the Church contradict herfelf? In the 17th article, as I obferved before, the elect are exprefsly faid, to be " Juftified, called, conformed to the image of Chrift, to walk religioufly in good works, and, at length, to attain to everlafting felicity:" but how could they be faid to actually attain to everlasting felicity, if all or any of them might perish by the way?

Nor do our homilies run counter to our articles. Your citations from the former, only prove these five things; 1. That the regenerate are not, in this life, impeccable. 2. That, without carefulness and circumfpection, the moft advanced in grace may not only fin, but even fin grievously. 3. That the spiritual life of the foul must be cherished, and kept up, by a diligent and humble attendance on the feveral means of grace. 4. That good works and holy obedience are the infeparable effects of true faith; and, 5. That all hope of intereft in Chrift, and expectation of falvation by him, are vain and groundlefs, unless we prove ourselves his children, by walking as he walked.

Laftly, We come to the doctrine of juftification by faith. On this important fubject, you deliver your judgment as follows; page 123, "We all hold, that we are juftified freely by God's grace: that there is no merit in good works: that we are not to place our dependance, or reft our plea, on any works that we have done or can do; but only on the mercy of God, and the merits of our Redeemer." And again, page 124, "We hold, as well as you, that juftification is the act of God alone, conferred on us freely, by his grace that our own good works have no proper efficiency in the act of our juftification; have no worth or merit in them: that we have all finned and come short of the glory of God, and can be juftified and faved only by faith," which faith you immediately define to be, "a reliance on the mercies and merits of Chrift." After giving us fuch a confef

fion of your faith, who could have imagined that you would, almoft in the fame breath, blow down the whole fabric? by faying, page 123, "On the other hand, I fhould hope, that all, who believe the gofpel, would agree, that good works are the neceffary condition both of our juftification and falvation." How! juftified and faved only by faith, and yet, good works the neceffary condition both of our juftification and falvation! which foever of these two propofitions is right, one of them must be wrong; because two contradictory affertions cannot be both true. If faith be, as you fay it is, neither more nor lefs than a reliance on the mercies and merits of Christ, and we are juftified and faved by faith only; it follows, that good works cannot poffibly be the neceffary condition of our juftification and falva

tion.

To tell you plainly, fir, the doctrine of the Scriptures, and of our Church, is: that juftification itfelt confifts in God's efteeming and counting us righteous that he thus efteems and counts us righteous, neither for our faith, nor for our works, nor for both of them together; but folely and entirely on account of Christ's facrifice and obedience imputed to us freely and fully: that the facrifice and obedience of Chrift, as the alone matter of our juftification are to be received, embraced, and refted upon by faith only, which faith is the gift of God: and, that this faith, thus divinely given and wrought in the foul by the Holy Ghoft, is lively, active and purifying; having its fruit unto holiness, and the end everlafting life.-Santification, then, and good works, are not conditions of, but confequences refulting from, intereft in Chrift and acceptance with God: not antecedent requifites, à priori, in order to our being juftified; but fubfequent evidences, à pofteriori, of our being fo. Hence, our excellent Church puts juftification before good works, and makes good works follow juftification. In her 11th article, fhe treats

of

of juftification; and then, in the 12th, confiders good works.

ARTICLE XI. "Of the juftification of man.

"We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord Jefus Chrift, by faith, and not for our own works or defervings. Wherefore, that we are juftified by faith only, is a moft wholefome doctrine, and very full of comfort: as more largely is expreffed in the homily of juftification."

If works, if all works of our own, of every fort, and in every point of view, are not, here, totally excluded from having any thing to do with juftification,

parte ante; there is no fuch thing as meaning in language. Yet our reformers, in the next article, fpeak, if poffible, clearer ftill: and, as if they thought it not enough, fimply to exclude works from having the leaft hand in any part of our juftification; go on to acquaint us, that, until men actually are juftified, they cannot fo much as do a good work: good works being the effect and fruits, of which juftification, previously received, is itself the fource and caufe. And, if juftification itself is the caufe of good works, then good works cannot poffibly be either the caufe or condition of juftification; becaufe caufes and conditions neceffarily precede that, which they are the causes and conditions of.

"Albeit, that good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after juftification, cannot put away our fins, and endure the feverity of God's judgment; yet are they pleafing and acceptable to God in Chrift, and do fpring out, neceffarily, of a true and lively faith: infomuch that, by them, a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree difcerned by the fruit."

Hence I conclude, that, if we are juftified, or accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of

our

our Lord Jefus Chrift received by faith; and if good works themselves are the fruits of faith, and follow after juftification; then good works cannot, in the very nature of things, go before justification, any more than fruit can exift, prior to the tree, that bears it; or an effect can be wrought, antecedently to the cause that produces it. Has the determination of our own Church any weight with her members? If it has, they must and will acknowledge, that good works do not precede juftification; and, confequently, cannot be (as Papifts and Arminians pretend) a condition, without which God will not juftify. The good works, which he has ordained for us to walk in, fucceed and follow upon juftification ex poft facto; as marks and evidences of our being already in a juftified ftate.-But our reformers forefaw, that fome would probably ask, "Since juftification is not, in any fenfe whatever, founded upon good works; but, on the contrary, all good works flow from juftification; and thefe, flowing from it, can never be the fource of that, from which themfelves iffue as the ftream; what are we to think of thofe works, which are done prior to this juftification by faith?" To an enquiry of this fort, the next article returns fuch an anfwer, as effectually clinches the nail, and lays the axe to the very root of legal, conditional juftification: declaring, that no works whatever, done by us before juftification, are pleafing to God; and by confequence, that no man can, directly or indirectly, be juftified by works of his own. It being, of all abfurdities, the abfurdeft, to imagine, that those finful works, with which God is actually displeased, should be conditions of obtaining his favour, or recommend us to his acceptance.

ARTICLE XIII. Of works done before juftification. "Works done before the grace of Chrift, and the infpiration of his fpirit, are not pleasant to God; VOL. V. (24.) forafmuch

I

forafmuch as they fpring not of faith in Jefus Chrift, &c."

With thefe decifions, our homilies are perfect unifons. Witnefs the following citation, which being extremely important, moft judicioufly worded, and as pertinent to the subject, as if it had been purpofely drawn up against Dr. Nowell; I requeft the reader to perufe it flowly, and to weigh it with the most careful attention. "Thefe works" [namely, fuch as are becoming of "new creatures in Chrift"] "the apoftle calleth good works; faying, we are God's workmanship, created in Chrift Jefus to good works, which God hath ordained that we fhould walk in them. And yet his meaning is not by these words to induce us to have any affiance, or to put any confidence in our works, as by the merit and deferving of them to purchafe to ourselves and others remiffion of fin, and fo confequently everlasting life for that were mere blafphemy against God's mercy, and great derogation to the blood-fhedding of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. For it is of the freegrace and mercy of God, by the mediation of the blood of his Son Jefus Chrift, without merit or deferving on our part, that we are reconciled and brought again into his favour, and are made heirs of his heavenly kingdom. Grace, faith St. Auguftine, belonging to God, who doth call us: and then hath he good works, whofoever received grace. Good works then, bring not forth grace, but are brought forth by grace. The wheel (faith he) turneth round, not to the end that it may be made round; but, because it is firft made round, therefore it turneth round. So no man doeth good works to receive grace by his good works, but because he hath firft received grace, therefore, confequently, he doeth good works. And in another place, he [St. Auftin] faith: good works go not before, in him which fhall afterwards be juftified; but good works do follow after, when a man is, first,

juftified.