unto Christ is I will farther make plain thus He that believeth that Christ is an atonement to God for the sins of all repentant sinners and surely he is an atonement for none else must repent and turn from all his sins that so Christ may be an atonement for him else he embraceth not what he believeth He that believes that God in Christ will accept and reward our obedience and works of Piety though short of perfection and of no worth in themselves must apply himself accordingly to do works of Religion and Charity that God in Christ may accept and reward them For our Belief is not that saving Belief until we apply our selves to what we believe To believe to attain Salvation through Christ without works of obedience to be accepted in him is as I have already said a false Faith whereof there is no Gospel no Promise To believe the contrary That Christ is given of God to such only as shall receive him to perform acceptable obedience to God through him and yet not to apply and buckle our selves thereto were indeed to believe what is true but yet no saving Faith because we embraced not the thing we believed as we believed it Thou sayest then thou hast Faith and believest that Christ is the atonement to God for the sins of all such as leave and forsake their sins by Repentance why then repent thee of thy sins that Christ may be an atonement for thee Thou sayest thou hast this Faith That God in Iesus Christ will accept thy undeserving works and services unto eternal life why then embrace thou Christ and rely upon him for this end that thou mayest do works of Piety towards God and Charity towards men that so God in Christ may accept thee and them unto eternal life Now if this be the Faith which is Saving and unites us unto Christ and no other then it is plain That a saving Faith cannot be severed from good works because no man can embrace Christ as he is promised but he must apply himself to do them For out of that which hath been spoken three Reasons may be gathered for the necessity of them First It is the end of our Faith and Iustification by Christ yea the end why he shed his bloud for us that we being reconciled to God in him might bring forth fruits of righteousness which else we could never have done This is no Speculation but plain Scripture S. Peter 1 Ep. 2. 24. telleth us that Christ his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness S. Paul Tit. 2. 11 12 13 14. The grace of God saith he that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men wherefore Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Iesus Christ Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works These words contain the Summe of all I have hitherto told you That Christ is therefore given us to be a Propitiation for our sins and to justifie us that in him we might walk before God in newness of life so to obtain a Crown of righteousness in the world to come Answerable is that place Ephes. 2. 10. where the Apostle having told us v. 8 9. we are saved by grace through saith and not of works lest any man should boast he adds presently lest his meaning might be mistaken as it is of too many That we are God's workmanship created in Christ Iesus unto good works which God hath before ordained 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that we should walk in them as if he should say Those works of obedience ordained by God aforetime in his Law for us to walk in which we could not perform of our selves now God hath as it were new moulded us in Iesus Christ that we might perform them in him namely by way of acceptation though they come short of that exactness the Law requireth And thus to be saved is to be saved by Grace and Favour and not by the Merit of works because the Foundation whereby our selves and our services are approved in the eyes of God and acquitted of guilt which the Scripture calleth to be justified is the mere Favour of God in Iesus Christ and not any thing in us And this way of Salvation excludes all boasting for what have we to boast of when all the righteousness of our works is none of ours but Christ's imputed to us whereby only and not for any merit in themselves they become acceptable and have promise of Reward But that men should be saved by Christ though they be idle and do nothing I know no such Grace of God revealed in Scripture Now that in Christ we may perform works of righteousness which God will accept and crown is plain by the tenour of Scripture S. Paul Phil. 1. 11. desires that the Philippians might be filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Iesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God And the same Apostle tells the Romans Rom. 6. 22. That being made free from sin and become servants to God they have their fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life that is as the Syriack turns it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they have holy fruits whose end is life eternal And if we would seriously consider it we should find That the more we believe this righteousness of Faith in Christ the more reason we have to perform works of service and obedience unto God than if we believed it not For if our works would not be acceptable with God unless they were compleat in every point as the Law required if there were no reward to be looked for at the hands of God unless we could merit it by the worthiness of our deeds who that considers his own weakness and insufficiency would not sooner despair than go about to please God by works He would think it better to do nothing at all than to endeavour what he could never hope to attain and so lose his labour But we who believe that those who serve God in Christ have their failings and wants covered with his righteousness and so their works accepted as if they were in every point as they should be why should not we of all men fall to work being sure by Christ's means and merit we shall not lose our labour A second Motive why we should do good works is Because they are the Way and Means ordained by God to obtain the Reward of eternal life without which we shall never attain it Without holiness no man shall see God Heb. 12. 14. Look to your selves saith S. Iohn Ep. 2. ver 8. that ye lose not those things ye have wrought but that ye may receive a full reward The
