the disposition of their Bodies and not from the nature of their Souls that they are ever uncapable of actually understanding And seeing the inclination to the Creature through Original Sin is not by far so strong as that which is contracted by frequent Acts of sinning their affections will be instantly turned to God by virtue of their Baptism signified unto them But however the Truth in this obscure Point stand this is certain that in regard Felicity consists in the Love of God sect 4. par 13. baptized Infants must some way or other obtain Charity before they arrive at Bliss or at least upon the very instant of being possessed thereof And how their Baptism should be useful to them for the obtaining of Charity except they have Knowledg of it and by whom it should be made known unto them but by their Angels unless miraculously and Miracles are not wrought where there 's no necessity of them I do not understand Yet since I know of no Divine Revelation nor of any clear demonstration after what manner their Love of God depends upon their being baptized I do not presume to affirm that my delivered Thoughts are positively true SECT XVIII In the exercise of the hearty Love of God or Charity consists the sincere observance of every Precept of the Decalogue But the absolute entire fulfilling of the Moral Law is not accomplished till Charity have attained its ultimate Perfection in Heaven 1. WHen treating of the Moral Virtues I shewed the Assistance which Prudence Temperance and Fortitude exhibit to Charity sect 14. par 2 4 5. I said I would defer my intended Discourse on Justice till I came to the Explication of the Ten Commandments whither being now come I shall endeavour to make it appear that every Precept of the Decalogue tends to the causing a firm establishment of Charity in the Soul of Man and that in the exercise thereof when it is acquired the sincere observance of the whole Law is practised albeit the absolute exact fulfilling of it be not accomplished till Charity have obtained its utmost Perfection which human Frailty will not permit the attainment of while Men carry about them a Body of Flesh 2. For since to love God with all the Heart with all the Soul with all the Mind and with all the strength Mark 12. 30. is required to the compleat exact fulfilling of the Law and that such Love would perpetually take up all the Powers of the Soul it is plain that in regard while we live in this world our Thoughts must be often employed in taking care for the necessary accommodations of Life and in using Means to further our own and others Welfare here and hereafter we cannot in this mortal state so fully fix our Affections on God as to have our Souls fully possessed of him 3. And yet forasmuch as to give God the pre-eminence in our Affections and to despise all other things in comparison of the fruition of him to eternity so as that when we are tempted to violate any of his holy Commandments the ardent desire we have for the enjoyment of him enables us to resist and overcome the Temptation forasmuch I say as thus to love God permits us not wilfully and advisedly to break any of his Precepts but engages and puts us upon the keeping them all in sincerity of Affection and unfeignedness of heart it is apparent that in the exercise of Charity is virtually contained the sincere unfeigned Observance of the whole Moral Law. 4. Which Law consists of Ten Commandments the four first whereof totally respecting Man's Behaviour towards the supream Being the only Object of these is God whom therefore they command us to look up to as he is the Author and Finisher of Eternal Salvation in which respect we are to esteem him as he truly is the prime Verity whom we are to believe the sovereign Power in whom we are to trust and the chiefest Good whom we ought to love above all things or the Object of Faith Hope and Charity 5. And seeing neither Faith nor Hope are available to Salvation save only as they contribute to Charity either in helping to produce the Habit thereof or being obtained to confirm and strengthen it sect 13. 't is clear that the Precepts of the Former Table are not observed till we love God as our Sovereign Good or be endued with Charity 6. Whosoever therefore exerciseth the Grace of Charity he is all the while employ'd in the sincere keeping of the Four first Commandments the whole design of God's forbidding us to have any other Gods besides himself to make any graven Image to fall down before it and worship it to take his holy Name in vain and to do any unnecessary worldly Business at Times appointed for Divine Offices being totally accomplished in this to cause us to fix our Souls Affections on God and to pursue with earnestness the eternal Fruition of him as our sole Sovereign Good. Object 1. If Faith and Hope be not absolutely necessary to Salvation in themselves abstracting from this that they are Ministerially beneficial to Charity then are the opposite Vices to them Infidelity and Apostacy Presumption and Despair not Sins damnable in themselves or as destructive of the contrary Virtues but only as they cannot consist together with the Grace of Charity But Infidelity and Apostasie Presumption and Despair are Sins damnable in themselves or as they are destructive of the contrary Virtues Faith and Hope abstracting from this that these are Ministerially beneficial unto Charity Ergo Solut. The Minor Proposition must be denied and justly I conceive may for although it be most certainly true that Infidelity and Apostasie Presumption and Despair debar Men of Felicity yet the Reason thereof is not because of their immediate opposition to Faith and Hope but for that they are totally inconsistent with Charity For since that no Habit is truly virtuous but in virtue of the End whereto it serves and that the End of all Virtues is Charity
