of mercy, for his tender kindness shewed unto us in his dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Hitherto have we heard what we are of ourselves: very sinful, wretched, and damnable. Again, we have heard how that of ourselves and by ourselves, we are not able either to think a good thought, or work a good deed, so that we can find in ourselves no hope of salvation, but rather whatsoever maketh unto our destruction. Again, we have heard the tender-kindness and great mercy of God the Father towards us, and how beneficial he is to us for Christ's sake, without our merits or deserts, even of his own mere mercy and tender goodness. Now, how these exceeding great mercies of God, set abroad in Christ Jesus for us, be obtained, and how we be delivered from the captivity of sin, death, and hell, it shall more at large (with God's help) be declared in the next sermon. In the mean season, yea, and at all times, let us learn to know ourselves, our frailty and weakness, without any cracking or boasting of our own good deeds and merits. Let us also acknowledge the exceeding mercy of God towards us, and confess, that as of ourselves cometh all evil and damnation, so likewise of him cometh all goodness and salvation, as God himself saith by the prophet Hosea, O Israel, thy destruction cometh of thyself, but in me only is thy help and comfort (Hosea xiii. 9). If we thus humbly submit ourselves in the sight of God, we may be sure that in the time of his visitation, he will lift us up unto the kingdom of his dearly beloved Son Christ Jesus our Lord: to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory for ever. Amen. [A suitable Prayer after reading the foregoing Homily. O MOST mighty God, and merciful Father, who hast compassion upon all men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made; who wouldest not the death of a sinner, but that he should rather turn from his sin, and be saved; Mercifully forgive us our trespasses; receive and comfort us, who are grieved and wearied with the burden of our sins. Thy property is always to have mercy; to thee only it appertaineth 18 to forgive sins. Spare us therefore, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed; enter not into judgment with thy servants, who are vile earth, and miserable sinners; but so turn thine anger from us, who meekly acknowledge our vileness, and truly rèpent us of our faults, and so make haste to help us in this world, that we may ever live with thee in the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Commination Service. ORIGINAL Sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. The Ninth Article of Religion. THE Condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God: Wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.-Tenth Article of Religion. WE say that man is born and does live in sin, and that no man can truly say his heart is clean; that the most holy man is an unprofitable servant.-Jewell's Apology, p. 28. So soon as he was ADAM was the first parent of mankind. defiled with that spot of sin, out of the root and stock corrupted there sprung forth corrupted branches, that conveyed also their corruption into the other twigs springing out of them. . . . . . Thence came the horrible blindness of our minds and perverseness of our hearts. Thence came that crookedness and corruptness of all our affections and desires. Thence came that seed-plot, and, as it were, a sink of all sins, with the faults whereof mankind is infected and tormented. Nowell's Catechism, pp. 44, 45. THAT offence which mortal men have done against the unmeasurable and infinite majesty of the immortal God, is worthy also of infinite and everduring punishment.—Ibid. p. 63.] A SERMON OF THE SALVATION OF MANKIND, BY ONLY CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR, FROM SIN AND DEATH EVERLASTING. BECAUSE all men be sinners and offenders against God, and breakers of his law and commandments, therefore can no man by his own acts, works, and deeds (seem they never so good) be justified, and made righteous before God: but every man of necessity is constrained to seek for another righteousness or justification, to be received at God's own hands, that is to say, the forgiveness of his sins and trespasses, in such things as he hath offended. And this justification or righteousness, which we so receive of God's mercy and Christ's merits, embraced by faith, is taken, accepted, and allowed of God, for our perfect and full justification. For the more full understanding hereof, it is our parts and duties ever to remember the great mercy of God, how that (all the world being wrapped in sin by breaking of the law) God sent his only Son our Saviour Christ into this world, to fulfil the law for us, and by shedding of his most precious blood, to make a sacrifice and satisfaction, or (as it may be called) amends to his Father for our sins, to assuage his wrath and indignation conceived against us for the same. The efficacy of Insomuch that infants, being baptized and dying in their infancy, are by this sacrifice washed from their sins, brought to God's favour, and Christ's passion made his children, and inheritors of his and oblation. kingdom of heaven. And they, which in act or deed do sin after their baptism, when they turn again to God unfeignedly, they are likewise washed by this