thy self to Christ become a disciple and a member of his Kingdom S. Paul likewise taught the Gospel in like manner for himself tells us so Acts 20. 21. that he testified both to Iews and Gentiles Repentance toward God and Faith toward our Lord Iesus Christ. Repentance therefore and the Gospel cannot be separated If Repentance includes newness of life and good works the Gospel doth so For Christ is the way of Repentance without Repentance there is no use of Christ and without Christ Repentance is unavailable and nothing worth for without him we can neither be quit of the sins we forsake nor turn by a new life unto God with hope of being received He is the blessed Ferry-man and his Gospel is the Boat provided by the unspeakable mercy of God for the passage of this Sea As therefore in Repentance we forsake sin to serve God in newness of life so in the tenour of the Gospel Christ delivers us from sin that we might through Faith in him bring forth the fruits and works of a new life acceptable to our heavenly Father Hence it is that we shall be judged and receive our sentence at the last day according to our works Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world For I was hungry and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye clothed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me Forasmuch as ye have done these things unto the least of my brethren ye have done them unto me Lord how do those look to be saved at that day who think good works not required to Salvation and accordingly do them not Can our Saviour pass this blessed sentence upon them No assuredly he will not But if the case be thus in the Gospel What is the reason will some men say that the Apostle tells us that we Christians are no longer under the Law nor justified by the works of the Law but under Grace and justified by Faith only I answer It is true that we are justified that is freed and acquitted from sin by Faith only But besides Iustification there is a Sanctification with the works of piety towards God and righteousness towards men as the Fruits yea as the End of our Iustification required to eternal life For therefore we are justified that we might do works acceptable to our heavenly Father through the imputation of the Righteousness of Christ which of our selves we could not and so obtain the reward he hath promised the doers of them As for the Law it is to be considered either as a Rule and so we are bound to conform and frame our actions to it for who dare deny but a Christian is bound to fear God and keep his Commandments or the Law may be considered as it is taken for the Covenant of works The Apostle when he disputes of this argument by the Law means the Covenant of works which he also calls The Law of works and by Faith and the Law of Faith he understands the Covenant of grace the condition whereof is Faith as will easily appear to him that shall diligently read the third and fourth chapters of the Epistle to the Galatians where he expresly changeth those terms of Law and Faith into the equivalent appellations of the Two Covenants Now as the Law is taken for the Covenant of works the Seal whereof was Circumcision 't is true we are not under it For the Covenant of works called by the Apostle the Law is that Covenant wherein Works are the condition on our part which if we perform in every point as the Law requires we are justified before God as keepers of his Covenant otherwise if we fail in the least thing we are condemned as guilty of the breach thereof Under this Covenant we are not for if we were and were to be judged according to it alas who could be saved For all saith the Apostle have sinned and come short of the glory of God There is none righteous no not one But the Covenant we are under is Believe and thou shalt be saved the Covenant of Grace the condition of which Covenant on our part is not the doing of works which may abide the Touch-stone of the Law but Faith in Iesus Christ which makes our works though of themselves insufficient and short of what the Law requires accepted of God and capable of reward This is that S. Iohn saith 1 Ep. 5. 3 4. That to love God is to keep his commandments and his commandments now under the Gospel are not grievous For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our Faith c. Whence our Saviour also saith that his yoke the yoke of the Gospel was easie and his burthen light The condition of the first Covenant was that which we could not do the condition of the second Covenant is that which enableth us to do and makes accepted what we can do and this is the Covenant of the Gospel a Covenant of savour and grace through Iesus Christ our Lord. And thus we have seen what the Apostle's meaning is when he saith we are not under the Law but under Grace Not as though a Christian were not bound to walk after God's commandments but that the exact fulfilling of them is not the condition whereby we are justified in the New Covenant but Faith in Iesus Christ in whom whosoever cometh unto the Father is accepted be his offering never so mean so it be tendered with sincerity and truth of heart Most unworthy therefore should we be of this so great and unspeakable favour of Almighty God our heavenly Father offered us in the Gospel if when he hath given us his only Son to make the yoak of our obedience easie and possible to be born we contemning this superabundant grace should refuse to wear and draw therein Far be it from the heart of a Christian to think it possible to have any benefit by Christ as long as he stands thus affected or ever to win the prize of eternal life without running the race appointed thereunto Shall we sin that grace may abound saith S. Paul God forbid THUS much of the Gospel Now of Faith whereby we are partakers of the grace therein being the condition of the New Covenant which God hath struck with men Faith is to believe the Gospel that is to attain Salvation through Christ. But there is a three-fold Faith wherewith men believe in Christ. 1. There is a false Faith 2. there is a true Faith but not a saving and 3. there is a saving Faith A false Faith is to believe to attain Salvation by Christ any other way than God hath ordained as namely to believe to attain Salvation through him without works of obedience to be accepted of