sect 13 14. which perfected is Felicity it evidently follows that there is not any Vice mortally vicious or finally prejudicial to Man's Felicity save only by reason of Charity 's inconsistency with it But it is impossible that those who either through Infidelity never believe or through Apostasie fall from the belief that there is an eternal Being which ought to be belov'd above all things should place their Affections on God and equally impossible that they who either through Presumption or Despair will not make use of the necessary Means should attain to the End to be acquired by them Whence it is manifest that every one of these Vices are Mortal Sins and necessarily if not forsaken destructive of Salvation If it be replied that every Sin is a Transgression of the Law and every Transgression of the Law a Mortal Sin no less than Infidelity Apostasie Presumption and Despair and therefore destructive of Salvation as well as they I grant it to be true in every one abiding in the State of sinful Nature for since such a Man's Will is habitually vitiated with the Love of the World above the Love of God every Act proceeding from that Source or Principle will partake of its Nature and Disposition and all such Love is Mortal Sin Sect. 8. par 5. But to him that is in the State of Grace or endued with the Habit of Charity which is Formal Righteousness sect 11. pa. 6 7 8. I deny that any single sinful Act or Transgression of the Law is Mortal unless it be such as either by the grossness of it or else by the perverse wilfulness of committing it destroys the Habit of Charity in the Soul for it is impossible that that Man should suffer the Pains of Hell who habitually loves God above the World and prefers the enjoyment of him before all Terrestrial Pleasures sect 11. pa. 6 7. albeit thro' infirmity and the frailty of human Nature he sometimes transgress in smaller Matters some part of the Law of God. Object 2. Faith and Hope seem very excellent Virtues in themselves Faith in that it owns the Truth of God in readily assenting and firmly adhering to those mysterious Truths revealed in the Scripture which wholly transcend all our Reason and Apprehension And Hope in that it owns the infinite Power and Goodness of God such Faith and Hope being required as Conditions of our Salvation and that God may be righteous in absolving and saving Sinners Rom. 3. v. 24 25 26 27. Whence it appears that they are on these accounts abstracting from this that they are Ministerial to Charity necessary to Salvation Solut. That the owning the Truth of God by readily assenting and firmly adhering to the Mysterious Truths revealed in the Scripture and the owning the infinite Power and Goodness of God are any Virtues when they are not accompanied with Charity besides for the reason shewn sect 13. par 1. therefore deny because the Devil not only gives a most firm assent to every Divine Truth revealed in the Scripture as knowing it to be the Word of God and therefore infallibly true but also owns upon the same account the infinite Power and Goodness of God as they are there in every respect declared and set forth and yet he is not at all virtuous in doing of either yea the stronger his Assent is to their Truth the more wicked he is because he has not Charity answerable to his Knowledg in that he loves not God as the only Sovereign Good of all rational and intelligent Creatures when he most certainly knows that he ought to be so beloved by them If it be alledged that Faith in the Objection is to be understood of a Divine Faith I return that if an Assent given to a Divine Truth upon the Credit of a Divine Testimony be Divine Faith the Devil's Belief of the Truths revealed in the Scripture is a Divine Faith But if by Faith be meant a Saving Faith then I grant the Devil is void thereof because his Faith is not accompanied with Charity for all Faith without Charity is nothing worth in reference to Salvation 1 Cor. 13. 2. 