sacrifice from their sins, in such sort, that there remaineth not any spot of sin, that shall be imputed to their damnation. This is that justification or righteousness which St. Paul speaketh of, when he saith, No man is justified by the works of the law, but freely by faith in Jesus Christ. And again he saith, We believe in Jesus Christ, that we be justified freely by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law, because that no man shall be justified by he the works of the law (Gal. ii. 16). And although this justification be free unto us, yet it cometh not so freely unto us, that there is no ransom paid therefor at all. But here may man's reason be astonied, reasoning after this fashion. If a ransom be paid for our Objection. redemption, then is it not given us freely. For a prisoner that payeth his ransom is not let go freely; for if he go freely, then he goeth without ransom for what is it else to go freely, than to be set at liberty without payment of ransom? This reason is satisfied by the great wisdom of God in this mystery of our Answer. redemption, who hath so tempered his justice and mercy together, that he would neither by his justice condemn us unto the everlasting captivity of the devil, and his prison of hell, remediless for ever without mercy, nor by his mercy deliver us clearly, without justice, or payment of a just ransom: but with his endless mercy joined his most upright and equal justice. His great mercy he shewed unto us in delivering us from our former captivity, without requiring of any ransom to be paid, or amends to be made upon our parts, which thing by us had been impossible to be done. And whereas it lay not in us that to do, he provided a ransom for us, that was, the most precious body and blood of his own most dear and best beloved Son Jesus Christ, who, besides this ransom, fulfilled the law for us perfectly. And so the justice of God and his mercy did embrace together, and fulfilled the mystery of our redemption [Ps. lxxxv. 10]. And of this justice and mercy of God knit together, speaketh St. Paul in the third chapter to the Romans [vv. 23-25], All have offended, and have need of the glory of God; but are justified freely by his grace, by redemption which is in Jesus Christ, whom God hath set forth to us for a reconciler and peace-maker, through faith in his blood, to shew his righteousness. And in the tenth chapter [v. 4], Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness, to every man that believeth. And in the eighth chapter [vv. 3, 4], That which was impossible by the law, inasmuch as it was weak by the flesh, God sending his own Son in the similitude of sinful flesh, by sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, which walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. In these foresaid places, the apostle toucheth specially in our justifica faith justifieth three things, which must go together in our Three things justification. Upon God's part, his great must go together mercy and grace: upon Christ's part, justice, tion. that is, the satisfaction of God's justice, or the price of our redemption, by the offering of his body, and shedding of his blood, with fulfilling of the law perfectly and throughly: and upon our part, true and lively faith in the merits of Jesus Christ, which yet is not ours, but by God's working in us so that in our justification, is not only God's mercy and grace, but also his justice, which the apostle calleth the justice of God, and it consisteth in paying our ransom and fulfilling of the law: and so the grace of God doth not shut out the justice of God in our justification, but only shutteth out the justice of man, that is to say, the justice of our works, as to be merits of deserving our justification. And therefore St. Paul declareth here nothing upon the behalf of man, concerning his justification, but only a true and lively faith, which nevertheless is the gift of God, and not man's only work, without God [Eph. ii. 8]. And yet that faith doth not shut How it is to be out repentance, hope, love, dread, and the understood, that fear of God, to be joined with faith in every without works. man that is justified; but it shutteth them out from the office of justifying. So that although they be all present together in him that is justified, yet they justify not altogether. Neither doth faith shut out the justice of our good works, necessarily to be done afterwards, of duty towards God, (for we are most bounden to serve God, in doing good deeds, commanded by him in his Holy Scripture, all the days of our life) but it excludeth them, so that we may not do them to this intent, to be made just by doing of them. For all the good works that we can do be imperfect, and therefore not able to deserve our justification: but our justification doth come freely by the mere mercy of God, and of so great and free mercy, that, whereas all the world was not able of themselves to pay any part towards their ransom, it pleased our heavenly Father of his infinite mercy, without any our desert or deserving, to prepare for us the most precious jewels of Christ's body and blood, whereby our ransom might be fully paid, the law fulfilled, and his justice fully satisfied. So that Christ is now the righteousness of all them that truly do believe in him. He for them paid their ransom |