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Tà ènì Tis yйs, "Mortify therefore your earthly members;" and, "If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall lived." Mortification is the condition of life, it is expressly commanded by the Apostle that we make the deeds of the body to be dead; that is, the evil habits and concupiscence of the body; for that which St. Paul here calls gas or deeds,' in the same precept written to the Galatians, he calls anaтa nai induμías, "lusts and concupiscences.”—And of what great necessity and effect this mortification and crucifying of our simple customs is, we may understand best by those other words of the same Apostle; “He that is dead is justified from sins f;" not till then, not till his habit was dead; not as soon as he morally retracts it by an act of displeasure and contrition, but when the sin is dead, when the habit is crucified, when the concupiscence does not reign, but is overcome in all its former prevalences, then he is pardoned, and not before.

45. IX. Unless it be necessary to oppose a habit against a habit, a state of virtue against a state of vice; that is, if a vicious habit may be pardoned upon one act of contrition, then it may so happen that a man shall not be obliged to do good, but only to abstain from evil, to cease from sin, but not to proceed and grow in grace: which is against the perpetual design and analogy of the Gospel, and the nature of evangelical righteousness, which differs from the righteousness of the law, as doing good from not doing evil. The Law forbade murder, but the Gospel superadds charity. The Law forbade uncleanness, but the Gospel superadds purity and mortification. The Law forbade us to do wrong, but the Gospel commands us to do offices of kindness. Injustice was prohibited by the Law, but revenge also of real injuries is forbidden by the Gospel, and we are commanded to do good to them that injure us; and therefore the writers of the New Testament do frequently join these, to be dead unto sin, and to live unto righteousness.' This is that which was opposed to the righteousness of the Law "," and is called the righteousness of God:' and a mistake in this affair was the

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g Rom. vi. 18. Ephes. iv. 22. Col. i. 13. iii. 5. 10. 12. Titus, ii. 12-14. Ileb. x. 22. 24. 1 Pet. ii. 1,2. iii. 11. 2 Pet. i. 4--8.

h Rom. iii. 21. ix. 30, 31. Gal. ii. 16. iii. 8. Phil. iii. 6,7.

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ruin of the Jews. For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, they thought to be justified by their own righteousness which is of the Law: that is, they thought it enough to leave off to sin, without doing the contrary good, and so hoped for the promises. This was the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees, to be no adulterers, no defrauders of the rights of the temple, no publicans or exactors of tribute. But our blessed Saviour assured us that there is no hope of heaven for us, "unless our righteousness exceed this of theirs."

46. Now then, to apply this to the present argument. Suppose a vicious person who hath lived an impious life, placed upon his death-bed, exhorted to repentance, made sensible of his danger, invited by the sermons of his priest to dress his soul with duty and sorrow; if he obeys, and is sorry for his sin; supposing that this sorrow does really begin that part of his duty which consists in not sinning, nay, suppose he will never sin again (which is the righteousness of the Law), yet how can he in that case do that good which is required by the Gospel? "Seek the kingdom of heaven, and the righteousness thereof." The Gospel hath a peculiar righteousness of its own, proper to itself, without which there is no entrance into heaven. But the righteousness of the Law' is called our own righteousness; that is, such a righteousness which men by nature know; for we all, by the innate law of nature, know, that we ought to abstain from doing injury to man, from impiety to God: but we only know by revelation the righteousness of the kingdom which consists in holiness and purity, chastity and patience, humility and selfdenial. He that rests in the first, and thinks he may be saved by it (as St. Paul's expression is), he establisheth his own righteousness,' that is, 'the righteousness of the Law;' and this he does, whosoever thinks that his evil habits are pardoned without doing that good, and acquiring those graces, which constitute the righteousness of the Gospel, that is, faith and holiness, which are the significations, and the vital parts of the new creature.

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47. X. But because this doctrine is highly necessary, and the very soul of Christianity, I consider further, that without the superinducing a contrary state of good to the former state of evil, we cannot return, or go off from that evil condition that God hates, I mean the middle state, or the state of

lukewarmness. For though all the old philosophy consented that virtue and vice had no medium between them, but whatsoever was not evil, was good, and he that did not do evil was a good man, said the old Jews, yet this they therefore did irreprovably teach, because they knew not this secret of the righteousness of God. For in the evangelical justice, between the natural, or legal good or evil, there is a medium or a third, which of itself, and by the accounts of the law was not evil, but in the accounts of the evangelical righteousness is a very great one; that is, lukewarmness, or a cold, tame, indifferent, inactive religion. Not that lukewarmness is by name forbidden by any of the laws of the Gospel, but that it is against the analogy and design of it. A lukewarm person does not do evil, but he is hated by God, because he does not vigorously proceed in godliness. No law condemns him, but the Gospel approves him not, because he does not from the heart obey this form of doctrine, which commands a course, a habit, a state and life of holiness. It is not enough that we abstain from evil, we shall not be crowned unless we be partakers of a divine nature. For to this St. Peter1 enjoins us carefully. Now then we 'partake of a divine nature,' when the Spirit dwells in us,' and rules all our faculties, when we are united unto God, when we imitate the Lord Jesus, when we are perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Now whether this can be done by an act of contrition, needs no further inquiry, but to observe the nature of evangelical righteousness, the hatred God bears to lukewarmness, the perfection he requires of a Christian, the design and great example of our blessed Lord, the glories of that inheritance whither we are designed, and of the obtaining of which, obedience to God in the faith of Jesus Christ is made the only, indispensable, necessary condition.

