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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20736	Lectures on the XV. Psalme read in the cathedrall church of S. Paule, in London. Wherein besides many other very profitable and necessarie matters, the question of vsurie is plainely and fully decided. By George Dovvname, Doctor of Diuinitie. Whereunto are annexed two other treatises of the same authour, the one of fasting, the other of prayer.	Downame, George, d. 1634.	1604 (1604)	STC 7118; ESTC S110203	278,690	369

The righteous shall neuer be remoued And so certaine is the saluation of the righteous that the booke of the liuing is the booke of the just eternall glorie is the crowne of righteousnesse the rising againe vnto glory is the resurrection of the just And as justice containeth all those vertues which haue reference to our neighbour so the reward of it is the heape of all rewards namely blessednesse For as the Scriptures testifie blessed are those that worke righteousnesse and not onely they but those also which hunger and thirst after righteousnesse are blessed Wherefore seeing not onely in this place but elsewhere also in the Scriptures eternall life is promised to those that worke righteousnesse the consideration of this reward ought to be a motiue to prouoke and stirre vs vp to the exercise of justice Which I do not speake to this end as though the workes of justice were to be performed with that mind as that we should hope thereby to be justi●ied before God or by them to merit eternall life for that is an opinion sacrilegious and blasphemous against Christ whose justice alone apprehended by faith justifieth vs before God and maketh vs accepted vnto eternall life In respect of which justice we are to esteeme all our owne merits if we had any as dung that we may gaine Christ and may be found in him not hauing our owne righteousnesse which is of the Law but that which is by the Faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God through faith And therefore if we desire that the workes of righteousnesse which we do performe should be acceptable vnto God they are not to be performed to that end that we might by them attaine to justification or saluation for good works performed to that end are glorious sins but in doing the workes of righteousnes these ends are to be propounded First in respect of God that we may glorifie him for which end we were elected created redeemed regenerated For by the workes of righteousnesse God is glorified Her●in saith our Sauiour Christ is my father glorified that ye beare much fruit For which cause Paul prayeth for the Philippians that they might be filled with the fruit of righteousnesse which are by Iesus Christ vnto the glorie and praise of God Neither is God glorified in vs alone but in others also which are the wit●esses of our good deeds Therefore Christ exhorteth vs so to let our light shine before men that they seeing our good workes may glorifie our father which is in heauen And Peter likewise counselleth vs so to haue our conuersation honest among the Gentiles that by our good workes which they shall see they may glorifie God in the day of the visitation Secondly that we may testifie our thankfulnesse vnto God for all his benefits bestowed vpon vs and may auoid the punishment which is due to vnthankfulnes For whereas the Lord in lieu of all his benefits both temporal and spirituall as election vocation redemption regeneration expecteth at our hands these fruits alone of holines and righteousnes assuredly it were vnthankfulnes vntollerable if either we should be barren of good fruits or bring forth euill fruit For wherefore hath the Lord elected vs that we might be saued howsoeuer we should liue No but he hath elected vs that we should be holy and without blame before him in loue Why hath Christ redeemed vs from the hand of our spirituall enemies that being freed from them we might sinne the more freely No but that being deliuered from the hand of our spirituall enemies we might worship him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the dayes of our life Wherefore hath he freed vs from the seruitude of sinne that we might haue freedome to sin No he hath freed vs from sinne that we might be the seruants of righteousnesse and being now freed from sinne and made seruants vnto God we haue our fruit in holinesse and the end euerlasting life Why did he beare our sinnes in his body vpon the crosse that we liuing in sin should not die for them No he bare our sinnes in his body on the tree that we being deliuered from sinne might liue in righteousnesse Wherefore doth he regenerate vs by his spirit and as it were create vs anew that we should doe nothing our selues NO Wee are the workmanship of God created in Christ Ksus to good workes which God hath prepared that we should walke in them Why doth hee bestow his temporall benefits vpon vs that like well pampered horses we should kicke against our Lord and Maister No he crowneth vs with his manifold blessing to this end that we might keepe his statutes and obserue his lawes For