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they challenge as of right and justice belonging to them. Nay, so high have they carried this doctrine, as to pretend not only to merit eternal life for themselves, but to do a great deal more in works of fupererogation, for the benefit and advantage of others; that is, when they have done as much as in strict duty they are obliged to, and thereby paid down a valuable confideration for heaven, and as much as in equal justice between God and man it is worth, the surplusage of their good works they put as a debt upon God, and as so many bills of credit laid up in the treasure of the church, which the Pope by his pardons and indulgences may dispense and place to whose account he pleaseth. And thus by one device or other they have enervated the Christian religion to that degree, that it hath quite lost its virtue and efficacy upon the hearts and lives of men; and instead of the fruits of real goodness and righteousness, it produceth little else but fuperftition and folly; or if it bring forth any fruits of charity, it is either so misplaced upon these chimeras, (as hiring of priests to say so many masses for the dead, to redeem their fouls out of purgatory) that it fignifies nothing; or else the virtue of it is spoiled by the arrogant pretence of meriting by it. So apt have men always been to deceive themselves by an affected mistake of any thing for religion, but that which really and in truth is so. And this is that which the Apofile St. Paul foretold would be the great miscarriage of the last times, that under a great pretence of religion men should be destitute of all goodness, and abandoned to all wickedness and vice, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it, 2 Tim. iii. 5.

And though things have been much better since that happy reformation from the corruptions and errors of Popery, yet even among Protestants the malice and craft of the devil hath prevailed so far, as to undermine, in a great measure, the necessity of a good life, by those Juscious doctrines of the Antinomians, concerning free grace, and the justification of a sinner, merely upon a confident perfuafion of his being in a state of grace and favour with God, and confequently that the gospel difchargeth men from obedience to the laws of God, and all manner of obligation to the virtues of a good life; which doctrines,

doctrines, how false and absurd foever in themselves, and pernicious in their consequences, did not only prevail very much in Germany, a little after the beginning of the reformation, but have fince got too much footing in other places, and been too far entertained and cherished by fome good men, who were not sufficiently aware of the error and danger of them. But blessed be God, the doctrine of our church, both in the articles and homilies of it, hath been preserved pure and free from all error and corruption in this matter on either hand, afferting the necessity of good works, and yet renouncing the merit of them in that arrogant sense, in which the church of Rome does teach and affert it; and so teaching juftification by faith, and the free grace of God in Jesus Chrift, as to maintain the indispensible necessity of the virtues of a good life.

And thus I have done with the first reason, why it is so fit and necessary to press frequently upon Christians the indispensible necessity of the virtues of a good life, viz. because men are and have ever been so very apt to deceive themselves in this matter, and so hardly brought to that wherein religion mainly confists, viz. the practice of real goodness. I shall be brief upon the

II. Reason, namely, because of the indispensible neceffity of the thing to render us capable of the divine favour and acceptance, and of the reward of eternal life. And this added to the former, makes the reason full and strong. For if men be so apt to deceive themselves in this matter, and to be deceived in it be a matter of fuch dangerous confequence, then it is highly necessary to inculcate this frequently upon Christians, that no man may be mistaken in a matter of so much danger, and upon which his eternal happiness depends. Now if obedience to the laws of God, and the practice of virtue and good works, be neceffary to our continuance in a state of grace and favour with God, and to our final justification by our absolution at the great day, if nothing but holiness and obedience can qualify us for the blessed sight of God, and the glorious reward of eternal happiness; then it is matter of infinite consequence to us, not to be mistaken in a matter of so great importance; but that we workout our falvation with fear and trembling, and give all diligence

to :

to make our calling and election fure, by adding to our faith end knowledge, the virtues of a good life; that by patient continuance in well-doing, we seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, and eternal life: and that we so demean ourselves in all holy conversation and godliness, as that we may with comfort and confidence wait for the bleffed hope, and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. That this is indispenfibly neceffary to our happiness, I have in my former dif course shewed at large, from the great end and defign of religion in general, and of the Christian religion in particular, from the whole design and doctrine of the gospel, from the constant tenour of the bible, and from the nature and reason of the thing.

I know it hath been the great design of the devil and his instruments, in all ages, to undermine religion, by making an unhappy separation and divorce between godliness and morality, between faith and the virtues of a good life; and by this means not only to weaken and abate, but even wholly to destroy the force and officacy of the Christian religion, and to leave men as much under the power of the devil and their lufts, as if there were no fuch thing as Christianity in the world. But let us not deceive ourselves; this was always religion, and the condition of our acceptance with God, to endeavour to be like God in purity and holiness, in justice and righteousness, in mercy and goodness, to ceafe to do evil, and to learn to do well. And this you will find to be the constant doctrine of the holy scriptures, from the beginning of the bible to the end. Gen. iv. 7. If thou doft well, shalt thou not be accepted? Pfal. xv. 1. 2. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell upon thy holy bill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth from his heart. Pfal. 1. 23. To him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I shew the falvation of God. Ha. i. 16. 17. 18. Wash ye, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the

fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us rea

fon fon together, faith the Lord. Though your fins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Ifa. iii. 10. 11. Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Wo unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him, Mich. vi. 8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

And our blessed Saviour, in his fermon upon the mount, tells us plainly what manner of persons we must be, if ever we hope to be happy, and to enter into the kingdom of God; and wherein his religion confifts, in righteousness, and purity, and meekness, and patience, and peaceableness; and declares most exprefly, that if we hope for happiness upon any other terms than the practice of these virtues, we build upon the fand. Acts x. 34. Of a truth I perceive, says St. Peter there, that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. Gal. vi. 7. 8. Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For he that foweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that foweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. Eph. v. 6. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of difobedience, I John iii. 7. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. And here in the text, This is a faithful saying, &c. These things are good and profitable to men, acceptable to God, and honourable to religion, and the only way and means to eternal life, through the mercy and merits of Jesus Chrift our blefsed Lord and Saviour.

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ERMON CCIX.

Of the neceffity of good works.

TIT. iii. 8.

This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God, might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

I

The third fermon on this text..

Come now to the second thing I proposed, which was to anfwer an objection or two, to which the preaching of this kind of doctrine may feem liable. First, That this is to advance and set up morality. Secondly, That this seems to contradict St. Paul's doArine of justification by the free grace of God in Fefus Christ, and by faith without the works of the law. I shall endeavour to answer both these.

First, That this is to advance and fet up morality. To which I anfwer two things.

I. That if by morality men mean counterfeit virtue, and the specious shew of justice, and charity, and meeknefs, or any other virtue, without the truth and reality of them, without an inward principle of love to God and goodness, out of oftentation and vain-glory, or for some other by and finifter end, such as probably were the virtues of many Heathens, and it is to be feared of too many Christians; if this be that which the objectors mean by morality, then we do assure them that we preach up no fuch morality, but those virtues only which are fincere, and substantial, and real, the principle and root whereof is the love of God and goodness, and the end, the honour and glory of God, and a necessary ingredient whereof is fincerity and truth. It is righteousness and true holiness, the fincere love of God and

our

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