48. For let it be considered. Suppose a man that is righteous according to the letter of the law of the ten commandments, all of which (two excepted) were negative; this man hath lived innocently and harmlessly all his days, but yet uselessly, unprofitably, in rest and inactive circumstances; is not this person an unprofitable servant? the servant in the parable was just such: he spent not his master's talent with riotous living, like the prodigal, but laid it up in a napkin, he

1 2 Pet. i. 4.

did neither good nor harm; but because he did no good, he received none, but was thrown into outer darkness.

'Nec furtum feci, nec fugi' si mihi dicat

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Servus, habes pretium, loris non ureris,' ajo.

"Non hominem occidi ;'-' non pasces in cruce corvos k."

An innocent servant amongst the Romans might escape the furca,' or the mill, or the wheel: but unless he was useful, he was not made much of. So it is in Christianity. For that which according to Moses was called righteousness,' according to Christ is " poverty and nakedness, misery and blindness," as appears in the reproof which the Spirit of God sent to the bishop and church of Laodicea'. He thought himself rich when he was nothing; that is, he was harmless, but not profitable, innocent according to the measures of the law, but not rich in good works. So the pharisees also thought themselves just by the justice of the law, that is, by their abstinence from condemned evils, and therefore they refused to buy of Christ the Lord, gold purified in the fire, whereby they might become rich; that is, they would not accept of the righteousness of God, the justice evangelical, and therefore they were rejected. And thus to this very day do we. Even many that have the fairest reputation for good persons and honest men, reckon their hopes upon their innocence and legal freedoms, and outward compliances: that they are no liars nor swearers, no drunkards nor gluttons, no extortioners nor injurious, no thieves nor murderers; but in the mean time they are unprofitable servants, not instructed, not thoroughly prepared to every good work;' not abounding in the work of the Lord,' but blind, and poor, and naked;" just, but as the pharisees; innocent, but as heathens; in the mean time they are only in that state, to which Christ never made the promises of eternal life, and joys hereafter.

49. Now if this be true in one period, it is true in all the periods of our life. If he that hath always lived thus innocently and no more, that is, a heathen and a pharisee, could not by their innocence and proper righteousness obtain heaven, much less shall he who lived viciously and contracted filthy habits, be accepted by all that amends he can make by such single acts of contrition, by which nothing can be effected but that he hates sin and leaves it. For if the most innocent k Horat. Ep. 1. 16. 46. I Rev. iii. 15.

by the legal righteousness is still but unprofitable, much more is he such who hath prevaricated that and lived vilely, and now in his amendment begins to enter that state, which if it goes no further, is still unprofitable. They were severe words which our blessed Saviour said, "When ye have done all things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants;" that is, when ye have done all things which are commanded (in the Law), he says not "all things which I shall command you;" for then we are not unprofitable servants in the evangelical sense. For he that obeys this form of doctrine is a good servant. He is "the friend of God.”—“ If ye do whatsoever I command you, ye are my friends;" and that is more than profitable servants: for "I will not call you servants, but friends," saith our blessed Lord"; and for you, ' a crown of righteousness is laid up against the day of recompenses.' These therefore cannot be called unprofitable servants, but friends, sons, and heirs; for he " that is an unprofitable servant, shall be cast into outer darkness." To live therefore in innocence only, and according to the righteousness of the law, is to be a servant, but yet unprofitable; and that in effect is to be no heir of the promises; for to these, piety, or evangelical righteousness, is the only title. "Godliness is profitable to all things, having the promise of this life, and of that which is to come." For upon this account, the works of the law cannot justify us:' for the works of the law at the best were but innocence and ceremonial performances: but we are justified by the works of the Gospel, that is, faith and obedience. For these are the righteousness of God, they are his works, revealed by his Spirit, effected by his grace, promoted by his gifts, encouraged by special promises, sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and accepted through Jesus Christ to all the great purposes of glory and immortality.

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50. Since therefore a constant innocence could not justify us, unless we have the righteousness of God, that is, unless we superadd holiness and purity in the faith of Jesus Christ: much less can it be imagined that he who hath transgressed the righteousness of the law, and broken the negative precepts, and the natural human rectitude, and hath superinduced vices contrary to the righteousness of God, can ever n John, xv. 14, 15.

VOL. VIII.

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