do;-but we shall hate what God hates, and the evil that is forbidden, we shall not do; not because we are strong of ourselves, but because Christ is our strength, and he is in us; and Christ's strength shall be perfected in our weakness, and his grace will be sufficient for us; and he will, of his own good pleasure, work in us, not only to will, but also to do, "velle et perficere," saith the apostle, " to will and "to to do it thoroughly" and fully, being sanctified throughout, to the glory of his holy name, and the eternal salvation of our souls, through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom, with the Father, &c.

SERMON III.

FIDES FORMATA; OR, FAITH WORKING BY LOVE.

You see, then, how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.-James, ii. 24.

THAT we are justified by faith,' St. Paul tells us; that we are also "justified by works," we are told in my text; and both may be true. But that this justification is wrought by faith without works, "to him that worketh not, but believeth," saith St. Paul: that this is not wrought without works, St. James is as express for his negative as St. Paul was for his affirmative; and how both these should be true, is something harder to unriddle. But, "affirmanti incumbit probatio;-he that affirms must prove;" and, therefore, St. Paul proves his doctrine by the example of Abraham, to whom faith was imputed for righteousness; and, therefore, not by works. And what can be answered to this? Nothing but this, that St. James uses the very same argument to prove that our justification is by works also; "For our father Abraham was justified by works, when he offered up his son Isaac." Now which of these says true? Certainly both of them? but neither of them have been well understood; insomuch that they have not only made divisions of heart among

a Rom. iii, 28; iv. 5; v. 1; x. 10. Gal. ii. 16.

b James, ii. 9.

the faithful, but one party relies on faith to the disparagement of good life, and the other makes works to be the main ground of our hope and confidence, and consequently to exclude the efficacy of faith: the one makes Christian religion a lazy and inactive institution; and the other, a bold presumption on ourselves; while the first tempts us to live like heathens, and the other recalls us to live the life of Jews; while one says 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of St. James,' and both of them put it in danger of evacuating the institution and the death of Christ; one looking on Christ only as a Lawgiver, and the other only as a Saviour. The effects of these are very sad, and by all means to be diverted by all the wise considerations of the Spirit.

My purpose is not with subtle arts to reconcile them that never disagreed; the two apostles spake by the same Spirit, and to the same last design, though to differing intermedial purposes but because the great end of faith, the design, the definition, the state, the economy of it, is that all believers should not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Before I fall to the close handling of the text, I shall premise some preliminary considerations, to prepare the way of holiness, to explicate the differing senses of the apostles, to understand the question and the duty, by removing the causes of the vulgar mistakes of most men in this article; and then proceed to the main inquiry.

1. That no man may abuse himself or others by mistaking of hard words, spoken in mystery, with allegorical expressions to secret senses, wrapt up in a cloud; such as are, 'faith, and justification, and imputation, and righteousness, and works,' be pleased to consider, that the very word faith' is, in Scripture, infinitely ambiguous, insomuch that in the Latin concordances of St. Jerome's Bible, published by Robert Stephens, you may see no less than twenty-two several senses and acceptations of the word 'faith,' set down with the several places of Scripture referring to them; to which if, out of my own observation, I could add no more, yet these are an abundant demonstration, that whatsoever is said of the efficacy of faith for justification, is not to be taken in such a sense as will weaken the necessity and our carefulness of good life, when the word may, in so many other senses, be taken to verify the affirmation of St. Paul, of

'justification by faith,' so as to reconcile it to the necessity of obedience.'

2. As it is in the word 'faith,' so it is in works;' for by works is meant sometimes the thing done,-sometimes the labour of doing,-sometimes the good will;-it is sometimes taken for a state of good life,-sometimes for the covenant of works;-it sometimes means the works of the law, sometimes the works of the Gospel ;-sometimes it is taken for a perfect, actual, unsinning obedience,--sometimes for a sincere endeavour to please God ;-sometimes they are meant to be such which can challenge the reward as of debt; -sometimes they mean only a disposition of the person to receive the favour and the grace of God. Now since our good works can be but of one kind (for ours cannot be meritorious, ours cannot be without sin all our life, they cannot be such as need no repentance), it is no wonder if we must be justified without works in this sense; for by such works no man living can be justified: and these St. Paul calls the 'works of the law,' and sometimes he calls them our righteousness;' and these are the covenant of works. But because we came into the world to serve God, and God will be obeyed, and Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from sin, and to redeem to himself a people zealous of good works,' and hath, to this purpose, revealed to us all his Father's will, and destroyed the works of the devil, and gives us his Holy Spirit, and by him we shall be justified in this obedience; therefore, when works signify a sincere hearty endeavour to keep all God's commands, out of a belief in Christ, that if we endeavour to do so, we shall be helped by his grace, and if we really do so, we shall be pardoned for what is past, and if we continue to do so, we shall receive a crown of glory; therefore, it is no wonder that it is said we are to be justified by works; always meaning, not the works of the law, that is, works that are meritorious, works that can challenge the reward, works that need no mercy, no repentance, no humiliation, and no appeal to grace and favour;- but always meaning works that are an obedience to God by the measures of good will, and a sincere endeavour, and the faith of the Lord Jesus.

