righteous, ftand for one and the fame thing in the Article: and both import our being delivered from the guilt of fin, and entitled to the favour of God. Thefe differ from God's intending from all eternity to fave us, as much as a decree differs from the execution of it. A man is then only juftified, when he is freed from wrath, and is at peace with God: and though this is freely offered to us in the Gospel through Jefus Chrift, yet it is applied to none but to fuch as come within thofe qualifications and conditions fet before us in the Gospel. That God pardons fin, and receives us into favour only through the death of Chrift, is fo fully expreffed in the Gofpel, as was already made out upon the second Article, that it is not poffible to doubt of it, if one does firmly believe, and attentively read the New Teftament. Nor is it less evident, that it is not offered to us abfolutely, and without conditions and limitations. Thefe conditions are, Repentance, with which remiffion of fins is often joined; and Gal. v. 6. Faith, but a Faith that worketh by love, that purifies the heart, Luke xxiv. and that keeps the commandments of God; fuch a faith as 47 Acts ii. 38. fhews itself to be alive by good works, by acts of charity, and every act of obedience; by which we demonstrate, that we truly and firmly believe the divine authority of our Saviour and his doctrine. Such a faith as this juftifies, but not as it is a work or meritorious action, that of its own nature puts us in the favour of God, and makes us truly juft; but as it is the condition upon which the mercy of God is offered to us by Christ Jesus; for then we correfpond to his defign of coming into the world, that he might redeem us from all Tit. ii. 14o iniquity, that is, juftify us and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; that is, fanctify us. Upon our bringing ourselves therefore under thefe qualifications and conditions, we are actually in the favour of God; our fins are pardoned, and we are entitled to eternal life. Our faith and repentance are not the valuable confiderations for which God pardons and juftifies; that is done merely for the death of Chrift; which God having out of the riches of his grace provided for us, and offered to us, juftification is upon those accounts faid to be free; there being nothing on our part which either did or could have procured it. But ftill our faith, which includes our hope, our love, our repentance, and our obedience, is the condition that makes us capable of receiving the benefits of this redemption and free grace. And thus it is clear, in what fenfe we believe, that we are juftified both freely, and yet through Chrift; and also through faith, as the condition indifpenfably necessary on our part. ART. XI. In ftrictness of words, we are not justified till the final fentence is pronounced; till upon our death we are folemnly acquitted of our fins, and admitted into the presence of God; this being that which is oppofite to condemnation: yet as a man, who is in that ftate, that must end in condemnation, is John iii. 18. faid to be condemned already, and the wrath of God is faid to abide upon him; though he be not yet adjudged to it: fo, on the contrary, a man in that ftate, which must end in the full enjoyment of God, is faid now to be justified, and to be at peace with God; because he not only has the promises of that state now belonging to him, when he does perform the conditions required in them; but is likewife receiving daily marks of God's favour, the protection of his providence, the miniftry of Angels, and the inward affiftances of his grace and Spirit. This is a doctrine full of comfort; for if we did believe that our juftification was founded upon our inherent juftice, or fanctification, as the confideration on which we receive it, we should have just cause of fear and dejection; fince we could not reasonably promife ourfelves fo great a bleffing, upon fo poor a confideration: but when we know that this is only the condition of it, then when we feel it is fincerely received and believed, and carefully observed by us, we may conclude that we are juftified: but we are by no means to think, that our certain perfuafion of Chrift's having died for us in particular, or the certainty of our falvation through him, is an act of faving faith, much less that we are juftified by it. Many things have been too crudely faid upon this fubject, which have given the enemies of the Reformation great advantages, and have furnished them with much matter of reproach. We ought to believe firmly, that Chrift died for all penitent and converted finners; and when we feel these characters in ourselves, we may from thence juftly infer, that he died for us, and that we are of the number of those who fhall be faved through him: but yet if we may fall from this ftate, in which we do now feel ourselves, we may and muft likewife forfeit thofe hopes; and therefore we muft work out our falvation with fear and trembling. Our be lieving that we fhall be faved by Chrift, is no act of divine faith; fince every act of faith muft be founded on fome divine revelation: it is only a collection and inference that we may make from this general propofition, that Christ is the propitiation for the fins of thofe who do truly repent and believe his Gofpel; and from those reflections and obfervations that we make on ourselves, by which we conclude, that we do truly both repent and believe." ARTICLE ART. XII. ARTICLE Of Good Works. XII. Albeit that Good Works, which aze the fruits of Faith, and follow after Juftification, cannot put away our Sins, and endure the severity of God's Judgment : pet are they plealing and acceptable to God and Chriff, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith, infomuch that by them a lively Faith map be as evidently known, as a Tree difcerned by the fuit. TH HAT good works are indifpenfably neceffary to falvation; that without holiness no man fhall fee the Lord; is fo fully and frequently expreffed in the Gospel, that no doubt can be made of it by any who reads it: and indeed a greater difparagement to the Chriftian religion cannot be imagined, than to propofe the hopes of God's mercy and pardon barely upon believing, without a life fuitable to the rules it gives us. This began early to corrupt the theories of religion, as it ftill has but too great an influence upon the practice of it. What St. James writ upon this fubject, muft put an end to all doubting about it; and whatever fubtilties fome may have fet up, to feparate the confideration of faith from a holy life, in the point of juftification; yet none among us have denied that it was abfolutely neceffary to falvation and fo it be owned as neceffary, it is a