what else doth the Lord require of thee which art the people of God in lieu of all his mercies but to feare the Lord thy God to walke in all his wayes and to loue him and to serue the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soule that thoukeepe the Commandements of the Lord and his ordinances which he commaundeth thee for thy wealth Let vs remember that we are trees of righteousnesse which the Lord hath planted in his garden that is his Church that we may bring forth the fruit of righteousnesse But if he shall come to seeke fruit as euery yeare he commeth and shall find none howsoeuer he may forbeare for a time yet at the length he shall cut downe the vnfruitfull trees for he cannot abide that they should cumber the ground and make it also barren Let vs remember that we are the branches of the vine which if we be vnfruitfull the Lord wil cut off Let vs consider that the axe is layd to the root of euery tree that euery one which bringeth not forth fruit may be cut off and cast into the fire Againe in respect of our neighbour we are to worke righteousnesse that we may helpe him either with the benefit or the example of our good worke For the benefit of justice belongeth to others For whereas other vertues are referred to the good of him that hath them justice onely seemeth to be the good of another man for justice attendeth the duty of one man to another but in other vertues is attended the duty of the inferiour faculties vnto reason as one saith But thou mayst helpe thy neighbour also by the example of thy good worke For when thou goest before thy brother with the light of thy good example thou shalt gaine him vnto Christ if he be not already wonne vnto him that he also may glorifie God in the day of the visitation Or if he be already ingrafted into Christ by thy good example thou shalt edifie him and as the Apostle testifieth of the Corinthians thou shalt prouoke him to good workes Lastly we are to performe the workes of righteousnesse in respect of our selues

person or by a more ciuill honest man who is void of faith of religion of the loue and feare of God although materially they be good yet are they euill as they proceed from him For whiles the tree is euill the fruit cannot be good whiles the person is not accepted as just in Christ as none but the faithfull are his actions cannot be acceptable for without faith it is impossible to please God And this is that which the Apostle saith that the end and consummation of the commandement is loue out of a pure heart a good conscience and faith vnsained In respect of the manner our good workes must be performed vprightly not in hypocrisie and dissimulation otherwise it is vnfained and counterfeit For though we doe that which is right yet if we doe it not with an vpright heart we doe it not rightly neither can we be sayd to worke righteousnesse In respect of the end we are to perfome good workes that by the discharge of our duty God may be glorified But if our end be to be seene of men if to win praise and glorie to our selues if to merit of God and as it were to bridle him by our good deed all our workes though neuer so glorious in the eyes of the world yet are they splendida peccata that is to say glorious sinnes To this purpose we are to remember that we are to worship God not onely in holinesse but in righteousnesse also and we worship him in righteousnesse when as in a sincere obedience to God we seeke by performing the duties of righteousnesse to our brother to glorifie God From this note therefore of Gods children we distinguish the seeming good workes first of infidels without the Church or of more naturall men within because there can be no true righteousnesse or loue of men without faith pietie and loue of God Secondly of hypocr●tes and dissemblers who do no good but for sinister and by-respects and therefore their righteousnesse being hypocrisie is double injustice Lastly of all Pharisaicall and Popish justiciaries who by their good workes thinke such is their Satanicall pride to make God beholding vnto them and to merit heauen to themselues most sacrilegiously injuriously vnto Christ our Sauiour placing the matter of their justification and the merit of their saluation in themselues In a word that is no true righteousnesse which is seuered from holinesse neither is that a worke of righteousnesse which is not a righteous worke rightly done as that is not which is done in hypocrisie or to an ill end He therefore vndoubtedly is the sonne and heire of God who professing the true faith laboureth to demonstrat his faith by good works his faith working by loue and his loue proceeding from faith vnfained who in vpright obedience towards God seeketh by the exercise of righteousnesse and discharge of his dutie towards his neighbour to glorifie God The third note of the child God is Truth which the holy ghost expresseth in these words and speaketh the truth in his heart Which words sayth Augustine are not thus to be vnderstood as though keeping the truth in the heart we should vtter vntruth with our mouth But the holy ghost vseth this