do our articles and homilies; and fo the children of God have done in all ages. Thofe of the Old Teftament [far from mentioning any proper merit of their own, cried out: Now mine eye feeth thee, I abhor myfelf, and repent in duft and afhes, Job. xlii. 5.Wo is me for I am undone, becaufe I am by nature, and have been by practice a man of unclean lips. Ifa. vi. 5.] Thofe of the new, prayed to be found in Chrift, not having their own [Pharifaic] righteoufnefs which is by the law of works, but the [evangelical] righteoufnefs which is by faith in Jefus Chrift, Phil. iii. 9. And those of our church profefs, that They are not worthy to gather the crumbs under the Lord's table, and that they do not come to it, trufting in their own righteoufnefs, or good works, but in God's manifold and great mercies through Jefus Chrift: fo far are they from thinking, that they [properly] merit falvation [either in whole or in part. See Com. Service.

Yea, I declare it as upon the house-top, of all the falfe doctrines that ever came out of the pit of hell, none has done fuch execution for Satan in the church of God (as the Pharifaic conceit that we have, or may have any proper, original merit.] Stealing, drunkenness, and adultery have flain their thoufands; but this damnable error, which is the very root of unbelief, its ten thousands. It blinded the Pharifees, and hardened the Jews against Christ. plunges into everlasting fire all nominal Chriftians, who have a form of godlinefs, but deny the power thereof.

It

Yea, ftrange, as the affertion may feem to fome, this [pernicious error] feeds immorality, and fecretly nourishes all manner of vice. The feripture tells us, 1 Cor. vi. 9, that neither fornicators, nor effeminate, neither thieves, nor covetous, neither drankards nor revilers, neither unrighteous nor extortioners, fhall inherit the kingdom of God. Now how comes it to pass, that fo many, who are guilty of one or another of those abominations, remain as eafy as if they were guiltless ? Why, this damnable notion, that the merit of their works atones for the guilt of their fins, makes them think

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think, that they fhall do well enough in the end. "I get drunk now and then, fays one, but I am honeft."-" I opprefs or cheat my neighbour, fays another, but I go to church and facrament." 66 I love money or diverfions, fays a third, but I bless God, I am neither a thief nor a drunkard,”—“ I am paffionate and fwear fometimes, fays a fourth, but my heart is good, and I never keep malice in my breaft; befides, I'll repent and mend fome time or other before I die."-Now the fum of all those pleas amounts to this: "I do the devil's works, but I do good works too. I am guilty of one piece of wickedness, but not of all: and I hope, that thro' the merit of the good which I do, and of the evil which I have left undone, Chrift will have mercy upon me."

Thus all our [Pharifaic] delays of conver fion, and all our remorfelefs going on in fin and wickedness, are founded upon the doctrine of [Pha rifaic] merits. Well then may our church call it

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a devilish doctrine, which is mere blafphemy against God's mercy" a doctrine, which turns Chrift out of his throne [by refufing him the honour of being the meritorious cause of our falvation :] a doctrine which [by crooked ways] leads firft to licentioufnefs, as the conduct of many, who cry up the merit of good works [fo called] too plainly fhews; and next to Pharifaic morality and formality; and from both, except converting grace prevent it, into endless mifery; for, No doubt, fays bishop Latimer in his fermon on the twelfth day, he that departeth out of this world in that opinion [or, as he expreffes it in the fame paragraph, those who think to be faved by the law, by the first covenant]" fhall never come to heaven:" [For they fet their hearts against Chrift; and, like the obftinate Pharifees of old, not only mistake the works of unbelief for good works: but give them alfo the place of the primary, meritorious caufe of eter nal falvation; when, if they were the works of faith, they would only be a fecondary evidencing caufe

of

of it. Now, as fuch men cannot poffibly do this, without the greatest degree of fpiritual pride, impenitency, and unbelief; it is plain, that, if they die confirmed in this grand antichriftian error, they cannot be faved: for St. Paul informs us that pride is. the condemnation of the devil; and our Lord declares, that except we repent we shall all perish, and that he who believeth not fhall be damned.]

FOURTH PART.

It is time to come to the last thing propofed, which was to fhow, why good works cannot deferve falvation in whole or in part; and to answer the old cavil," If good works cannot fave us, why fhould we trouble ourselves about them?" [In doing the former, I fhall attempt to give Pharifaifm a finishing stroke: and in doing the latter, I fhall endeavour to guard the fcriptural doctrine of grace against Antinomianifm, which prevails almost as much among profeffed believers, as Pharisaism does among profeffed Moralifts.]