even Publicans and Sinners those of the worst note in the world do perform who love those that love them and do good to those who do good to them But the Charity which is extended to All even to Enemies to those who are contrary to us in either Iudgment or Affection is the more noble Godâ—like unordinary and such was our Author's for were men of different perswasions from him and at as great a distance from one another as from Rome to Geneva or Amsterdam c. yet even all these might more or less upon occasion be influenc'd upon by his Charity 36. As his Charity was thus largely Extensive and Vniversal so was it likewise accompanied with the greatest Chearfulness He so shew'd mercy as one that indeed loved mercy and by giving chearfully he made it appear that he well remembred that of the Apostle God loveth a chearful giver not forgetting that of Siracides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He so gave as one possessed with the grand importance of that noble Maxime of our Saviour not recorded in the Gospels but preserved from oblivion by S. Luke in the Acts Chap. 20. IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE He gave with a chearful heart and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a chearful eye as if he sensibly and feelingly knew the Deliciousness of that inward Ioy and Satisfaction which arises from the conscience of doing good so as to rescue others by a seasonable Charity from sorrow and misery For besides the great Gains and rich Advantages that come in by Charity in this life as well as the Promise of a great Reward and an unspeakable and glorious Ioy hereafter there is an incomparable Pleasure that attends it here and renders the very work and labour of Love it s own Reward and upon this score does that Prince of Divine Poets Mr. G. Herbert not impertinently in his Church-porch a piece enrich'd with most Divine Morality perswade to a chearful and frank Beneficence All worldly Ioys go less To the one Ioy of doing kindnesses 37. His Charity was large as well for the Measure and Proportion thereof as for its Extensiveness It was not wrung or squeez'd out of him by slow and small drops for he gave neither grudgingly nor sparingly but freely and bountifully flow'd from him who was as the Prophet speaks of the Merciful man like a Spring of water whose watersfail not He remembred and followed the Apostle's advice for sowing bountifully and was not for an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that cheap and easie and saving Religion affected by most men a Saving Religion indeed but how of their Purses only not of their Souls and yet not Saving neither as they imagine for very often is verified that of Solomon in Prov. 11. There is that withholdeth more than is meet but it tendeth to poverty But from such Illiberal and in the end Improvident and disadvantageous courses our Author was far removed With him it went for a great Imperfection and Blemish in a Christian to be attentior ad rem quà m sat est and the more of that Worldly spirit and Earthy temper in a man the less a Christian the less a Wise man for Covetousness betrays men to many Indecencies to ignoble and unbecoming practices and withal blinds their eyes that they see not those Indecencies in themselves which are easily espied by others In his account it was unworthy and dishonourable for a Christian to express his Charity in a parsimonious and scant measure whenas the promised Reward is set forth by our Lord so fully and significantly under the similitude of Good measure pressed down and shaken together and running over And therefore our Author leaving 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the man of the earth and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the men of the world such as do only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 relish and mind earthly things to their penurious scantlings their low and weak degrees of Charity beyond which their Niggardise will not suffer them to move and leaving also the more common and ordinary measure and proportions of Beneficence wherein the better sort think they quit themselves like Christians and come off fairly and creditably he chose the more Excellent way and to the Glory of God and the Honour of the Author's memory be it here remembred He devoted unto God and set apart the Tenth of his yearly incomes for charitable and pious uses To this his Vowing unto God so large a Free-will-offering not any vain-glorious humour but the Love of Christ constrain'd him and a deep sense of Gratitude to Almighty God for his many and undeserved favours Nay so far he was from that poor design of gaining hereby a thin reward of Aiery applause from the world that he studied as much to keep it secret as the Pharisaick Hypocrites contrived to do their Alms with noise and all the pomp and observation imaginable for they did all to be seen and to receive glory of men and so were no less Beggars than those they gave to Praise and Applause was the Alms they begg'd of men while they were solemnly and publickly after their sounding the Trumpet giving Alms to others 38. The same noble proportion of Charity is recorded though too briefly of that Religious young Lord the Lord Harington in the Sermon preached at his Funerals by Mr. Stock where this is said for a Memorial of him That besides his Occasional Charities he gave the Tenth of his yearly revenue to the poor The same is particularly remembred of the Learned and Pious Dr. Hammond among several other Excellencies worthy of celebration in his Life The like is also recorded though but briefly mentioned in the Life of that Practical Preacher Mr. W. Whately one of the same Colledge and Contemporary with Mr. Mede And herein these Israelites indeed the spiritual seed of Iacob followed that high Pattern which of old that holy Patriarch Iacob had set the world who devoted the Tenth part of his estate to God Gen. 28. Nor did he lose by it for God bless'd him exceedingly And those that have been followers of Iacob as in his Plainness and Singleness of heart so likewise in the Largeness of his Charity have found it true and upon their experience have deliver'd it for a most certain Aphorism That such Giving is the surest way of Getting and That thus to scatter is the safest means of increasing And for a yet more particular and pregnant proof hereof it is worthy here to be remembred what the Reverend Mr. Gataker delivered in his Sermon preached at the Funeral of Mr. Iohn Parker Merchant and Citizen of London a person eminent for his exemplary Beneficence as also for all other Christian Vertues and therefore worthy to be added to those other Charitable Heroes mentioned by us In short thus At his first effectual Call this among other things he then resolved upon was one To set apart every
