r

live loosely and dissolutely; nor that it is enough for a Christian to be baptized merely, and to believe, as though there were nothing else required at his hand. For true faith is lively, and can in no wise be idle. Thus therefore teach we the people :—that God hath called us, not to follow riot and wantonness, but, as St. Paul saith, "unto good works, to walk in them ;" that we are "delivered from the power of darkness, that we might serve the living GOD;" to cut away all the remnants of sin; and to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling," that it may appear, that the spirit of sanctification is in our bodies, and that CHRIST himself dwelleth in our hearts by faith."

our righteousness, but through him, through faith in whom our sins are forgiven us.' (in Ep. ad Ephes. c. 3.)

"Hereof St. BERNARD in most godly and comfortable wise concludeth thus: Meritum meum,' &c. My merit is the mercy of GoD. So long as GOD not poor in mercy, so long cannot I be poor in merit. If his mercies be great, then am I great in merit. This is the whole merit of man, if he put his whole hope in the LORD.' (BERN. in Ps. Qui habitat.)"-Defence, p. 305. s.]

r

[JEWELL here, while he wholly excludes good works from being meritorious, and does not even allow them to rank as means of our salvation, evidently considers them as indispensable conditions-something else' than faith required. It will be seen, also, from the passage quoted in Note w, that he is far from regarding the exclusion of merit from works, as denying their title to reward, under the covenant of grace.]

["St. Paul saith, 'If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith.' (1 Tim. v. 8.) Again he saith: They profess they know GOD; but in works they deny him.' (Titus i. 16.) St. John saith: 'He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.' (1 John ii. 4.) St. James saith, Faith without works is dead.' (James ii. 20.) and the devils believe, and tremble.' (ii. 19.) But a dead faith is no more a true, perfect faith, than a dead man is a true, perfect man. As for the faith of devils, it indeed and verily is no faith.

C

Certainly St. AUGUSTINE Saith: Qui fidem habet sine spe et dilectione, CHRISTUM esse credit: non credit in CHRISTUM.' 'He that hath faith without hope and charity, believeth CHRIST to be: but he believeth not in CHRIST. (In Joan. Serm. 61.) Again he saith: 'Inseparabilis est bona vita,' &c. ' Good life can never be divided from faith, which worketh by love: nay rather, that same very faith itself is good life.' (De Fide et Operibus. c. 23.) "-Defence, p. 302.]

Eph. ii. 10.

u Col. i. 10.

▾ Phil. ii. 12.

w ["Whether good works'shall be rewarded, or no, it was no part of our question. For we undoubtedly believe the words that are written

Sect. 20. The Resurrection.- -To conclude; we believe that this our selfsame flesh wherein we live, although it die, and come to dust, yet at the last shall return again to life, by the means of CHRIST'S SPIRIT that dwelleth in us : and that then, verily, whatsoever we suffer here in the meanwhile for his sake, CHRIST will wipe away all tears and heaviness from our eyes : and that we through him shall enjoy everlasting life, and shall for ever be with him in glory. So be it.

CHAPTER VI.

The causes and Prevalence of Sects and Heresies in all ages.

Sect. 1. Behold, these are the horrible heresies, for the which a good part of the world is at this day condemned by the Bishop of Rome; and yet were never heard, to plead their cause! He should have commenced his suit rather against CHRIST, against the apostles, and against the holy fathers for these things did not only proceed from them, but were also appointed by them. Except, perhaps, these men will say (as I think they will, indeed,) that Christ never instituted the Holy Communion, to be divided among the faithful: or that CHRIST's Apostles and the ancient fathers said

by St. John: Their works do follow them.' (Rev. xiv. 13.) We believe the words that CHRIST saith to his disciples: Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.' (Matt. x. 42.) We believe that St. Paul saith: 'Your labour is not in vain in the LORD.' (1 Cor. xv. 58.) We grant, good works have their reward: but the same reward standeth in mercy and favour, and not in duty.

"Thus therefore we say: Considering the weakness and sinful corruption of our nature, there can be no works in us so pure and perfect that we may thereby, of right and of duty, deserve everlasting life. This is the very plain sense and substance of God's word, and the undoubted doctrine of the ancient catholic fathers of the Church." Defence, p. 304.]

x Rom. viii. 11.

