"makes the faith of Christ, if works are shut out, to be no faith, but madness and execrable wickedness,"* brings a gospel, not from heaven, but wholly differing from that which we have received from Paul. Which seeing we are commanded by the apostle not to suffer even in an angel, without wishing him accursed, what may be answered to you in this case I commit to yourself to consider. Paul reasons thus-if of grace, then not of works, otherwise grace is not grace. If of merit, then not freely: for in that which is free there can be no merit or debt.

13. The arguments whereby righteousness is attributed to works are answered.

.

Now it must be inquired, by what arguments Osorio pleads for his opinion. And first he brings that out of the Psalms, The Lord, saith he, is righteous, and loveth righteousness, his countenance beholds the upright. The wicked, saith David, shall not dwell with thee; the unrighteous shall not remain before thy eyes: and thou hatest all those that work iniquity; thou shalt destroy all those that speak leasing, &c. What is gathered from these testimonies? "That the wicked have no society with the goodness of God. For, seeing God is himself the very law of equity and rule of righteousness, according to which all our actions should be directed, therefore it is his opinion, that it is not possible that he who puts away the rule itself from him, and hates it, should be joined to the same." But what is driven at in all these florid expressions? It is this, "He then that asserts it to be possible that God should approve the wicked, and join them to himself, asserts it to be possible for God not to be God.".

These things need no lengthy answer. We grant this to be very true, which you mention from the Scriptures, that the rule of divine justice is perfect, and that eternal light cannot endure any thing which is wicked, or not agreeable to equity. But you have not yet proved that those should be called wicked, who, flying to Christ by faith, receive from him the pardon of their sins; who, having their sins blotted out, and all iniquity forgiven, are written by the same psalmist among the number of the blessed; whom God himself, purifying by faith, and pouring his Holy Spirit upon them, of ungodly hath made them godly, and * Osor. lib. ii. p. 46. † Osor. lib. ii. p. 39. FOX.

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graciously received them into his favour, for the sake of his dear Son.

And such we were all formerly, as your oration describes; wicked sinners, and all void of the glory of God, before Christ washed us with his blood, 1 Cor. vi. But now, after we are washed from our former filthiness, sanctified and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God, who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? Rom. viii. Those whom God justifies, who shall condemn? Then you go on and deny that it is possible, that God should be unlike himself, to favour wickedness, or make friendship with wicked men of an unclean life. And therefore you conclude we must needs be first righteous, before we are received into the favour of God. Right, but who are they whom you call by the name of just?

If you judge they are such as are defiled with no pollution, or can say with Christ, Who amongst you will prove me guilty of sin? Verily, I confess what you prove concerning the conformity of the righteous unto God, seems not unlike to truth; and that we must needs, all of us, be such, if we would, with acceptance, have to do with that most pure nature of the Divine righteousness, without a Mediator and Redeemer.

But, if you take those for righteous who are righteous by faith, not by life, that is, those whom daily forgiveness, received by faith, brings as righteous into the presence of God, in that sense this debate of yours about righteousness does us no unkindness: for by this means it comes to pass that whom faith daily absolves, you yourself cannot hold to be guilty of any crime. Therefore, if they are not unrighteous, nothing hinders them from being admitted with bold access into the presence of the Divine Majesty, through the benefit of their Redeemer.

But you deny that it is agreeable to the nature of God to account any man worthy of his approbation, except him whom his countenance beholds to be righteous. "Therefore it is necessary that our righteousness should go before the favour of God." 99* But whence that righteousness should come to us, is all the contention between us. You seem to acknowledge no righteousness but that which the perfection of life procures. We place all our

* Osor. De Just. lib. ii. p. 39, 40.

righteousness in Christ, not in ourselves; in the faith of him only, not in our own works. "What!" say you, 66 can any man obtain favour from that highest goodness as long as he hates not wickedness, as long as he puts not away iniquity from him, which hath a perpetual war with divine equity?" Who is ignorant of, or denies that? "For," as you say, "how can it be that everlasting law should not hate sin and wickedness with the greatest abhorrence?" At length he concludes, "That it is therefore necessary that whosoever thinks to be received into the friendship of God, must first hate wickedness." Verily there is no man that denies it. But though we should grant that a wise and wholesome, or sound sorrow, whereof you speak, makes the first part of our conversion, and that the true righteousness of faith doth not follow, except some trouble of a penitent mind go before; it doth not therefore come to pass that the very cause of justification should be attributed unto repentance.* For if repentance be nothing else but a grief of mind at the remembrance of sin, it proves indeed that sin went before, but takes not away that which was committed. It declares perhaps some change of mind in him that committed it, but takes not away the punishment that is due to justice. Moreover, repentance testifies that justice is lost, but repairs not the loss thereof. As pain, coming from a wound inflicted, makes not a medicine to itself, but receives it from some other thing, in like manner repentance goes before the remission of sins, but does not cause it; just as Seryphius did not cause the recovering of the city of Tarentum, who, unless he had first lost it, Fabius had not recovered it.