and with as great Solidity of Reason and Embroidery of Rhetorick pressed as his Theme led him Works of Charity Among other passages he exhorted his Hearers to make this Experiment When they had received good gain by Traffick or Bargain c. to take 6 d or 4 d in the Pound and put it in a Purse by it self for works of Piety This he warranted as it would be very beneficial to their Estate so it would take away all secret Grudgings For now they had lay'd so much aside for such a purpose they would rather wish for an Opportunity of disbursing it c. After Sermon being visited by a neighbour-Divine and one allied to him they presently fell into discourse about that Subject and Mr. Whateley's Iudgment was desired more particularly concerning the Quotapars to be so devoted As for that saith he I am not to prescribe to others but since here are none but very good friends and we are all so private I will tell you what hath been my own practice of late and upon what occasion You know Sir some years since I was often beholden to you for the Lone of 10â— at a time The truth is I could not bring the year about though my Receipts were not despicable and I was not at all conscious to my self of any vain Expences or of Improvidence At length I began to examine my Family what Relief was given to the Poor And although I was assured that was not done niggardly yet I could not be so satisfied but resolved instantly to lay aside every Tenth shilling of all my Receipts for Charitable uses And to let you see how well I have thrived this way in a short time now if you have occasion to use an 100â— or more I have it ready for you Iust Mr. Mede's Method and with a like prosperous Success This I can avouch for I was present both at the Sermon and at the Conference Neither do I conceive I have been wandering far from Mr. Mede all this while these two Persons meeting so near in so many Respects Both of them of the same House in the University both Contemporaries both Eminent though in far distant ways both inviolably kept their Principles of Loyalty to their Prince and Obedience to their Mother the Church both suffered injuriously some when time was made themselves too Poetically merry with Mr. Whately's Name both met in the same practice of Charity for which chiefly the latter was instanced in lastly both of them were peaceably and honourably Interred a little before the late unnatural War I do not ask the Reader 's Pardon for this seeming Impertinency because I rather expect his Thanks for helping him to so rare a Project how he may no less certainly than Piously improve his Estate if he please to make due Trial of it Howsoever I shall make him amends as to Brevity in the ensuing Particularities Whereof the next is 2. Concerning Mr. Mede's Communicativeness AS to be Communicative of Good is a Royalty and Beam of Glory even in the Divine Majesty itself so upon what Person soever this shall be more or less shed and diffused it must needs render him proportionably God-like Now that such a Quality was eminently conspicuous in this divine Person is altogether as unquestionable as Whether there ever was such a Man as Mr. Ioseph Mede I shall not instance in his Writings wherewith he hath blest the world concerning which I speak of those few then extant if the commending of them would not be but as the Gilding of Gold and the Painting of Rubies I could give you the opinion of one among many others who was Master of as great a Treasure of choice Learning and of as curious a Pen and Tongue as few Ages have seen which he hath often expressed to me in these words I never in all my life met with such a Vseful Critick as Mr. Mede with many other Encomiums That I have now to speak to is his Communicativeness in ordinary Discourse And this indeed he made the main of his Divertisement and Recreation I never heard he used any other unless it were in and upon the Fellows Orchard the Beautifying whereof he took great delight in and towards that he would not only lend his handsome and happy Contrivances but also disburse Money before-hand till the Colledge-Audit Here he hath been found very busie at due hours and sometimes knuckle-deep when he would say smiling Why this was Adam's work in his Innocency But then instantly taking for his Theme either a Plant or a Weed or almost any thing next hand he would fall into some very significant discourse All his Discourses to speak it once for all were extremely distant from any thing that looked like either Levity or Vanity or Paedantry These Charitable works of his Tongue for so I call Mr. Mede's Discourses as well as those other of his Hand proved no less Gainful to himself than they were Beneficial to others A double Gain he hath often acknowledged came in to him this way One That his Notions by often Repeating them became more fixed and rivetted in his Memory And therefore he would merrily say to a Familiar whose Studies lay quite another way and in that kind of Learning was confessedly incomparable and unmatchable when he seemed not so attentive to some of his Discourses Chuse saith he whether you will hear me or no I love to repeat what I have been gathering though it be but to the Walls for my own Memorie 's sake The other Gain was That hereby his Notions were better shaped and formed and so more accommodated to use For said he every time I am imparting them to others it is great odds but some fitter and clearer Expression will casually come out of my Mouth than at first came into my Mind So that his Notions always lay by him ready in good Currant Coin whiles others who too much affect the hoarding up have theirs at the best but in the Barre and Ingot and perhaps sometimes but in the Ore Wherefore I am apt to believe it was not a mere Complement of Mr. Mede's when he thanked those for Hearing him who thought they had a great deal more reason to thank him for his so Edifying them because he knew his own Gains hereby were still multiplied When my Acquaintance with him was of that Standing as to take the Degree of one of his Familiars he would treat and entertain me in this manner After some short prelusory talking of News and Occurrences Come now saith he what be your Questions Which as I was never to come unprovided of so was he always much more provided to resolve them to my unspeakable satisfaction Yea more than that such was his Obligingness he would sometimes fetch out of his Study divers of his Colledge and Publick Exercises and sometimes one peculiar Paper-book wherein he was wont to write sundry knotty Questions and difficult Texts of Scripture and under them set down
