sins of those, who either fulfil in their lifetime certain conditions, appointed by him, or whose friends will fulfil them, after their deaths. Upon this pretended stock of merits is founded the doctrine of Indulgences. (2.)

OBSERVATIONS.

(1.) "Whosoever denieth this doctrine, (that faith alone justifieth,) is not to be accounted a Christian man, nor for a setter forth of God's glory, but for an adversary to Christ and his Gospel, and for a setter forth of man's vainglory. Man's righteousness cannot make himself righteous by his own works, neither in part, nor in whole.”—(Hom. of Salvation.)

"We are counted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own Good Works. That we are justified by faith alone, is a most wholesome doctrine." (Art. XI.) "Good Works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away sin." (Art. XII.) For "it were the greatest arrogancy and presumption of man, that Antichrist could set up against God, to affirm that a man might by his own works take away, and purge his own sins, and so justify himself." (Hom. of Salvation.) And" although we hear God's word, and believe it; although we have faith, hope, charity, repentance, and fear of God within us, and do add never so much works thereunto, yet we must renounce the merit of all our said virtues and good deeds, which we either have done, shall do, or can do, as things that be far too weak, insufficient, and imperfect to deserve remission of our sins, and our justification." (Id.)

(2.) Experience proves, that imperfection adheres, and always has adhered, to the best of men, and to the best of their performances. A perfect, unmingled character is no where to be found. "The Scripture hath concluded all under sin ;" (Gal. iii. 22;) "There is no man that sinneth not." (1 Kings viii. 46.) "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,” (Isa. v. 6,) and need pardon rather than reward. Is it not, then, absurd to suppose that any one should be a debtor and a supererogator at the same time; at once an.offender, a defaulter, a sinner, that has cause

daily to pray, that his trespasses may be forgiven, and a performer of so much more than God requires, as to have to spare, wherewithal to merit for another? No man, let him be who he will, be his virtues, and his attainments, and his powers what they may, can ever do too much, can ever exceed the injunctions laid upon him in the Gospel, can perform more perfect obedience than is required; because his highest proficiency, his most perfect obedience, is no more than his duty; after all his doings, he is an "unprofitable servant, and has only done that which was his duty to do." (Luke xvii. 10.) By grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, lest any man should boast." (Eph. ii. 8, 9.) Solely to the grace of God, to his free mercy, to his spontaneous kindness and love, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, and not to the merits of our works, or to the works of any creature whatsoever, we owe our salvation.

We have read, I doubt not, the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. What lesson does it teach us? What doctrine does it inculcate? Does it give any room for works of supererogation? Is it not, on the contrary, strong against all boasting of personal desert? does it not forcibly recommend humility and self-abasement? The Pharisee, full of his good qualities, of superciliousness and comparison, and vaunting himself on strictness of duty, that he was not, as other men are, was condemned by our Lord. The Publican, disclaiming all pretensions to any merit, all humility and penitence, "God be merciful to me a sinner," was commended, and went down to his house justified.

Every man, be his religious attainments what they may, needs a Redeemer himself, and a Mediator, to render his imperfect and unprofitable service accepted: his own daily omissions and negligences, his daily transgressions and relapses, stand in need of forgiveness from an infinitely holy and pure God, in whose sight the "stars are not pure," the most resplendent part of the firmament loses its lustre ; how much less then man that is a worm, and the son of man, which is a worm?

St. Paul, who was indefatigable in the service of his God, whose labors merited eternal life, if ever the labors of man did, "of themselves, by a value of condignity, merit eternal life," as the Romanists maintain the works of just men do, so far from thinking he had an overplus of merit, says of himself, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect. I count not myself to have apprehended. I press

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towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. iii. 11-14. "If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead." "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief." (1 Tim. i. 15.) And St. Stephen, at his martyrdom, was far, very far, from exulting in his righteousness, or pretending to bequeath to the Church, or the Head of the Church, a stock of merit, which he stood in no need of himself; but, as if conscious of the deficiency and imperfection of his services, he prayed fervently to Heaven for acceptance. "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge," (Acts vii. 59, 60,) were his last words. In short, we read, in the history of our faith, of many eminent characters, who were burning and shining lights in their generation; but we never read of a being, since the day of creation, without blemish and imperfection, excepting the Blessed Jesus, who was, though in his human nature, while on earth, "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. iv. 15.) "He was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin." (1 Pet. ii. 22.)

"For all the Good Works that we can do, be imperfect; and therefore not able to deserve our justification: but our justification doth come freely, by the mere mercy of God; and of so great and free mercy, that, whereas all the world was not able of themselves to pay any part towards their ransom, it pleased our heavenly Father, of his infinite mercy, without any our desert or deserving, to prepare for us the most precious jewels of Christ's body and blood; whereby our ransom might be fully paid, the Law fulfilled, and his justice fully satisfied. So that Christ is now the righteousness of all them that truly do believe in him. He for them paid the ransom by his death.