How many may you see in a state, who having violated the public laws, or having been guilty of treason against their prince, being overwhelmed with grief and shame, with all their heart lament the wickedness of their crime, and they do not wickedly in thus being ashamed and repenting. But yet they do not escape the due punishment of the law. Therefore, the detestation of their sin proves them guilty, but does not free them from condemnation. But if there is so great severity of laws and judgments in human offences, which no deploring of ill life can wash away, what then should be judged of these that are committed against the highest and infinite majesty? Angels *Repentance proves a man to be a sinner, but takes not away sin; it causeth not remission, nor satisfies justice. Marg. note.

offending in one thing were not unpunished, having been thrust out of heaven, and no sorrow could restore them again; what then should be said to us in this frail condition of sinful nature, in which dwelleth no good thing, who offend by daily negligence of duties, or filthiness of deeds? Is it sufficient to turn away the vengeance of so great a God, to say, "I have erred," unless there be some other thing besides the sense of grief to help guilty and wounded nature; something which may defend this weak part of our repentance with a stronger safeguard, and may be sufficient to appease and reconcile offended Justice with a proportionable price, and which, so to speak, can contend with Divine Justice by opposing a righteousness equal thereunto? For, as the wound is infinite that is inflicted on our nature, so it is just that a remedy of the like nature should be applied, the strength and greatness whereof being infinite, may, by proportionable greatness, be suited to the Majesty offended; which verily consists, not in repentance, or charity, or any offices of ours, but is contained in Christ only, who is the only begotten Son of God. And because our faith only lays hold on him, and he cannot profit any but believers, therefore it comes to pass, that faith only, without works, that is, without any merits of works, completes all our righteousness before God.

14. Concerning the praise of repentance, the dignity and benefit, and peculiar office, thereof.

But you will say, To what purpose then is it to repent

and to amend evil deeds? Or what shall be answered to these Scriptures, which promise, in more places than one, the pardon of all sins to those that lament their sins, and are converted unto a better life?

I would have you take notice of this in the first place. When we attribute the virtue of justifying to faith, and in this case place it alone, being helped by no addition of our works, let no man so misunderstand, as if we drove away and banished all saving repentance, and other holy offices of duty and charity from every action of life.

For, if we openly confess the truth, what else is this whole life of godly men, but a continual repentance, and a perpetual detestation and condemnation of sin, whilst we are forced by the gospel, with daily groans to breathe forth this petition, "Forgive us our sins," as if we were conflicting in

a continual place of wrestling, in which sometimes we stand by the Spirit, sometimes we fall through the infirmity of the flesh, and sometimes we again make new repentance. Yet we always overcome and triumph by faith, obtaining the pardon of our faults, and we obtain true righteousness for ever. Therefore, away with impudent slanders; let just judgment be exercised, and let things be comprehended, each in their own places and bounds.

Pious tears, a serious deploring of former iniquities, and a just care of living a better life, with all other pious exercises, are things which we do not thrust away, nor put out of their place; only we search what is the place, what is the peculiar office of those things. And, in the first place, this should not be doubted of by any man— -that repentance, as it is an excellent gift of God, so it brings forth fruits not to be repented of, according to its office. The office or duty whereof I reckon to be twofold. The first is, that which duly detests the sins committed. The other, that which diligently endeavours the reformation of the life, from which follow both great praise and greater fruits, and also very great incitements to virtue. For he that being weary of his former wickedness, applies his mind wholly to amend his ungodly life by a future reformation, verily he has made a great progress towards salvation; but he is not therefore, as yet, put into a certain possession of salvation, or because of that, taken up with the penitent malefactor into paradise. For it is one thing to weep for the things that one hath done amiss, and another thing to obtain the pardon of them. Verily, he that seriously purposes with himself to amend his life, I judge that he ought justly to be praised; but yet that is not enough, as I suppose, to turn away the anger of an offended God, to put away the heinous nature of sin, to procure a clear tranquillity of conscience, and to shake off the tyranny of death. For to obtain that victory we need another panoply, or complete armour, than repentance, or the forces of our virtues; for nothing that we can do is sufficient to bring this to pass, but only faith in the Son of God. And therefore, repentance with charity, and other offices of that kind, have a necessary connexion with faith; not that they may give form to this as to a dead matter, but that rather they may receive life and spirit from it. Not that faith hath need of these for justification, but that they themselves may be justified by the value received by faith in Christ;