7. As the principal Aim and Drift of the Precepts of the former Table of the Decalogue is the Love of God as Mans chiefest Good Par. 6. so hath the Loving of our Neighbour likewise its Consummation therein For since Rational Nature is the same in all men and consequently the same End appointed for all Mankind 't is clear that every Man in that he is a Man is obliged to wish and further the same final Good and the Necessary Means conducible to it to every one and this is that which is truly loving a Mans Neighbour as himself whilst every other good one man ought to do to another is a thing extrinsecal to man as man and depends as to the Obligation thereto on prudential Motives or mutual Consent explicit or implicit or formal Contracts for the Preservation or Comfort of the animal Life and is not so much as to be absolutely prayed for even for our selves Sect. 15. Par. 3. and then certainly not of necessity to be absolutely wished or done to others as their final good Estate and what necessarily conduceth to the obtaining of it evermore are 8. Seeing then to love a mans Neighbour as himself is heartily to wish and desire that he may enjoy the same necessary good with himself and to contribute his Assistance when occasion requires to the furthering thereof and that eternal Felicity is that necessary good consisting in the perfect Love of God Sect. 4. Par. 13. it is plain that in heartily wishing and endeavouring also when occasion serves that our Neighbour may attain to the sincere Love of God here and the perfect Love of God hereafter We love our Neighbour as our selves and thereby keep all the six last Commandments 9. And forasmuch as no man can possibly heartily wish to another either Grace or Glory but because of his own real desire thereto for himself first had it is manifest that he who loves his Neighbour as himself doth evermore first at least in order of nature love God as his chiefest Good. 10. And because the sincere Love of God or Charity is formal Righteousness and that formal Righteousness doth formally justifie Sect. 11. Par. 8. it directly follows that a man is formally Righteous or justified before in order of Nature at least he love his Neighbour as himself and consequently that the Love of our Neighbour is not any part of formal Righteousness but a necessary Effect and Consequent thereof which will farther appear to be a Truth from hence that as on the one side he who desires and endeavours by his Council and Prayers his Neighbours Felicity though he never attain thereto performs his Duty to him and thereby fulfils the Precepts of the latter Table if so be he did them for the Love he bears to God because such Love doth justifie so on the other side
the former for that he was void of Charity the latter because he wanted what was necessary for conservation of that I mean Life which according to Natures Prescript is chiefly to be employed for the procurement of Felicity The Ninth Commandment which is Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour is expressed in such Words that the transgressing it in any respect is sinful But it makes nothing against my Assertion which is that the Commandments of neither Table are truly kept but by reason of Charity as it is taken for the sincere love of God nor ever really broken except for want thereof that it is so but for it because these words False Witness and against thy Neighbour imply a defect of a right Disposition in the Will towards God seeing that man's Mind whose sincere Affections are placed on God will be far from acting against his own knowledg to his Neighbour's harm By the Tenth Commandment Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's House c. is forbidden to entertain or harbour desires tending to a man 's own advantage by another's harm or loss which whoso doth hath not certainly the love of God dwelling in his Heart and therefore formally breaks the Precept Object Religion and Reason do not here seem to accord for what Rational Account can be given why a very indigent man though not reduced to the ut most extremity might not silch from his rich hard-hearted Neighbour something which he could well spare save only because it is forbidden that we should not so much as covet that which is another man's Solut. Nature is content with a few things and requires not Superfluities and therefore Necessaries being had no man doth really benefit himself in taking any thing from his Neighbour so that albeit men were not bound by any other Law than of natural and inbred Reason only yet could no convincing Argument be brought to prove it reasonable to dispossess another of that whereof the Spoiler has no absolute need much less where there is a Society of men governed by certain Laws prohibiting all manner of Rapine would it be justifiable to do it For whatever thing any man requires a Property in by virtue of such Laws all the rest of the Community ought of right to permit him quickly to possess the same Wherefore if a poor man rob his rich Neighbour when the necessity is not so urgent as to restore him to the pure state of Nature he acts against his own either explicit or implicit Agreement and disturbs the Tranquility sought after by himself as well as by others in joyning in society together the Benefit whereof is intended by God who is the prime Author of Government for a farther End than any temporal and transitory Commodity to wit the Eternal Welfare of Mens Souls as is plain from the Words of the Apostle exhorting that Supplications Prayers Intercessions and giving of Thanks be made for Kings and for all that are in Authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and Honesty for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour 1 Tim. 2. v. 1 2 3. He therefore who through a perverse Mind violates the Laws of Justice whether instituted by God or Man despises the Means which the Almighty and Omniscient hath ordered to conduce in some respect or other to his Everlasting Good which he would not do but for want of sincere and hearty Affection to God which is the Formal Reason of the Breach of every Precept of the Decalogue and of all other just Commands whatsoever in that respect as the violation of them is prejudicial to the obtaining of Felicity SECT XX. Charity or the unfeigned fervent Love of God above all things proved by Scripture to be Righteousness or the sincere keeping of the whole Law of God. TO the Reasons formerly given Sect. 11. why Charity is Righteousness or the sincere keeping and fulfilling of the Law of God I shall add the Testimony of Scripture for a full Confirmation of the Truth thereof When a certain Lawyer asked Christ saying Master What shall I do to inherit eternal life He said unto him What is written in the Law how readest thou And he answering said Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind and thy Neighbour as thy self And he said unto him thou hast answered right this do and thou shalt live Luke 10. 25 26 27 28. If any man love me he will keep my words and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him John 14. 23. Love is the fulfilling of the Law Rom. 13. 10. All things work together for good to them that love God Rom. 8. 28. All Gifts how excellent soever the best of Doings and the worst of Sufferings are nothing worth without Charity 1 Cor. 13. 1 2 3. Charity rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the truth beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things 1 Cor. 13. 6 7. Charity is the Bond of perfectness Col. 3. 14. It is evident saith Dr. Hammond in his Paraphrase on 1 Cor. 13. 13. that as Faith Hope and Charity are far to be preferred before all other Gifts of the Spirit which are given men for the benefit of others vers 2. so of those three Graces or Divine Virtues Charity is the most excellent whether considered in it self or in the duration of it In it self it is the most necessary Grace here v. 1 c. and all the other whether Graces or Virtues are but Means for the working of this our Faith teacheth it and our Hope excites it and Charity is the End of the Commandment and Faith must be perfected by it and without it all the Gifts mentioned v. 1 2. are nothing worth and are given men for the working of that in others and so likewise in respect of duration the Gifts were soon to vanish and are now vanished long since the Gift of Miracles of Languages c. and Faith and Hope will vanish with this Life for Faith is of things not seen and therefore ceaseth when Vision cometh and so Hope if it be seen is not Hope but Charity shall never be out-dated but last and flourish when we come to Heaven and be then a special Ingredient in our Happiness which indeed consists in loving God and having common Desires with him and loving all whom he loves not the Damned who are Vessels of Wrath and that eternally If what this excellent Person here saith be a true Comment on the Text my Discourse on Charity is sufficiently avouched by it as being but as it were an enlargement of his Paraphrase on the Place Object 1. The mentioned Quotations from Scripture comprehend Man's Love both to God and his Neighbour at least some of them yea there is an express Text that he that loveth another á½
had never been recovered from his lost Condition to have attained the end of his Creation if God himself had not undertaken the great and otherwise insuperable Work of his Recovery by being made Man and in doing and suffering what he did to regain his Love. And therefore lastly whereas Christs bloody Death and Passion was the strongest and most endearing Argument and Motive of all other Testimonies of his stupendious Love to man for drawing his Affections off from the Love of the World to the Love of God which is the purging away of Sin the shedding of Christs pretious Blood on the Cross is said to be a Sacrifice for Sin that is for the putting or taking away of Sin even as the sacred Text it self directly asserteth He appeared to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself Hebr. 9. 