Christian men, that which at many men's hands, even common humanity itself, at his, many other things besides, did require. What fruit could there come of his open contradicting in so great haste, with so small advice, but such as must needs be unpleasant, and mingled with much acerbity? Surely, he which will take upon him to defend, that in this there was no oversight, must beware, lest by such defences he leave an opinion dwelling in the minds of men, that he is more stiff to maintain what he hath done, than careful to do nothing but that which may justly be maintained. 26. Thus have I, as near as I could, seriously answered things of weight: with smaller I have dealt as I thought their quality did require. I take no joy in striving, I have not been nuzzled or trained up in it. I would to Christ they which have at this present enforced me hereunto, had so ruled their hands in any reasonable time, that I might never have been constrained to strike so much as in mine own defence. Wherefore to prosecute this long and tedious contention no further, I shall wish that your Grace, and their Honours (unto whose intelligence the dutiful regard which I have of their judgments maketh me desirous, that as accusations have been brought against me, so that this my Answer thereunto may likewise come), did both with the one and the other, as Constantine with books containing querelous matter. Whether this be convenient to be wisht or no, I cannot tell: but sith there can come nothing of contention, but the mutual waste of the parties contending, till a common enemy dance in the ashes of them both, I do wish heartily that the grave advice which Constantine gave for re-uniting of his Clergy so many times, upon so small occasions, in so lamentable sort divided; or rather the strict commandment of Christ unto his, that they should not be divided at all; may at the length, if it be his blessed will, prevail so far, at the least in this corner of the Christian world, to the burying and quite forgetting of strife, together with the causes which have either bred it, or brought it up: that things of small moment never disjoin them, whom one God, one Lord, one Faith, one Spirit, one Baptism, bands of so great force, have linked: that a respective eye towards things wherewith we should not be disquieted, make us not, as through infirmity the very Patriarchs themselves sometimes were, full gorged, unable to speak peaceably to their own brother: finally, that no strife may ever be heard of again, but this,-who shall hate strife most, who shall pursue peace and unity with swiftest paces!* [Dr. WORDSWORTH, Eccl. Biog. edit. 1818, says at p. 205, "Respecting the point on which he incurred the censure of Mr. Travers, Hooker did not hesitate to maintain the same distinction in his Eccles. Pol. Book V. Sect. 49.] A DISCOURSE OF JUSTIFICATION, WORKS, AND HOW THE FOUNDATION OF "The wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore perverse judgment doth proceed." HABAK. i. 4. 1. For the better manifestation of the Prophet's meaning in this place, we are, first, to consider "the Wicked," of whom he saith, that they " compass about the righteous:" secondly, "the Righteous" that are compassed about by them: and thirdly, that which is inferred; "Therefore perverse judgment proceedeth." Touching the first, there are two kinds of wicked men, of whom in the fifth of the former to the Corinthians, the blessed Apostle speaketh thus, "Do ye not 1 Cor. v. judge them that are within? but God judgeth them that are without." There are wicked, therefore, whom the Church may judge, and there are wicked whom God only judgeth: wicked within, and wicked without, the walls of the Church. If within the Church, particular persons be apparently such, 12, 13. [Printed at Oxford, 1612, 4to. "To the Christian Reader.-Whereas many, desirous of resolution in some points handled in this Learned Discourse, were earnest to have it copied out; to ease so many labours, it hath been thought most worthy and very necessary to be printed; that not only they might be satisfied, but the whole Church also hereby edified. The rather, because it will free the Author from the suspicion of some errors, which he hath been thought to have favoured. Who might well have answered with Cremutius in Tacitus, 'Verba mea arguuntur; adeo factorum innocens sum' (Annal. lib. iv.). Certainly the event of that time wherein he lived, shewed that to be true which the same Author spake of a worse, 'Cui deerat inimicus, per amicos oppressus;' and that there is not 'minus periculum ex magna fama, quam ex mala' (Hist. lib. i.). But he hath so quit himself, that all may see how, as it was said of Agricola, Simul suis virtutibus, simul vitiis aliorum, in ipsam gloriam præceps agebatur' (In Vita Agric.). Touching whom I will say no more, but that which my Author said of the same man, 'Integritatem, &c. in tanto viro referre, injuria virtutum fuerit.' But as of all other his writings, so of this I will add that which Velleius spake in commendation of Piso, Nemo fuit, qui magis quæ agenda erant curaret, sine ulla ostentatione agendi' (Lib. ii.). So not doubting, good Christian Reader, of thy assent herein, but wishing thy favourable acceptance of this work (which will be an inducement to set forth others of his learned labours), I take my leave, from Corpus Christi College in Oxford, the 6th of July, 1612.