Imatges de pàgina
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upright;we fay, even reckonings make long friends. There is a threefold Confeffion,

I. Confeffio fraudis;quid omifi?

2. Confeffio facti; quid fecit

3. Confeffio laudis: quid retribuam?

Here is work enough to take up the whole life of man, and this keeps our accompt with God even.

4. I must never leave out prayer; that must make one in all the exercises of Chriftian life, pray continually. And let our petiti on be that God would give us wifdom from above; to direЯ us in the ordering of our fouls fo as we may ever keep them upright: for it is not in man to order his ways, much leffe to govern his own foul; let us therefore pray to him who chalengeth interest in all fouls, who is called The Father of Spirits; and who faith All fouls are mine.

We have a good encouragement from Saint James;

If any of you want wisdom, let him aske of God who giveth to all Jam. x. 5. men liberally.

And Christ hath promised that whatsoever he shal ask the Fa

ther in his Name, he wil do it.

5. It wil help to keep our fou's in integrity, to have regard of our conversation,of our calling of our recreations, of our time, of our means.

1. That we keep good company, which may not corrupt our manners, either confilio or exemplo, by counsel or example.

2. That we live in a lawful calling, that we may have the teftimony of a good confcience; that the means of our maintenance are honest and lawful, and that we do not spend the wa ges of unrighteoufneffe, that defileth the foul with an indelible pollution, all your prayers and almes wil not purge you,

3. That your recreations be both lawful and moderate, such as may make you more fit for the fervice of God,not fuch as may make you fufpend the time wherein God thould be ferved, not fuch as may provoke you to impatience, or to blafphemy, and abufing the name of God.

4. That your time be spent by weight and measure, as those that are to be accomptants to God for it.

5. That our means that we enjoy in this life be fo gained, and

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men

3. Use.

managed that they may feem as faculties of well-doing; and may by no means ftoop the foul to any departure from God for love of them, or by abufe of them.

3. Let us learn humility; decline pride, for that doth corrupt the foul; to fuch God giveth grace, he that is humillimus, should be humillimus.

But the just shall live by his faith.

This is the fecond part of the Antithefis, that contains in it the whole ium of the Gofpel,there be three words in it that carrie the contents thereof.

1. Righteoufneffe. 2. Faith. 3. Life.

Righteoufneffe and Faich are the way of life: they are two special pieces of that fpiritual armour which the Apostle doth advise all the children of God to use against their enemies: The Eph. 6.14. breast-plate of Righteousneffe, and the Sheild of Faith.

1. Of Righteouineffe

This is that vertue which denominateth a man juft and righte ous, and it is a vertue which doth give fuum cuique; to God in the obedience of the firft table of the law; to man in the obedience of the fecond table.

This is given

1. Legally.

2. Evangelically.

For the first which is Legal righteoufneffe; it is the fulfilling of the whole Law in every part of it, by the whole man in body and Eclef.7.31 foul, the whole time of his life; and Adam who was created in the image of God, was cloathed with this righteoufnesse as the Apoftle faith; created in the image of God and in righteoufnesse and true holyneffe.

Eph 4.24.

A&t.22 14.

Ifa. 59.17.

And this righteoufnefle was loft by Adams fal, and was ne ver found in any man fince, but in the Man Jefus Chrift, who is called us that just one.

And of him it is faid, that He put on Righteoufnesse as a breaft-plate.

And this Righteoufneffe the Saints in glory have; fo the Apoftle calleth them, The fpirits of just men made perfect. › m. 3.10 But on earth, There is none righteous, no not one.

Heb. 13 23

The

The Church of Rome doth directly contradict the Spirit of God fpeaking in Scripture concerning this righteoufneffe. For Seff. 6. the counfel of Trent hath fet it down for a Canon,

Siquis dixerit dei præcepta homini juftificato, & fub gratia conftituto, effe ad obfervandum impoffibilia,anathema fit.

Let me then clear the Church tenent concerning this point, that Legal Righteoufneffe is altogether impoffible to man in the prefent Itate of defertion from our creation,

Our Argument is this, Whofoever finneth breaketh the Law of God; but every one that liveth finneth. Ergo every one that liveth breaketh the law.

The first propofition is proved by the definition of finne given by the Apoftle. αμαρτία is ανομία.

Can. 18.

1 Joh. 3.4: But every man that liveth finneth; Saint James will make that good, in multis offendimus omnes, in many things we offend all. The conclufion followeth; ergo omnis prævaricatur legem,

Andradius anfwereth with a diftinction to the minor, every man finneth; fins are of two forts.