These are the several Heads I shall speak of and first of the First the Subject The Righteous or the Bountiful man For Righteousness in a special sense in the Hebrew and the rest of the Oriental Tongues of kin to it signifies Beneficence or Bounty both the Vertue and the Work and therefore by the Hellenists or Septuagint is it translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word so frequent in the New Testament for that we call Alms. 'T is a known place Dan. 4. according both to the Septuagint and Vulgar Latin Peccata tua Eleemosynis redime iniquitates tuas misericordiis pauperum Where in the Original for Eleemosyna Alms is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Righteousness as we in our English render it Break off thy sins by Righteousness and thine iniquity by shewing mercy to the poor This notion of Righteousness is to be found thrice together in the 12. of Tobit Ver. 8. Prayer saith old Tobit there to his Son is goodwith Fasting and with Alms and Righteousness A little with Righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness It is better to give Alms than to lay up gold 9. For Alms doth deliver from death and shall purge away all sin Those that exercise Alms and Righteousness shall be filled with life Here in the Greek copy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alms and Righteousness are exegetically put the one to expound the other but in the Hebrew there is but one word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for them both that being the word in that language for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hence in the Syriack Translation of the New Testament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendred by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iustitia And so in the Arabick Hence Mat. 6. 1. for Take heed that you do not your alms before men as we read it the vulgar Latin and some Greek Copies have Attenditè ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus Take heed that you do not your righteousness before men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Namely as the word Charity with us though in the larger sense it signifies our whole duty both to God and man is restrained to signifie our Liberality to the poor so is the word Righteousness in the Oriental Languages If Righteousness therefore signifie Beneficence and Bounty then is the Righteous according to this notion the Bountiful man or as we speak the Charitable And that it is so taken in my Text both the general scope of the Psalm and the connexion with the words before and after is proof sufficient For before goes this A good man sheweth favour and lendeth he will guide his affairs with judgment Surely he shall not be moved for ever Then come the words of my Text The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance After it follows this He hath dispersed he hath given to the poor his righteousness remaineth for ever which S. Paul alledgeth 2 Cor. 9. 9. to promote their collection for the poor Saints at Ierusalem For illustration of this and our further information it will not be amiss I hope to commend to your observation some other places of Scripture where the word Righteous is thus taken as namely Psal. 37. 21. The wicked borroweth and payeth not again but the righteous sheweth mercy and giveth Again Vers. 25 26. I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging their bread He is ever merciful and lendeth and his seed is blessed Here the Righteous is the merciful and bountiful to whom namely this blessing That his seed shall not want is proper and peculiar The same use is Prov. 10. 2. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing but Righteousness delivereth from death The same is repeated again Chap. 11. 4. Riches profit not in the day of wrath but Righteousness delivereth from death Where Righteousness to be taken for Alms is apparent out of Tobit 12. 9. where it is so applied and rendred namely Alms doth deliver from death I could add also another place Prov. 21. 26. but these shall be sufficient Hence appears their errour who conceive of the nature of Alms as of an arbitrary thing which they may do if they will or not do without sin as that which carries no obligation with it but is left freely to every mans discretion And this makes some contend so much to have the Priest's maintenance granted to be Eleemosynary that so they might be at liberty to give something or nothing as they listed But if that were so yet if Alms be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Righteousness in the Hebrew tongue and the language which our Saviour spake if our Saviour call'd them Righteousness when he mentioned them who dare affirm then that Righteousness implies no obligation or that a man may leave it undone without sin THUS much of the Subject The Righteous Now I come to the Predicate shall be in everlasting remembrance In remembrance I said with God and men With God in the life to come and this life Let us see for the first The world to come It is certain that at the day of Iudgment we shall receive our doom according to our works of Charity and Mercy and that of all the works that a Christian man hath done these alone have that peculiar priviledge to be then brought in express remembrance before God Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World For I was an hungred and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye clothed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me c. Forasmuch as ye have done thus unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me Matt. 25. 34 c. What doth my Text say The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance God remembers our good deeds when he rewards them as he doth our prayers when he hears them If to remember then be to reward an everlasting reward is an everlasting remembrance 'T is remarkable that this priviledge which the works of Bounty and Mercy shall have at the day of Iudgment was not unknown to the Iews themselves for so we read in the Chaldee Paraphrast upon Ecclesiastes 9. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It shall come to pass at the day of Iudgment that the Lord of the world shall say thus openly to every righteous man then before him Go and eat with gladness thy bread which is laid up for thee as a reward for the bread which thou gavest to the poor and needy when they were an hungred and drink with gladness of heart the wine which is kept for thee in the garden of Eden or Paradise as a reward for the wine thou gavest the poor and needy when they were athirst for behold thy good works have found acceptance