3. But thus also it is in the word 'justification:' for God is justified, and wisdom is justified, and man is justified, and

a sinner is not justified as long as he continues in sin; and a sinner is justified when he repents, and when he is pardoned; and an innocent person is justified when he is declared to be no criminal; and a righteous man is justified when he is saved; and a weak Christian is justified when his imperfect services are accepted for the present, and himself thrust forward to more grace; and he that is justified may be justified more; and every man that is justified to one purpose, is not so to all; and faith, in divers senses, gives justification in as many; and, therefore, though to every sense of faith there is not always a degree of justification in any, yet, when the faith is such that justification is the product and correspondent, as that faith may be imperfect, so the justification is but begun, and either must proceed further, or else, as the faith will die, so the justification will come to nothing. The like observation might be made concerning imputation, and all the words used in this question; but these may suffice till I pass to other particulars.

'

4. Not only the word faith,' but also charity,' and 'godliness,' and 'religion,' signify, sometimes, particular graces; and sometimes they suppose universally, and mean conjugations and unions of graces, as is evident to them that read the Scriptures with observation. Now when justification is attributed to faith, or salvation to godliness, they are to be understood in the aggregate sense: for, that I may give but one instance of this, when St. Paul speaks of faith as it is a particular grace, and separate from the rest, he also does separate it from all possibility of bringing us to heaven: Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing:"e when faith includes charity, it will bring us to heaven; when it is alone, when it is without charity, it will do nothing at all.

5. Neither can this parvóuevov be solved by saying, that though faith alone does justify, yet when she does justify, she is not alone, but good works must follow; for this is said to no purpose:

1. Because if we be justified by faith alone, the work is done, whether charity does follow or no; and, therefore, that want of charity cannot hurt us.

e 1 Cor. xiii. 2.

2. There can be no imaginable cause why charity and obedience should be at all necessary, if the whole work can be done without it.

3. If obedience and charity be not a condition of our salvation, then it is not necessary to follow faith; but if it be, it does as much as faith, for that is but a part of the condition.

4. If we can be saved without charity and keeping the commandments, what need we trouble ourselves for them? If we cannot be saved without them, then either faith without them does not justify; or if it does, we are never the better, for we may be damned for all that justification.

The consequent of these observations is briefly this:1. That no man should fool himself by disputing about the philosophy of justification, and what causality faith hath in it, and whether it be the act of faith that justifies, or the habit? Whether faith as a good work, or faith as an instrument? Whether faith as it is obedience, or faith as it is an access to Christ? Whether as a hand, or as a heart? Whether by its own innate virtue, or by the efficacy of the object? Whether as a sign, or as a thing signified? Whether by introduction, or by perfection? Whether in the first beginnings, or in its last and best productions? Whether by inherent worthiness, or adventitious imputations? "Uberiùs ista, quæso (that I may use the words of Cicero): hæc enim spinosiora, prius, ut confitear, me cogunt, quam ut assentiar:" these things are knotty, and too intricate to do any good; they may amuse us, but never instruct us; and they have already made men careless and confident, disputative and troublesome, proud and uncharitable, but neither wiser nor better. Let us, therefore, leave these weak ways of troubling ourselves or others, and directly look to the theology of it, the direct duty, the end of faith, and the work of faith, the conditions and the instruments of our salvation, the just foundation of our hopes, how our faith can destroy our sin, and how it can unite us unto God; how by it we can be made partakers of Christ's death, and imitators of his life. For since it is evident, by the premises, that this article is not to be determined or relied upon by

Tuscul. i. 8. Davis.