nice curiofity to examine whether it is of itfelf a condition of juftification, or if it is the certain diftinction and conftant effect of that faith which juftifies. Thefe are fpeculations of very little confequence, as long as the main point is ftill maintained; that Chrift came to bring us to God, to change our natures, to mortify the old man in us, and to raise up and reftore that image of God, from which we had fallen by fin. And therefore even where the thread of men's fpeculations of thefe matters may be thought too fine, and in fome points of them wrong drawn; yet fo long as this foundation is preserved, that every one who nameth the 2 Tim. ii. name of Chrift does depart from iniquity, fo long the doctrine 19. of Chrift is preserved pure in this capital and fundamental point. There do arife out of this Article only two points, about which fome debates have been made. Ift. Whether the good works of holy men are in themselves fo perfect, that they can endure the feverity of God's judgment, fo that there is XII. AN EXPOSITION OF ART. no mixture of imperfection or evil in them, or not? The Council of Trent has decreed, that men by their good works have fo fully fatisfied the law of God, according to the state of this life, that nothing is wanting to them. The fecond point is, whether thefe good works are of their own nature meritorious of eternal life, or not? The Council of Trent has decreed that they are: yet a long foftening is added to the decree, importing, That none ought to glory in himself, but in the Lord; whofe goodness is fuch, that he makes his own gifts to us, to be merits in us: and it adds, That because in many things we offend all, every one ought to confider the juftice and feverity, as well as the mercy and goodnejs of God; and not to judge himself, even though he should know nothing by himself. So then that in which all are agreed about this matter, is, 1. That our works cannot be good or acceptable to God but as we are affifted by his grace and fpirit to do them: fo that the real goodness that is in them, flows from those affiftances which enable us to do them. 2. That God does certainly reward good works: he has promised it, and he is faithful and cannot lie: nor is be unrighteous to forget our labour of love. So the favour of God and eternal happiness is the reward of good works. Mat. x. 41, Mention is alfo made of a full reward, of the reward of a righteous man, and of a prophet's reward. 3. That this reward is promifed in the Gospel, and could not be claimed without that, by any antecedent merit founded upon equality: Since our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 42. 2 Cor. iv. 17. The points in which we differ, are, 1. Whether the good I works of holy men are fo perfect, that there is no defect in them; or whether there is still fome fuch defect mixed with them, that there is occafion for mercy, to pardon somewhat even in good men? Those of the Church of Rome think that a work cannot be called good, if it is not entirely good; and that nothing can pleafe God in which there is a mixture of fin. Whereas we, according to the Article, believe that human nature is so weak and fo degenerated, that as far as our natural powers concur in any action, there is ftill fome allay in it; and that a good work is confidered by God according to the main, both of the action and of the intention of him that does it; and as a father pities his children, fo God paffes over the defects of thofe who ferve him fincerely, though not perfectly. The imaginations of the heart of man are only evil Jam. iii. 2. continually: In many things we offend all, fays St. James: and St. Paul reckons that he had not yet apprehended, but was forgetting the things behind, and reaching to thofe before, and still preffing forward. Gen. vi. 5. Phil. iii. 13. We XII. We fee in fact, that the best men in all ages have been com- ART. plaining and humbling themselves even for the fins of their holy things, for their vanity and defire of glory, for the distraction of their thoughts in devotion, and for the affection which they bore to earthly things. It were a doctrine of great cruelty, which might drive men to defpair, if they thought that no action could please God, in which they were confcious to themselves of some imperfection or fin. The midwives of Ægypt feared God, yet they excufed themselves by a lye: but God accepted of what was good, and paffed over what was amifs in them, and built them houses. St. Austin urges this frequently, Exod. i. 21. that our Saviour, in teaching us to pray, has made this a ftanding petition, Forgive us our trefpaffes, as well as that, Give us this day our daily bread; for we fin daily, and do always need a pardon. Upon thefe reafons we conclude, that fomewhat of the man enters into all that men do: we are made up of infirmities, and we need the interceffion of Chrift, to make our best actions to be accepted of by God: For if he Pfal. cxxxẹ fhould ftraitly mark iniquity, who can stand before him? but 3,4mercy is with him, and forgiveness. So that with Hezekiah we ought to pray, that though we are not purified according to 2 Chr. xxx. the purification of the fanctuary, yet the good Lord would pardon every one that prepareth his heart to feek God. 18, 19. The fecond question arifes out of this, concerning the merit of good works; for upon the fuppofition of their being completely good, that merit is founded; which will be acknowledged to be none at all, if it is believed that there are fuch defects in them, that they need a pardon; fince where there is guilt, there can be no pretenfion to merit. The word merit has also a found that is fo daring, fo little fuitable to the humility of a creature, to be ufed towards a Being of infinite majefty, and with relation to endless rewards, that though we do not deny but that a fenfe is given to it by many of the Church of Rome, to which no juft exception can be made, yet there feems to be fomewhat too bold in it, especially when condignity is added to it and fince this may naturally give us an idea of a buying and felling with God, and that there has been a great deal of this put in practice, it is certain that on many refpects this word ought not to be made use of. There is fomewhat in the nature of man apt to fwell and to raise itself out of measure, and to that no indulgence ought to be given, in words that may flatter it; for we ought to fubdue this temper by all means poffible, both in ourselves and others. On the other hand, though we confess that there is a diforder and weakness that hangs heavy upon us, and that sticks close to us, yet this ought not to make us indulge ourselves in our fins, as if they were the effects of an infirmity M 4 that |