26. Hence it is that mans Redemption and Salvation are so frequently attributed to Christs Death on the Cross it being the most remarkable Instance of his Love and thereupon the potentest Motive of all others to win mans firm Affection to himself For that our Blessed Saviours Incarnation and whatsoever he either did or suffered in his Manhood are likewise real Causes of mans Redemption and Salvation the Churches Litany assures us in which we pray to be delivered from all Sin and Mischief from the Crafts and Assaults of the Devil from the Wrath of God and from everlasting Damnation by the Mystery of Christs holy Incarnation by his holy Nativity and Circumcision by his Baptism Fasting and Temptation by his Agony and Bloody Sweat by his glorious Resurrection and Ascension and by his sending of the Holy Ghost aswell as by his Cross and Passion Object 6. If after all the Endeavour that hath been used to frame Arguments to solve Objections and to explicate how mans Redemption Reconciliation and Salvation are in a true scriptural Sense wrought by Christ for clearing the Assertion that the sincere habitual Love of God or Charity is the Formal Cause of Justification it be found that the Assertion it self is repugnant to the 11th Article of our Religion wherein it is said that we are justified by Faith only for the Merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ all that has been done is nothing better not to say worse then labour in vain Solut. That Christ's Doings and Sufferings which constitute his Merit are a real Cause of mans Justification has been both asserted and proved in this Section so that if any difference be between what the 11th Article teaches and what is averred by me concerning Justification 't is only after what manner the Merit of Christ justifies a Sinner namely whether as an Efficient or a Formal Cause And yet even as to this also there will be found no difference when the matter is well discussed For I stedfastly hold and maintain together with the Article that Christ's Merit is apprehended and applied to a Sinner for his Justification by Faith only whilst he firmly believes that God through them will according to his free Promise in the Gospel deliver him from the Slavery of Sin and the Consequent of it everlasting Misery so that in regard it is the Grace of Faith alone which draws the Merit of Christ home to a Christians Soul whence it becomes an effectual Motive to gain his Affections in turning them from the false Pleasures of the World unto God the sole true Delight of the Soul which is to be an efficient Cause of cleansing the Heart from Sin through Charity it must needs be that in this sense we are justified for the Merit of Christ by Faith only And that the 11th Article of Religion is to be understood in this sense seems clear both from the words wherein it is expressed and from the Churches Homily referred to for a fuller explication of what they intend The words of the Article are these We are accounted righteous before God only for the Merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith and not for our own Works or Deservings Wherefore that we are justified by Faith alone is a most wholsome Doctrine and very full of Comfort as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification Here 't is plain that our Blessed Saviour is affirmed to be the meritorious Cause of Justification and it is undeniably true that aswell Divines as Philosophers place a Meritorious Cause among the efficient Causes whence the learned Prelate Forbesius writeth thus Justitia Christi nos justificari ut Causa formali atque etiam meritoria ut asserunt qui priorem tuentur sententiam nempe Christi Justitiam esse Causam formalem Justificationis dici non potest nequit enim fieri ut eadem res sit simul Causa efficiens ad quam Meritum reducitur Formalis ejusdem effecti quia sic simul de essentia effecti foret non foret cum Causa formulis sit interna 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 efficiens autem externa uti constat Considerationes modestae pacificae Lib 2. Cap. 3. Paragr 5. Seeing then it is impossible that a Meritorious Cause should be a Formal Cause and that in the 11th Article no mention is made of a Formal Cause it remains that the Merit of Christ spoken of in the Article is either an efficient Cause of Mans Justification or else none at all And the same is likewise manifest from the Churches Homily referred to in the Article in which we read Part 2. Par. 4. as follows You shall understand that in our Justification by Christ it is not all one thing the Office of God unto Man and the Office of Man unto God. Justification is not the Office of Man but of God or Man cannot make himself righteous by his own Works neither in part nor in the whole for that were the greatest Arrogancy and Presumption of Man that Antichrist could set up against God to affirm that Man might by his own Works take away and purge his own Sins and so justifie himself What can well be more plain unless it were expressed in the very Language of the Schools then that God is here affirmed and Man denied to be the efficient Cause of his Justification But Justification is the Office of God only and is not a thing which we render to him but which we receive of him not which we give to him but which we take of him by his free mercy and by the only merits of his most dearly beloved Son our only Redeemer Saviour and Justifier Jesus Christ Here the free Mercy of God and the Merits of Christ are put together as Causes of the same kind and who is ignorant that the free Mercy of God is an efficient Cause only of Justification so that the true understanding of this Doctrine We be freely justified by Faith without Works or that we be justified by Faith in Christ only is not that this our own Act to believe in Christ or this our Faith in Christ which is