phrase of speech because a man may with his mouth vtter the truth which will nothing auaile him if he hold not the same in his heart Wherefore although this phrase of speaking the truth in his heart seeme somewhat harsh notwithstanding if it be rightly vnderstood it doth more fully expresse the disposition of a man which is addicted to the truth than if it had been said from the heart Thus therefore I read who speaketh the truth which is in his h●rt that is who vttereth with his tongue the truth which he hath conceiued in his mind For that we may be vcraces that is speakers of the truth there is a double conformitie or agreement required which is here expressed the one of the speech with the mind namely that we should speak as we thinke the other of the mind with the thing it selfe namely that wee should conceiue in our mind according to the truth of the matter For as the rule and measure of truth in words is the agreement of them with our thoughts so the rule and measure of truth in our thoughts is the agreement thereof with the things themselues It is true indeed that in some sciences either agreement alone sufficeth vnto the truth as in morall philosophy he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a speaker of the truth who speaketh as he thinketh although perhaps he thinketh otherwise than the thing it selfe is And in Logicke he is said to speake the truth who speaketh as the thing is although perhaps he thinketh otherwise But in diuinitie both as I said is required Neither can we be said if either be wanting to be veraces that is such as speake the truth which is in our heart for he which deliuereth an vntruth supposing it to bee true howsoeuer hee bee free from the vanitie of lying yet he cannot be said to bee a speaker of the truth for in his mouth he vttereth an vntruth though in his heart he be well affected to the truth Contrariwise he that speaketh the truth which he thinketh to be false he is a lyar though he speake the truth because he hath truth in his mouth but not in his heart Such a one therefore because hee speaketh with an heart and an heart may not vnworthily be said to lie For ment●ri est contra mentemire to lie is to speake otherwise than a man thinketh Wherefore that a man may bee said to speake the truth which is in heart there is a double agreement required the one of the tongue with the mind the other of the mind with the things themselues And to this double conformitie in speaking the truth there is opposed a double falshood namely when a man speaketh either that which is false or falsely He speaketh that which is false who speaketh otherwise than the thing is whether he thinkes it to be so or otherwise He speaketh falsely who speaketh otherwise than hee thinketh He which speaketh a falshood supposing it to be true is not so much to be blamed for lying as for vnaduifednesse and rashnesse For we ought to be sure of those things which we affirme But he which either speaketh that which hee knoweth to bee false or speaketh that which is true falsely that is animo fallendi with a purpose to deceiue as the diuell sometimes doth he is a lyar neither can you easily determine whether is in the greater fault for as the one hath lesse truth in his mouth so the other hath more deceit in his heart Now that the loue of the truth and likewise the detestation of falshood is to be reckoned among the notes of Gods children it is testified not onely in this place but also elsewhere in the Scriptures Zeph. 3. The remnant of Israell that is

as being both profitable and necessary forts profitable First because by them we may make sure our calling and our election as Peter teacheth they being so many testimonies vnto vs thereof True indeed it is that we were elected without respect of workes and we are called by grace not according to workes we are justified by faith without workes and by grace we are saued through faith and not by workes But if a man would know whether he be elected called justified and shall be saued as we are bound to giue diligence that we may haue a firme knowledge of these things we are not to pry into the secret counsell of God but we are to examine our selues by our fruits for both we and others are to be discerned by our fruits As our Sauiour saith by their fruits you shall know them do men gather grapes of thornes or ●igges of thistels a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit By the fruits therefore of righteousnes we may euidently discerne our selues to be sanctified And none are sanctified but such as first are justified and whosoeuer are justified are effectually called and none are effectually called but such as are elected and none are elected but such as shall be saued To this purpose Iames sheweth that the faith whereby we are justified must be demonstrated by good workes And Iohn affirmeth that by the the loue of our brethren which is all one in effect with righteousnesse we know that we are translated from death vnto life Againe good workes are profitable because they haue the promises both of this life and of that which is to