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he had respect unto the recompence of Reward And I confess it seems an unreasonable thing to me that that which is made the End though but in part of the Action should not be at all looked unto by the Agent whenas Finis is principium Actionis and that that which God hath promised unto us as an encouragement to make us work with the more alacrity should not be thought on nor looked to in our working Do not they who would perswade this go the way to discourage men from good works by removing out of their sight the Encouragement which God hath given them But they object the obedience of God's Children ought to be filial that is free and not mercenary as that of Hirelings I answer Obedience which is only for Reward without all respect or motive of Love and Duty is the Obedience of an Hireling not that which acknowledgeth the tie of Obedience abâ—olute and the Reward no otherwise due than of his Fathers free love and bounty as every true child of God doth and ought to do They object again that of the Apostle 1 Cor. 13. 5. Charity seeks not her own now say they the works of God's children must proceed from love and charity I answer What though Charity seeks not her own may not yet a charitable man so much as look or hope for his own or have an eye to what is promised him But this place is altogether misapplied and abused For that property of Charity now mentioned as some also of the rest in that Chapter concerns only our Charity towards men and not our Charity towards God the meaning thereof being That a Charitable man will sooner lose his own than by seeking or contending for it break the band of Charity And this may suffice for my third Observation Now I come to the fourth and my last Use of this Text which I told you in the beginning followed thereupon namely That if Almighty God remember them who have done good deeds unto his House and the Offices thereof much more ought we who are partakers of the comfort and benefit of such Bounty to remember and honour them with a thankful celebration of their Names DISCOURSE XXXV DEUTERONOMIE 33. 8. And of Levi he said Let thy Thummim and thy Vrim be with thy Holy One. THIS Verse is part of that Blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death and These words are part of the Blessing of Levi a Blessing which much exceeds those that went before it and is far above all that come after it For as S. Paul proves Melchisedec to be greater than Abraham because he blessed Abraham and worthier than Levi because he tithed Levi in the loins of Abraham So may we say of this Blessing that it is the greatest of all because it is the Blessing of him who by his Office was to bless all the rest and the worthiest of all because by it the party blessed is enabled to bless the rest of his Brethren 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Always that by which another is that thing it self is more than the other In the Words themselves we will consider first The subject blessed and then The quality of the Blessing it self The Subject blessed is expressed both by name and by description by name Levi by description God's Holy One. The Blessing it self is contained in words few but for substance plentiful Vrim and Thummim nay more than so Thy Thummim and Thy Vrim that we might know whence this Blessing comes how that it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Divine thing the gift of God who is the Author and Giver of all good things And of Levi he said Let thy Thummim and thy Vrim be with thy Holy One. To begin first with the subject Levi. What Levi was is so well known that it were needless to say much to make it better known Only this that Levi was the Tribe which God had especially bequeathed to himself and set apart for the ministery of the Altar Concerning whose Name though Observations drawn from Names are like an House raised upon the Sand yet because of old and among the Patriarchs Names were given by the spirit of Prophecy it will not be altogether unworthy our speculation to remember why this Name Levi was imposed which we shall see as truly verified in that Function to which God did advance his posterity as it was by his Mother fitly given to himself upon the good hope she conceived at his birth For Levi signifies a Conjoyner an Vniter or maker of Vnion For thus said Leah when she bare him Now at this time will my husband be joyned to me because I have born a third son And she called his name Levi. She called him Levi but for ought we read in regard of her self she sound him no Levi as she hoped but she prophesied of that sacred Office whereby all the sons of Levi became Conjoyners became makers of Vnion not between Iacob and Leah but between God and Man between Christ and his Spouse between the spiritual Iacob and his deformed Leah For as truly as ever Leah spake might the Church then and may the Church now affirm when she hath born these sons unto her husband Now I know my heavenly husband my Lord my God will be joyned to me because I have born him these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these sons of Vnion these Ministers of reconciliation Plato could say A Priest was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A friend-maker between God and men Nay his whole Office is nothing but the Service of peace and that not only between God and man but between man and his brother For how can he love God who loves not his brother or how can he be at peace with God who is at variance with his brother Needs must he therefore that is Minister of the one be Minister of the other also and he that is so nay he alone that is so is a right Levite and a true son of Vnion How unworthy then of this holy Name how unworthy to succeed in the holy Order of Levi are those who are Ministers of division who by their lives doctrine example or any other way divide God and his Church and the Church within it self who neither have peace with God themselves nor will suffer others to have it who neither agree themselves with others nor suffer others to agree among themselves Beati pacifici Blessed are the Peace-makers especially in the sons of Peace This Christ prayed for in his Apostles Ioh. 17. 11. saying Holy Father keep them through thy name that they may be one as we are one Christ is so one that he makes all one who are one in him so should every son of Levi be one In sum the Ministers of God are called Angels and therefore should sing a song like unto that song of Angels Glory be
