and Christian liberty: excellent gifts, heavenly comforts, all and only from him. And that without change and alteration: he doth not do good one while, and evil another; but goodness is his proper and native operation. He is not the author of sin, that entered by the devil; he is not the author of death, that entered by sin; but "our destruction is of ourselves." And therefore though the prophet say, "Is there any evil in the city which the Lord hath not done?" yet he doth it not but only as it is 'bonum justitiæ,' good in order to his glory. For it is just with God, that they who run from the order of his commands, should fall under the order of his providence; and doing willingly what he forbids, should unwillingly suffer what he threateneth.

In one word, God is the author of all good,-by his grace working it the permitter of all evil,-by his patience enduring it the orderer and disposer of both,-by his mercy, rewarding the one,-by his justice, revenging the other,and by his wisdom, directing both to the ends of his eternal glory.

SECT. 16. This serveth to discover the free and sole working of grace in our first conversion, and the continued working of grace in our further sanctification; whatsoever is good in us habitually, as grace inhering, or actually, as grace working, is from him alone as the author of it. For though it be certain, that when we will and do, ourselves are agents, yet it is still under and from him. "Certum est nos facere, cum faciamus; sed ille facit, ut faciamus," as the great champion of grace speaketh; by grace we are that we are; we do what we do, in God's service. Vessels have no wine, bags have no money in them, but what the merchant putteth in the bowls of the candlesticks had no oil, but that which dropped from the olive-branches.

:

Other things which seek no higher perfection than is to be found within the compass of their own nature, may, by the guidance and activity of the same nature, attain thereunto :

a Hos. xiii. 9. 1. 2. c. 14.

y 2 Cor. i. 3. Rom. xv. 13.

* 1 Cor. xii. 6. z Concil. Milevit. Can. iii. 4, 5.-Concil. Arausican. secund.-Aug. de Grat. et Lib. Arb. c. 21. b Amos iii. 6. Isai. xlv. 7.-Vid. Tertul. contr. Marcion. Aug. de Grat. et Lib. Arb. c. 6.—de Grat. Christi c. 25. contr. 2. ep. Pelag. 1. 4. c. 6.-de Perfect. Justitiæ, c. 19. d Aug. de Civ. Dei, 1. 2. c. 9.-Field, of the Church, 1. 1. c. 2.

but man aspiring to a divine happiness, can never attain thereunto but by a divine strength: impossible it is for any man to enjoy God without God.

The truth of this point showeth it in five gradations:1st. By grace, our minds are enlightened to know and believe him for spiritual things are spiritually discerned. 2nd. By grace, our hearts are inclined to love and obey him; for spiritual things are spiritually approved. He only by his almighty and ineffable operation worketh in us, "et veras revelationes, et bonas voluntates "."

3rd. By grace, our lives are enabled to work what our hearts do love without which, though we should will, yet we cannot perform; no more than the knife which hath a good edge, is able actually to cut till moved by the hand.

4th. By grace, our good works are carried on unto perfection. Adam, wanting the grace of perseverance, fell from innocency itself: it is not sufficient for us that he prevent and excite us to will', that he co-operate and assist us to work, except he continually follow and supply us with a residue of spirit, to perfect and finish what we set about: all our works are begun, continued, and ended in him.

Lastly, By grace, our perseverance is crowned: for our best works could not endure the trial of justice", if God should enter into judgement with us. Grace enableth us to work, and grace rewardeth us for working. Grace beginneth", and grace finisheth both our faith and salvation. The work of holiness is nothing but grace; and the reward of holiness is nothing but grace for grace.