come They are also necessary not as the causes of our justification and saluation as though we were either justified by them or saued for them but as necessary fruits of faith and testimonies of our justification according whereunto the sentence of saluation shall be pronounced for although vnto the act of justification good workes do not concurre as any causes thereof yet in the subject that is the partie justified they concurre as fruits of our faith and consequents of our justification For as breathing is such a fruit or consequent of life as where that is we judge the body to liue where that is not we judge it to be dead so is the exercise of righteousnesse and performance of good workes such a consequent of faith as that where good workes are the faith is liuely where they are not at all the faith is dead They are necessary also in respect of saluation not as the causes thereof but partly as the way for we are his vvorkmanship created vnto good workes which he hath prepared for vs to walke in them and therefore they are fitly sayd to be Vni regum non causa regnandi The way to the kingdome not the cause of reigning and partly as the euidence according vnto which the Lord proceedeth in judgement to the sentence of saluation Come you blessed of my father sayth Christ the judge inherit you the kingdome prepared for you from the foundations of the world For I was an hungrie and you gaue me meat I thirsted and you gaue me drinke c. It is most certaine that Christ our Sauiour by his obedience hath merited and purchased eternall life for all those that beleeue in him according to the maine promise of the Gospell that whosoeuer beleeueth in him shall be saued By that righteousnes and obedience of Christ apprehended by faith not by or for any righteousnes inherent in vs or obedience performed by vs are we made sonnes heires of God entituled vnto the kingdome of heauen acquitted from our sinnes and accepted vnto eternall life Notwithstanding seeing all that be in the Church professe themselues to beleeue whereof many deceiue either themselues with an opinion or others with a profession of faith therefore the Lord proceedeth vnto judgement according to the fruits either of faith or infidelity taking for granted that in those who are members of the true visible Church where good workes are there is faith and where are no good workes there is no faith And therefore it behoueth vs as we desire either to haue assurance of our saluation whiles we liue here or to heare the comfortable sentence of saluation pronounced to vs in the day of judgement so to be carefull to demonstrat our faith by good workes And hereby it appeareth against the malicious slaunder of the Papists that although we deny good workes to be meritorious of euerlasting life yet we do not teach men to cast off all care and well doing Now for the auoiding of errour Whereas the workes of righteousnesse are made a proper note of the sons and heires of God we are first to restraine this part of the Lords answer to that subject whereof Dauids question is propounded namely to those who liue in the true visible Church and professe the name and religion of God Of these because there be many hypocrites and vnsound professors among them Dauid desireth to be informed who are the true professors The Lord answereth He that worketh righteousnesse and so by his good workes doth demonstrat his faith There are many workes materially good to be found not onely among heretickes and idolatours as the Papists but also among Turkes and Pagans But we speake not of those that are without for they are not within the compasse either of Dauids question or Gods answer And secondly we are to know that all works in respect of the matter or the thing done seeme to be good workes are not straightwayes the workes of righteousnesse neither doth he which performeth them alwayes worke righteousnesse For it is not a good and a true worke of righteousnesse indeed vnlesse it proceed from the right fountaine vnlesse it be done in a right maner and to a right end As touching the fountaine it is a good rule of Gregory That the streames of righteousnes towards our brother must be deriued from the fountaine of pietie towards God For we loue not our brother aright vnlesse we loue him in and for the Lord and we cannot loue him in and for the Lord vnlesse we loue the Lord much more and we loue the Lord because we are by faith persuaded that he loueth vs first his loue being shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost and we cannot beleeue in God and Christ our Sauiour vnlesse we know God aright and vnderstand the mysterie of our saluation by Christ. If therefore we be ignorant persons we haue no faith if we be vnfaithfull persons we haue no true loue or feare of God nor any other sanctifying grace If we haue no true loue of God we haue no true loue of our brother For euen as the loue of God seuered from the loue of our neighbour is hypocrisie so is the loue of our neighbor seuered from the loue of God counterfeit The good workes therefore that are done either by an ignorant