But the third sort which do not only call Christ their Lord but do the will of his Father these are the only true Christians for these there is hope but for none other Not every one saith our Saviour that saith unto me Lord Lord c. Our Saviour foresaw there would be among those who believed on his Name such as would think their Faith sufficient c. that as for Works they might be excused having him for their Lord and Captain of their Salvation who himself had both undergone the punishment due for their sins and fulfilled that obedience which they should have done so that now there remained nothing on their part for to obtain Salvation but to trust and rely upon him without any endeavour at all to please God by Works as being now become unuseful to Salvation If ever there was a time when Christians thus deceived themselves that time is now as both our practice sheweth plainly by a general neglect of such Duties of Piety and Charity which amongst our fore-fathers were frequent as also our open profession when being exhorted to these works of Piety to God and of Charity towards our brethren we stick not to alledge we are not bound unto them because we look not to be saved by the merit of works as they but by faith in Christ alone As though Faith in Christ excluded Works and did not rather include them as being that whereby they become acceptable unto God which of themselves they are not Or as if Works could no way conduce unto the attaining of Salvation but by way of merit and desert and not by way of the grace and favour of God in Christ as we shall see in the handling of this Text. We greatly now-a-days and that most dangerously mistake the error of our Forefathers which was not in that they did good works I would we did so but because they knew not rightly the End why they did them nor where the Value of them lay They thought the End of doing them was to obtain eternal life as a reward of Iustice due unto them whereas it is only of Grace and Promise in Christ Iesus They took their Works to have such perfectness in them as would endure the Touchstone of the Law of God yea such Worth and Value as to merit the Reward they looked for whereas all the Value and acceptableness of our works issues from the Merits of Christ and lies only in his righteousness communicated unto us and them by Faith and no otherwise But setting aside these errors of the End and of the Value of works we must know as well as they That not every one that saith unto Christ Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of his Father which is in Heaven Now for the Explication of the Words To call Christ Lord is to believe in him to acknowledge him to look for Salvation by him or as the Scripture expresseth it Luke 6. 47. to come unto him Every one saith our Saviour there explaining this very Text we have in hand that cometh unto me and heareth my words and doth them I will shew you who he is like where To come unto Christ is put in stead of that which in the former was To say unto him Lord. The doing of his Father's will is the doing of those works of obedience which his Father hath commanded in his Law and now committed to his Son whom he hath made the Head and King of his Church to see executed and performed by those he bringeth to Salvation But how and in what manner we shall see by and by The Text consists of two parts The one negative Not every one that saith unto Christ Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven The other affirmative But those who do the will of his Father shall only enter thither But these are so nearly linked together that they cannot be handled asunder And the Observations which I shall draw thence depend on the whole Text. The first and chiefest whereof is this That Faith in Christ without works of obedience and amendment of life is not sufficient for Salvation and consequently not that Faith whereby a Christian is justified For if it were it would save us If it be not sufficient to save us it cannot justifie us This floweth directly from the Text and cannot be denied if ye remember what I said before That to call Christ Lord is to believe in him For the better understanding of this you must take notice that there is a threefold Faith whereby men believe in Christ. There is a false Faith there is a true Faith but not saving and thirdly there is a saving Faith A false Faith is To believe to attain Salvation through Christ any other way than he hath ordained as namely to believe to attain Salvation through him without works of obedience to be accepted of God in him which is a Faith whereof there is no Gospel A true Faith is To believe Salvation is to be attained through obedience to God in Iesus Christ who by his merits and righteousness makes our selves and our works acceptable to his Father A saving and justifying Faith is To believe this so as to embrace and lay hold upon Christ for that end To believe to attain Salvation through obedience to God in Christ so as to apply our selves and rely upon Christ for that end namely to perform those works of obedience which God hath promised to reward with eternal life For a Iustifying Faith stayeth not only in the Brain but stirs up the Will to receive and enjoy the good believed according as it is promised This motion or election of the Will is that which maketh the difference between a saving Faith which joyneth us unto Christ and that which is true indeed but not saving but dogmatical and opinionative only And this motion or applying of the Will to Christ this embracing of Christ and the promises of the Gospel through him is that which the Scripture when it speaks of this â—aith calleth coming unto Christ or the receiving of him Iohn 1. 12. As many as received him to them he gave power or priviledge to be the sons of God even to them that believe on his Name where receiving and believing one expound another So for coming Come unto me saith our Saviour Matth. 11. 28. all ye that are heavy laden and I will ease you This last is very frequent Iohn 5. 40. Ye will not come to me saith our Saviour that ye might have life And Chap. 6. 37. All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me Ver. 44. No man can come unto me unless the Father draw him 45. Every man that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto me and such like All which express the specification of a saving Faith which consists in the embracing receiving and applying of the Will to the thing believed What this embracing receiving or applying