And firft, that good works cannot merit falvation, in part, much less altogether, I prove by the following arguments.

(1) We must be wholly faved by the covenant of works, or by the covenant of grace; my text fhewing moft clearly, that a third covenant made up of merits. [according to the firft,] and divine mercy [according to the fecond,] is as imaginary a thing in divinity, as a fifth element made up of fire and water would be in natural philofophy.

(2) There is lefs proportion between heavenly glory and our works, than between the fun and a mote that flies in the air: therefore to pretend, that they will avail towards [purchafing or properly. meriting] heaven, argues want of common fenfe as well as want of humility.

(3) God has wifely determined to fave proud man. in a way that excludes boafting. God is juft, and the justifier

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juftifier of him that believes in Fefus. Where is boafting then? fays the apoftle; It is excluded, anfwers he: By what covenant? By the covenant of works? No, but by the law of faith, by the covenant of grace, whofe condition is faith in Jefus Chrift. Therefore we conclude, fays he, that a man is juftified by faith, without the works of the law. Rom. iii. 27, 28. If our good works deferve the leaft part of our falvation, we may justly boaft that our own arm has got us that part of the victory; and we have reason to glory in ourfelves, contrary to the fcriptures, which fay, that every mouth must be stopped, that boasting is excluded, and that he who glories, muft glory in the Lord.

[As to felf-exaltation, the mouth of Gabriel is not lefs fhut before the throne, than that of Mary Magdalen. Therefore, if any out of hell glory in themfelves, it is only thofe felf-righteous fons of Lucifer and Pride, to whom our Lord fays ftill, You are of your father the devil, whofe works ye do, when ye feek to kill me, and glory in yourfelves.]

(4) Our beft works have fuch a mixture of imperfection, that they must be atoned for, and made acceptable by Chrift's blood; fo far are they from atoning for the leaft fin, [and meriting our acceptance] before God.

(5) If ever we did one truly good work, the me. rit is not ours, but God's, who by his free grace "prevented, accompanied, and followed us" in the performance. For it is God, who of his good pleafure worketh in us both to will and to do. Phil. ii. 12. Not I, fays the apostle, after mentioning his good works, but the grace of God in me, 1 Cor. xv. 10, compared with James i. 17.

(6) We perpetually fay at church: Glory be to the Father, as Creator; and to the Son, as Redeemer; and to the Holy Ghoft, as Sanctifier. Chrift is then to have all the glory of our redemption: But if our good works come in for any fhare in the purchase of heaven, we must come in alfo for fome fhare of the glory of our [redemption.] Thus Chrift will no longer be the only Redeemer: we fhall be co-redeemers with him,

and

and confequently we fhall have a fhare in the doxology; which is a blafphemous fuppofition.

(7) Our Lord him felf decides the question in thofe remarkable words, When you have done all that is commanded you; and where is the man that [according to the law of innocence] has done [without inter-ruption] I fhall not fay all, but the one half of it? fay, We are unprofitable fervants. Now it is plain, that unprofitable fervants do not merit in whole or in part, to fit down at their master's table, and be admitted as children to a fhare of his estate. Therefore, if God gives heaven to believers, it is entirely owing to his free mercy, [according to the law of faith through the merits of Jefus Chrift, and not at all through the merits of our own works.

(8) I fhall close these observations by St. Paul's unanfwerable argument. If righteoufnefs comes by the law, if falvation comes by [the covenant of] works, then Chrift died in vain. Gal. ii. 21. Whence it follows that if it comes in part by the works of the law [of innocence,] part of Chrift's fufferings were vain; a fuppofition which ends in the fame blafphemy [against the Mediator.]

(9) That man might deferve any thing of God, upon the footing of proper worthinefs, or merit of equivalence, God should stand in need of fome thing, which it is in man's power to beftow but this is abfolutely impoffible for God being felf-fufficient in his infinite fulness, is far above any want; and man being a dependent creature, every moment fupported by his Maker and Preferver, has nothing, and can do nothing, to which God has not a far greater right than man himself. This is what the apostle afferts where he fays, Who has given Him FIRST, and it fhall be recompenfed unto him again? But much more in this remarkable paffage; Who maketh thee to differ from another? If thou fayeft, The number of my talents and the proper ufe I have made of them: I ask again, gave thee those talents? And who fuperadded grace, wisdom, and an opportunity to improve them?

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