"Here you have heard the office of God in our justification, and how we receive it of him freely-by his mercy-without our deserts-through true and lively faith. Now you shall hear the office and duty of a Christian man unto God; what we ought on our part to render unto God again, for his great mercy and goodness. Our office is, not to pass the time of this present life unfruitfully and idly, after that we are baptized or justified; not caring how few good works we do, to the glory of God, and profit of our neighbours: much less is it our office, after that we be once made Christ's members, to live contrary to the same; making ourselves members of the devil, walking after his enticements, and after

the suggestions of the world and the flesh; whereby we know that we do serve the world and the devil, and not God. For that faith, which bringeth forth, without repentance, either evil works or no good works, is not a right, pure, and lively faith; but a dead, devilish, counterfeit, and feigned faith, as St. Paul and St. James call it." (Hom. of Salvation.) "These works the Apostle calleth Good Works, saying, 'We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God hath ordained that we should walk in them.'

"And yet his meaning is not by these words to induce us to have any affiance, or to put any confidence, in our works, as by the merit and deserving of them to purchase to ourselves and others remission of sin, and so consequently everlasting life; for that were mere blasphemy against God's mercy, and great derogation to the blood-shedding of our Saviour Jesus Christ. For it is of the free grace and mercy of God, by the mediation of the blood of his Son Jesus Christ, without merit or deserving on our part, that our sins are forgiven us, that we are reconciled and brought again into his favor, and are made heirs of his heavenly kingdom. Grace, saith St. Augustine, belongeth to God, who doth call us; and then hath he good works, whosoever receiveth grace. Good Works then bring not forth grace, but are brought forth by grace." (Hom. of Good Works.)

"They-the Roman Catholics-teach as we do, that although Christ, as God, be the efficient, and as man, the meritorious, cause of our justice, yet in us also there is something required. God is the cause of our natural life, in him we move; but he quickeneth not the body without the soul in the body. Christ has merited to make us just; but as a medicine, which is made for health, doth not heal by being made, but by being applied, so by the merits of Christ there can be no justification without the application of his merit. Thus far we join hands with the Church of Rome.

"Wherein then do we disagree? We disagree about the nature and essence of the medicine whereby Christ cureth our disease; about the manner of applying it; about the number and the power of means which God requireth in us, for the effectually applying thereof to our soul's comfort. Can any man that hath read their books concerning this matter, be ignorant how they draw all their answers unto these heads: That the remission of all our sins, the pardon of all whatsoever

punishments thereby deserved, the rewards which God hath laid up in heaven, are, by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, purchased and obtained sufficiently for all men, but for no man effectually for his benefit in particular, except the blood of Christ be applied particularly to him, by such means as God has appointed that to work by; that those means, of themselves, being but dead things, only the blood of Christ is that which putteth life, force, and efficacy in them, to work and to be available, each in his kind, to our salvation. Finally, that Grace being purchased for us by the blood of Christ, and freely without any merit at the first bestowed upon us, the good things which we do after grace received, be thereby made satisfactory and meritorious.-Their doctrine is, that as pure water of itself hath no savor, but if it pass through a sweet pipe, it taketh a pleasant smell of the pipe through which it passeth; so, although before grace received our works do neither satisfy nor merit, yet, after, they do both the one and the other.' In meriting, our actions do work with both hands: with one they get their morning stipend, the increase of grace; with the other, their evening hire, the everlasting crown of glory. Indeed, they teach that our Good Works do not these things, as they come from us, but as they come from grace in us, which grace in us' is another thing in their divinity than is THE MERE GOODNESS OF GOD'S MERCY TOWARDS US IN CHRIST JESUS. If it were not a long deluded spirit which hath possession of their hearts, were it possible but that they should see how plainly they do herein gainsay the very ground of Apostolic faith, in this that salvation by grace,' whereof so plentiful mention is made in the Scriptures of God? Was this their meaning which first taught the world to look for salvation only by Christ? By Grace, says the Apostle, and by grace in such sort as a gift, a thing that cometh not of ourselves nor of our works, 'lest any man should boast,' and say, "I have wrought out my salvation;" by Grace they confess, but by Grace in such sort, that as many as wear the diadem of bliss, they wear nothing but what they won. When thus the Roman Catholics are required to show what the righteousness is whereby a Christian man is justified, they answer, that it is a divine quality,' which quality, received into the soul, doth first make it one of them who are born of God; and secondly, endue it with power to bring forth such works as they do that are born of Him, even as the soul of man, being joined to his body, doth first make him to be of the number of reason

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