SECT. 17. Secondly, This teacheth us how to know good from evil in ourselves. What we look on as good, we must see how we have derived it from God. The more recourse we have had unto God by prayer, and faith, and study of his will, in the procurement of it, the more goodness we shall find in it. A thing done may be good in the substance of

• Aug. de patientia, c. 18. Vid. Aug. de Grat. Christ. 1. 1. iii. 26. Jer. xxxii. 29. Rom. vii. 18. Phil. ii. 13.

f 1 Cor. ii. 12, 14. Matth. xi. 27. Jer. xxxi. 34. c. 13, 14. et ep. 143. g John vi. 45. Ezek.

h Aug. de Grat. Christ. c. 24.
i Heb. xiii. 20.
* 1 Thess. v. 22. 1 Pet. v. 10. Jude v. 24. John

xvii. 15. I Vid. Aug. Enchirid. c. 31. de Grat. et Lib. Arb. c. 6. et 17.-Peto ut accipiam; et cum accepero, rursus peto. Hieron. ad Ctesiphont.

m Psalm

the work, and yet evil in the manner of doing it o: as the substance of a vessel may be silver, but the use sordid. Jehu's zeal was rewarded as an act of justice, 'quoad substantiam operis ;' and it was punished too as an act of policy, 'quoad modum,' for the perverse end. A thing which I see in the night, may shine, and that shining proceed from nothing but rottenness. We must not measure ourselves by the matter of things done; for there may be 'Malum opus in bona materia 9. Doeg prays, and Herod hears, and hypocrites fast, and Pharisees preach: but when we would know the goodness of our works, look to the fountain, whether they proceed from the Father of lights by the spirit of love, and the grace of Christ, from humble, penitent, filial, heavenly dispositions. Nothing will carry the soul unto God, but that which cometh from him. Our communion with the Father, and the Son, is the trial goodness.

of all our

Thirdly, This should exceedingly abase us in our own eyes, and stain all the pride, and cast down all the plumes of flesh and blood, when we seriously consider, that in us, as now degenerated from our original, there is no good to be found; our wine become water, and our silver dross. As our Saviour saith of the devil, when he lies, he speaks 'de suo",' of his own; so when we do evil, we work, de nostro,' of our own, and 'secundum hominem,' as the apostle speaks, " According unto man." Lusts are our own '; our very members to that body of sin, which the apostle calleth the "old man ;" with which it is as impossible to do any good, as for a toad to spit cordials.

Men are apt to glory of their good hearts and intentions, only because they cannot search them; and, being carnal themselves, to entertain none but carnal notions of God's service. But if they knew the purity and jealousy of God, and their own impotency to answer so holy a will, they would

q 1 Sam. xxi. 7. Mark vi. 20. r Rebus, ad ima ten

Acts xxiv. 25. Isai. lviii. 3. Matth. vi. 16. xxiii. 2, 3.

dentibus, in imo ponitur fundamentum: Ecclesia verò, in imo posita, tendit in Cœlum; fundamentum ergo nostrum ibi positum est. Aug. enarr. 1. in Psalm 29. t Isai. i. 22. Ezek. xxii. 18. viii. 44. y Rom. ii. 24. 2 James i. 14. iii. 5. Ephes. iv. 22. b Jer. xvii. 11.

s Jer. ii. 21.

* 1 Cor. iii. 3.

" John a Col.

lay their hands upon their mouths, and with Job, abhor themselves; and with Isaiah, bewail the uncleanness of their lips; and with Moses, fear and quake, as not being able to endure the things that are commanded; and with Joshua', acknowledge that they cannot serve God because he is holy. They would then remember, that the law of God is a law of fire, and the tribunal of God, a tribunal of fire"; that the pleadings of God with sinners, are in flames of fire i; that the trial of all our works shall be by fire ; that the God before whom we must appear, is a consuming fire. Go now, and bring thy straw and stubble, thy drowsy and sluggish devotion, thy fickle and flattering repentance, thy formal and demure services into the fire, to the law to measure them, to the judge to censure them: nay, now carry them to thine own conscience; and tell me whether that will not pass the Father's verdict upon them, "Sordet in conspectu judicis, quod fulget in conspectu operantis ", That which is fair in thine eye, is filthy in God's.

