extensive, furnish us with abundant evidence, not of their opinions alone, but of those of much earlier writers, as to the subject before us.

"After this wise (say they) to be justified only by this "true and lively faith in Christ, speak all the old and "ancient authors, both Greeks and Latins; of whom "we will specially rehearse three, Hilary, Basil, and "Ambrose. St. Hilary saith these words plainly "in the ninth canon upon Matthew; Faith only "justifieth.' And St. Basil, a Greek author, writeth "thus: "This is a perfect and whole rejoicing in God, "when a man advanceth not himself for his own righteousness, but acknowledgeth himself to lack "true justice and righteousness, and to be justified by "the only faith in Christ.'

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"These be the very words of St. Basil; and St. "Ambrose, a Latin author, hath these words: This "is the ordinance of God, that they which believe in "Christ shall be saved without works, by faith only, "freely receiving the remission of their sins.' Con"sider diligently these words, without works by faith only freely we receive the remission of our sins.' "What can be spoken more plainly than to say, that "freely without works, by faith only we obtain remis"sion of our sins? These, and other like sentences, "that we be justified by faith only, freely, and without "works, we read oft-times in the best and most ancient "writers: as, beside Hilary, Basil, and Ambrose, "before rehearsed, we read the same in Origen, St. "Chrysostom, St. Cyprian, St. Augustine, Prosper, "Oecumenius, Proclus, Bernardus, Anselm, and

"many other authors, Greek and Latin. Neverthe"less, this sentence, that we be justified by faith only, "is not so meant of them that the same justifying "faith is alone in man, without true repentance, hope, "charity, dread, and the fear of God, at any time "and season. Nor when they say that we should be "justified freely, do they mean that we should or

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might afterwards be idle, and that nothing should "be required on our parts afterward: neither do they "mean so to be justified without good works, that we "should do no good works at all, like as shall be more 66 expressed at large hereafter. But this saying, that we be justified by faith only,. freely, and without "works, is spoken to take away clearly all merit of "our works, as being unable to deserve our justifica"tion at God's hands, and thereby most plainly to "express the weakness of man and the goodness of "God; the great infirmity of ourselves, and the

might and power of God; the imperfection of our 66 own works, and the most abundant grace of our "Saviour Christ; and therefore wholly to ascribe the "merit and deserving of our justification unto Christ 66 only, and his most precious blood-shedding. This "faith the holy Scripture teacheth us; this doctrine "all ancient authors of Christ's church do approve; "this doctrine advanceth and setteth forth the true "glory of Christ, and beateth down the vain-glory of "man; this, whosoever denieth, is not to be accounted "for a Christian man, nor for a setter forth of "Christ's glory; but for an adversary to Christ and "his Gospel, and for a setter forth of men's vain-glory

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"It hath been manifestly declared unto you, that no man can fulfil the law of God; and therefore by "the law all men are condemned: whereupon it fol"loweth necessarily, that some other things should be

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required for our salvation than the law; and that is, "a true and lively faith in Christ, bringing forth good "works, and a life according to God's commandments. "You heard also the ancient authors' minds of this "saying, Faith in Christ only justifieth man,' so plainly declared, that you see that the very true meaning of this proposition or saying, 'We be jus"tified by faith in Christ only,' is this: We put our "faith in Christ, that we be justified by him only, that

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we be justified by God's free mercy, and the merits “of our Saviour Christ only, and by no virtue or good works of our own that is in us, or that we can "be able to have, or to do, for to deserve the same; "Christ himself only being the cause meritorious "thereof. Here you perceive many words to be used “to avoid contention in words with them that delight "to brawl about words, and also to show the true "meaning to avoid evil-taking and misunderstanding; "and yet peradventure all will not serve with them "that be contentious; but contenders will ever forge "matters of contention, even when they have no oc"casion thereto." (v)

And thus, as it should seem, it happens that the adversaries of the docrine of justification by faith, some from pure ignorance, others from a love of calumny, affirm that it is a doctrine which leads to licentiousness. (v) Homily on Salvation, pp. 20, 21, 23. Oxford ed. 1810.

"But it is a childish cavil," says good old Hooker, (w) "wherewith in the matter of justification our adver"saries do so greatly please themselves, exclaiming "that we tread all Christian virtues under our feet, " and require nothing but faith, because we teach that "faith alone justifieth; whereas, by this speech, we

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never meant to exclude either hope or charity, from

being always joined as inseparable handmates, with "faith in the man that is justified; or works from being "added, as necessary duties, required at the hands of

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every justified man:-but to show that faith is the "only hand which putteth on Christ unto justification, "and Christ the only garment which being so put on "covereth the shame of our defiled natures, hideth "the imperfection of our works, preserveth us blame"less in the sight of God: before whom otherwise the "weakness of our faith were cause sufficient to make "us culpable, yea, to shut us from the kingdom of "heaven."

Thus again, as Reynolds remarks, "Faith hath "two properties (as a hand) to work and to receive. "When faith purifies the heart, supports the drooping "spirits, worketh by love, carries a man through "afflictions and the like, these are the works of faith: "when faith accepts of righteousness in Christ, and "receives him as the gift of his Father's love, when it "embraceth the promises afar off (Heb. ii. 13), and "lays hold on eternal life (1 Tim. vi. 12), this is "the receiving act of faith. Now faith justifies not by

"working (lest the effect should not be wholly of

(w) Discourse on Justification.

grace, and partly of work, Ephesians, ii. 8, 9): but "by bare receiving and accepting, or yielding consent "to that righteousness, which in regard of working "was the righteousness of Christ (Rom. v. 18), and "in regard of disposing, imputing, appropriating unto us, was the righteousness of God (Rom. iii. 21; ❝ 1 Cor. i. 30; Phil. iii. 9). To make the point of "justification by the receiving, and not the working “of faith, plain, let us consider it by a familiar simi❝litude.

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"Suppose a chirurgian should perfectly cure the "hand of a poor man from some desperate wound which "utterly disabled him from any work; when he hath

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so done, should at one time freely bestow some good "alms upon the man, to the receiving whereof he was "enabled by the former cure; and at another time "should set the man about some work, unto the which “likewise the former cure had enabled him; and the "work being done, should give him a reward propor❝tionable to his labour: I demand which of these two "gifts are arguments of greater grace in the man, "either the recompensing of that labour which was 66 wrought by the strength he restored, or the free be"stowing of an equal gift, unto the receiving whereof "likewise he himself gave ability? Any man will “easily answer, that the gift was a work of more free

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grace than the reward, though unto both way was "made, by his own merciful cure; for all the mercy "which was shown in the cure was not able to nullify "the intrinsical proportion, which afterwards did arise "between the work and the reward. Now, this is the