Angel's message from heaven to devout Cornelius was Thy prayers and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God whereupon S. Peter inferred That in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him Acts 10. 4 35. In 1 Tim. 6. 17 18 19. saith S. Paul Charge them that are rich in this world That they do good that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate Laying in store a good foundation against the time to come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut accipiant nanciscantur that they may receive or obtain eternal life Hence it is that we shall be judged and receive sentence at the last day according to our works Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world For I was hungry and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye clothed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me For inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brethren ye have done it unto me Lord how do those look to be saved at that day who think good works not required to Salvation and accordingly do them not Can our Saviour pass this blessed Sentence on them think they he can If he should they might truly say indeed Lord we have done no such matter nor did we think our selves bound unto it we relied wholly upon our Faith in thy merits and thought we had been freed from such services What do they think Christ will change the form of his Sentence at that great day No certainly If the Sentence for Bliss will not fit them and be truly said of them the other will and must for there is no more Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels For when I was hungry ye gave me no meat c. This must be their doom unless they suppose the righteous Iudge will lie for them And it is here further to be observed That the Works named in this sentence of Iudgment are works of the second Table and Works of Mercy and Charity feeding the hungry clothing the naked visiting the sick all Almsdeeds which men are now-a-days so much afraid of as if they looked toward Popery and had a tang of meriting for now-a-days these costly works of all others are most suspicious But will it be so at the day of Iudgment True it is they merit not the Reward which shall be given them but what then are we so proud we will do no works unless we may merit Is it not sufficient that God will reward them for Christ's sake though they have no worth in themselves And thus much of the second Motive why we should do good works Because howsoever they merit nothing yet are they the means and way ordained by God to attain the Reward of eternal life The third and last Motive to works of righteousness is Because they are the only Sign and Note whereby we know our Faith is true and saving and not counterfeit For 1 Iohn 1. 6. If we say we have fellowship with Christ and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth Chap. 2. ver 3. Hereby we know that we know him viz. to be our Advocate with his Father and the Propitiation for our sins if we keep his Commandments And Chap. 3. 7. Little children let no man deceive you He that doth righteousness is righteous even as Christ is righteous The same almost you may find again Chap. 2. 29. For if every one that believeth in Christ truly and savingly believes that Salvation is to be attained by obedience to God in him and not otherwise and therefore embraceth and layeth hold upon him for that end how can such an ones Faith be fruitless How can he be without works who therefore lays hold on Christ that his works and obedience may be accepted as righteous before God for his sake and so be rewardable It is as possible for the Sun to be without his light or the Fire to want heat as such a Faith to be without works Our Saviour therefore himself makes this a most sure and never-failing Note to build our assurance of Salvation upon Luke 6. 46. where the mention of the words of my Text gives the occasion Why call ye me Lord Lord saith he and do not the things which I say 47. Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings and doth them I will shew you to whom he is like 48. He is like a man which built an house and digged deep and laid the foundation on a rock And when the floud arose the stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake it for it was founded upon a rock 49. But he that heareth and doth not is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth against which the stream did beat vehemently and immediately it fell and the ruine of that house was great Whom these three Motives or Reasons will not perswade to good works let not my Soul O Lord be joyned with theirs nor my doom be as theirs must be A SECOND Observation out of these words and near a-kin to the former is That it is not enough for a Christian to live harmlesly and abstain from ill but he must do that which is good For our Saviour excludes not here those only who do against the will of his Father but those who do not his Father's will It is doing good which he requireth and not the not doing evil only This is an error which taketh hold of a great part of men even of those who would seem to be religious He is a reformed man and acquits himself well who abstains from fornication adultery who is no thief no couzener or defrauder of other men who will not lie or swear or such like But as for doing any works of Piety or Charity they think they are not required of them But they are much deceived For God requires some duties at our hands which he may reward not out of any merit but out of his merciful promise in Christ. But not doing ill is no service rewardable A servant who expects wages must not only do his Master no harm but some work that is good and profitable otherwise the best Christian would be he that should live altogether idlely for none doth less harm than he that doth nothing at all But Matth. 25. 30. He that encreased not his Master's Talent though he had not mis-spent it is adjudged an unprofitable servant and cast into outer darkness where is weeping and gnashing of teeth So also Matth. 3. 10. The tree that beareth no good fruit is hewn down though it bore none that was evil The axe is laid to the root of the tree Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down