SECT. 18. Lastly, This serveth for exhortation unto these particular duties:-First, Unto patience and meekness under any evil, that God may bring upon us; and that not barely, because he doth us good in other things, which was Job's argument, "Shall we receive good from the Lord, and not evil"?" But further, because the very evils that come upon us, are oftentimes by him intended for good, as Joseph told his brethren. We are not angry with the physician when he lanceth P, dieteth, and restraineth us of our will: he denieth us our will, that we may have our will: a sick man is many times most faithfully served, when he is crossed. I lop my trees, bruise my grapes, grind my corn to fit it to the ends whereunto it tendeth. God's end is merciful when his hand is heavy, as John's roll was sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the belly so troubles may be bitter to the palate, but profitable to the conscience: like hot spices that bite the tongue, but comfort the stomach.

m Greg.

e Heb. xii. 20. f Josh. xxiv. 29. i Ezek. lxvi. 15, 16. k1 Cor. iii. 13. n Job. ii. 10. • Gen. 1. 20.

P Me

1 Heb. xii. 29. dicina etiam invitis prodest. Sen. ep. 98.-Quæ per insuavitatem medentur, emolamento curationis offensam sui excusant, et præsentem înjuriam superventuræ utilitatis gratia commendant. Tert. de pœnit. c. 10. Isai. xxvii. 9. xlviii. 10,

q Rev. x. 9. Heb. xii. 11.

And as it dictateth patience in suffering evil, so in doing our duties, though we suffer contempt and reproaches for it'. If we were to receive our rewards from men, their frowns might discourage us: but when we have done God's will, God himself will be our reward, and make his promises a comfort unto us. Moses and Aaron, though their whole employments were for the good of Israel, were yet repaid with murmuring and discontent; and the people, like children, 'qui cibum sumunt, sed flentes,' (to use the similitude of the orator in Aristotle,) repined at the food which their prayers obtained for them, yet nothing dismayed them from their duty. "Etiam post naufragium, tentantur maria." The woman of Canaan prays on, when she is denied; and Jacob holds with his hands, when his thigh is lamed. Our first care must be to be in our way, to be doing our duties; and then though (as Solomon speaks) we should meet “a lion in our way," we must not be dismayed; for angels are stronger than lions, and "he hath given his angels charge over us, to bear us in our ways "." Yea, whilst we are with him, he himself is with us. So that the way of the Lord is the surest and safest walk that any man can have; "The way of the Lord is strength to the upright."

Secondly, Unto humility: If thou be a vessel of gold, and thy brother but of wood, be not high-minded; it is God that maketh thee to differ: the more bounty God shows, the more humility he requires. Those mines that are richest, are deepest those stars that are highest, seem smallest: the goodliest buildings have the lowest foundations: the more God honoureth men the more they should humble themselves: the more the fruit, the lower the branch on which it grows; pride is ever the companion of emptiness. O! how full was the apostle, yet how low was his language of himself! "Least of saints; last of apostles; chief of sinners; no sufficiency to think;--no abilities to do; all that he is, he is by grace." Thus

Quisquis volens detrahit famæ meæ, nolens addit mercedi meæ. Aug. contr. literas Petiliani, 1. 3. c. 7. t Sen. ep. 81. u Psalm 21 Cor. iv. 7. Rom. xi. 20.

Rhet. 1. 3. c. 4.
y Prov. x. 29.

a Opulentissima

xci. 31. x 2 Chron. xv. 2. Ille discernit, qui unde discernaris impertit, poenam debitam removendo, indebitam gratiam largiendo. Aug. contr. 2. ep. Pelag. 1. 2. c. 7. metalla, quorum in alto latent venæ. Sen. Ep. 23. Altissima flumina minimo sono labuntur. Q. Curt. 1. 7. b Ephes. iii. 8. 1 Cor. xv. 8. 2 Tim. i. 15. 2 Cor. iii. 5. Rom. vii. 18.-Vid. Aug. de Grat. et Lib. Arb. c. 8.