1. Mortall, fo every man finneth not; for he that is borne of God finneth no, nor can fin.

2. Veniall, fo every man finneth; but this kind of finning faith he, doth not break the law of God, because they deferve not the wrath of God and condemnation. Lyndanus. Levicula vitiola lapfuum quotidianorum aspergines & navuli funt qui per fe non maculant & contaminan, fed quafi pulvifculo leviter aspergunt vitam humanam.

Yet as light as they make of this pollution; it is no way to be purged but by the blood of Chrift; and Chrift is answerable to the Father and to the juftice of his Law,even for the least of these. Therefore the Prophet faith, God laid upon him the iniquity of us all, and all our fins met in him; this cannot but include veniall fins, for the cleat have no mortal fins.

Yet our tenet is, that all, even the leaft obliquity of thought, primi motus ad peccata funt peccata, the first motions to finne are fins, and directly against the tenth Commandment; and he that breaketh the leaft of the ten is guilty of all, for he breaketh the Law.

So then the veniality of fin is not in the nature and merit of

fin

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Pf.az..z.finne, but in the favour of God by Chrift, he fuffering and fatisfying for it,and we by faith applying this to our felves,and it will follow; for in its own nature every fin is mortal,deferving death: and the juft are not faid to be bleffed because they have no finne, but because their iniquities are forgiven, and their fin is covered; and because God imputeth not their finne to them ;as fome are quit by Proclamation, because no evidence is given in against

them.

2. We must then fly to Evangelical righteousneffe, which hath two parts.

The one is called the righteoufneffe of faith, the other of a Rom.:0.6 good conscience.

Heb.13.18

Pray for us; for we trust we have a good confcience in all things, Willing to live honestly.

1. The righteoufneffe of faith, This is Chrifts righteoufnefle by faith received of us, by grace imputed to us, as the Apostle faith,

Chrift is the end of the law for righteoufneffe to everyone that be

Rom.10.4 leeveth.

Pf. 119.3.

Object.

Sol.

The end of the law is to fave those that fulfill it; this by reafon of the body of finne that we do bear about us, none of us can perform; but Chrift hath fulfilled the law for us, and his obedi ence is by the favour of God imputed to us, and by our faith applyed, and we juftified and faved thereby.

For what the law exacted of us, is accepted for us, as if we in our owne perfons had done it, because we believe it done by Chrift for us.

2. The righteoufneffe of a good conscience.

This is a work of the Holy Ghoft in us, by which we do approve our felves to God and man, by our indeavour to do that which the law commandeth. And fuch a righteous perfon Da vid defcribeth,

Surely he doth no iniquity, but walketh in the way of God.

If any man object, Then is he no tranfgreffour of the law, because he doth none iniquity;then is his obedience full, because he walketh in the way of the Lord.

St. Paul doth anfwer fot himselfe, and therein for all the elect of God, and fheweth w herin his innocency confifteth, and faith,

For

For that which I do 1 allow not; for what I would do that I do not; Rom.7.15 but what I hate,that do I.

-If then I do that which I would not, I confent unto the law that Verf. 16.

it is good.

Now then it is no more I that do it, but fin that dwelleth in me.
I delight in the law of Godin the inward man.

Here vσeauty, know,if thou be an ele& child of God,

thon confifteft of a double man fo long as thou liveft here on earth.

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I. There is in thee an outward man, that is, the unregenerate part of thee.

2. There is an inward man, that is, the regenerate part. For we must know and confefle, that we are not capable in this life of a total and full regeneration, which is an utter abolition of the body of fin.

There is Corpus peccati,the body of fin:there is lex membrorum a law of the members, there is Concupifcence which doth carry us into the evil which we know in our understandings to be against the law of God,and our conscience trembleth at it; this is an inward man,which in Peter is called κρυπτὸς τῆς καρδίας αν. θρωπος,

So that the inward man which keepeth the law, is the underftanding and confcience; and the outward man that breaketh the law,is the will and the appetite, and the inftruments thereof in the act of fin.:

So then I shall now defcribe to you whom the Prophet here meaneth by the juft man, even him who in his understanding apprehendeth the good and perfect Will of God, and maketh confcience of obeying it according to the measure of grace given to him for this is an Evangelical righteousneffe.

The ule of it is great; for the Prophet faith of Chrift Jefus,that be put on righteoufneffe as a Brest-plate. He that came to loofe the works of Satan, and therefore to bid him battel, did not come into this life, which is militia fuper terram, a warfare upon earth unarmed; he is the General of Gods forces, against the Kingdome of darkneffe, against the Prince that ruleth in the ayr against the god of this world, against Principalities and Powers, and no fooner was he baptized and began to appear to his. Cc

em

17.

22.

I Pet. 3.4

If. 59.17.

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