* Thine in Christ Jesus, HENRY JACKSON.†] * [This date is not in the Edition of 1612.] + [See Vol. I. Dr. King's Letter.] 17. as cannot otherwise be reformed, the rule of the Apostolical 2 Cor.vi. judgment is this, "Separate them from among you :" if whole ver. 14. assemblies, this, "Separate yourselves from among them: for what society hath light with darkness?" But the wicked, whom the Prophet meaneth, were Babylonians, and therefore, without. For which cause we have heard at large heretofore in what sort he urgeth God to judge them. 2. Now concerning the Righteous, there neither is, nor ever was, any mere natural man absolutely righteous in himself; that is to say, void of all unrighteousness, of all sin. We dare not except, no not the Blessed Virgin herself, of whom, although we say with St. Augustine, for the honour' sake which we owe to our Lord and Saviour Christ, we are not willing, in this cause, to move any question of his Mother; yet forasmuch as the Schools of Rome have made it a question, we may answer with Eusebius Emissenus,* who speaketh of her, and to her, in this effect; "Thou didst by special prerogative nine months together entertain within the closet of thy flesh the hope of all the ends of the earth, the honour of the world, the common joy of men. He, from whom all things had their beginning, had his beginning from thee; of thy body he took the blood which was to be shed for the life of the world; of thee he took that which even for thee he paid. A peccati enim veteris nexu, per se† non est immunis ipsa Genitrix Redemptoris: The Mother of the Redeemer herself is not otherwise loosed from the bond of ancient sin, than by Redemption." If Christ have paid a ransom for all, even for her, it followeth, that all, without [2 Cor.v. exception, were captives. If one have died for all, then all were dead in sin; all sinful, therefore, none absolutely righteous in themselves; but we are absolutely righteous in Christ. The world then must shew a righteous man, otherwise it is not able to shew a man that is perfectly righteous: "Christ is made to us wisdom, justice, sanctification, and redemption:" Wisdom, because he hath revealed his Father's will; Justice, because he hath offered up himself a sacrifice for sin; Sanctification, because he hath given us his Spirit; Redemption, because he hath appointed a day to vindicate *Or whosoever it be, that was the author of those Homilies, that go under his name. Knowing how the Schoolmen hold this question, some critical wits may perhaps half suspect that these two words, per se, are inmates. But, if the place which they have be their own, their sense can be none other than that which I have given them by a paraphrastical interpretation. 14-21.] [1 Cor. i. 30.] his children out of the bands of corruption into liberty which is glorious. How Christ is made Wisdom, and how Redemption, it may be declared when occasion serveth; but how Christ is made the Righteousness of men, we are now to declare. 3. There is a glorifying righteousness of men in the world to come; as there is a justifying and sanctifying righteousness here. The righteousness, wherewith we shall be clothed in the world to come, is both perfect and inherent. That whereby here we are justified is perfect, but not inherent: that whereby we are sanctified is inherent, but not perfect. This openeth a way to the understanding of that grand question, which hangeth yet in controversy between us and the Church of Rome, about the matter of Justifying Righteousness. teach as that God justify of man alone, without effective use of justice. 4. First, although they imagine that the Mother of our They Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ were for his honour, and we do, by his special protection, preserved clean from all sin; yet doth touching the rest, they teach as we do, That Infants which the soul never did actually offend, have their natures defiled, destitute of justice, averted from God; that in making man righteous, any conone do efficiently work with God, but God. They teach as we do, That unto justice no man ever attained, but by the merits of Jesus Christ.* They teach as we do, That although Christ as God be the efficient, as man the meritorious cause of our justice; yet in us also there is something required.† God is the cause of our natural life; in him we live but he quick'neth not the body without the soul in the body. Christ hath merited to make us just: but as a medicine which is made for health, doth not heal by being made, but by being applied; so, by the merits of Christ there can be no Justification, without the application of his merits. Thus far we join hands with the Church of Rome. ference the Pa us about 5. Wherein then do we disagree? We disagree about The difthe nature and essence of the medicine whereby Christ betwixt cureth our disease; about the manner of applying it; about pists and the number and the power of means, which God requireth Justifiin us for the effectual applying thereof to our soul's comfort. When they are required to shew what the righteousness is whereby a Christian man is justified, they answer, That it is a divine spiritual quality; which quality received into the cation. * "Deus sine medio coeffectivo animam justificat." Casal. de quadripart. just. lib. i. cap. 8. + Idem. lib. iii. cap. 9. |