66

private masses in every corner of the temples, now ten, now twenty together in one day; or that CHRIST and his Apostles banished all the common people from the Sacrament of his blood; or that the thing that they themselves do at this day every where, and do it so, as they condemn him for a heretic which doth otherwise, is not called of GELASIUS, their own doctor, plain sacrilege; or that these be not the very words of AMBROSE, AUGUSTINE, GELASIUS, THEODORET, CHRYSOSTOM, and ORIGEN," the bread and wine in the sacraments remain still the same they were before"the thing which is seen upon the holy table, is bread"—" there ceaseth not to be still the substance of bread, and nature of wine"-"the self-same bread, as touching the material substance, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy;" or that CHRIST, the Apostles, and the holy fathers prayed not in that tongue which the people might understand; or that CHRIST hath not performed all things by that one offering which he once offered upon the cross; or that the same sacrifice was imperfect, so that now we have need of another.

All these things must they of necessity say, unless perchance they had rather say thus, that all law and right is locked up in the treasury of the Pope's breast, and that, as once one of his soothing pages and clawbacks [flatterers] did not stick to say, the Pope is able to dispense against the Apostles, against a Council, and against the Canons, and rules of the Apostles; and that he is not bound to stand, neither to the exam. ples, nor to the ordinances, nor to the laws of CHRIST.

y ['Papa potest dispensare contra jus naturale.' The Pope may grant a dispensation against the law of nature.'-'Papa dispensat contra canones apostolorum.' 'The Pope has a dispensing power with relation to the canons of the apostles.'-' Papa potest mutare formam verborum in Baptismo.' 'The Pope may change the form of the words in Baptism,' (constituted by CHRIST himself.)-Privilegium dare potest contra jus divinum.' 'He can grant a privilege at variance with divine right.-'Papa potest dispensare de omnibus præceptis Veteris et Novi Testamenti.' The Pope may grant dispensations from all the precepts of the Old and New Testament. The references to the preceding assertions, and others equally enormous, in the Gloss upon the Canon Law, and writers of established reputation in the Church of Rome, are given by JEWELL, Defence, p. 313.]

Sect. 2. We for our part, have learned these things of CHRIST, of the Apostles, of the devout fathers: and do sincerely, with good faith, teach the people of GoD the same. Which thing is the only cause why we at this day are called "heretics" of the chief prelate (no doubt) of religion. O immortal GOD! Hath CHRIST himself, then, the Apostles-and so many fathers, gone astray? Were then ORIGEN, AMBROSE, AUGUSTIN, CHRYSOSTOM, GELASIUS, THEODORET, forsakers of the catholic faith? Was so notable a consent of so many ancient bishops, and learned men, nothing else but a conspiracy of heretics? Or is that now condemned in us, which was then commended in them? Or is the thing now, by alteration only of one man's affections, become schismatic, which in them was counted catholic? Or shall that which in time past was undoubtedly true, now by and by, because it liketh not these men, be judged false? Let them then bring forth another gospel, and let them show the causes, why these things which so long have openly been observed and well allowed in the Church of GoD, ought now in the end to be called in again. We know well enough that the same word which was opened by CHRIST, and spread abroad by the apostles, is sufficient both to our salvation, and also to uphold and maintain all truth, and to confound all manner of heresy. By that word only do we condemn all sorts of the old heretics, whom these men say we have called out of hell again.' As for the Arians, the Eutychians, the Marcionites, the Ebionites, the Valentinians, the Carpocratians, the Tatians, the Novatians, and shortly, all them which have a wicked opinion either of GOD THE FATHER, Or of CHRIST, or of the HOLY GHOST, or of any other point of Christian religion; for so much as they be confuted by the gospel of Christ, we plainly pronounce them for destestable and damned persons, and defy them even unto the gates of hell. Neither do we leave them so,

2 [It would occupy too much room to enumerate the errors of these various sects-some of them obscure and short-lived-none of them acknowledged at the present day. Sufficiently full accounts of their peculiarities, and several histories, may be found in the Second, Third, and Fourth Centuries of Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History.]

* [This uncouth expression is agreeable to the fashion of controver

but we also severely and straitly hold them in by lawful and politic punishments, if they fortune to break out any where, and bewray themselves.

Sect. 3. Indeed we grant that certain new and very strange sects, as the Anabaptists, Libertines, Mennonites, and Zwenckfeldians have been stirring in the world ever since the gospel did first spring. But the world seeth now right well, thanks be given to our Gon, that we have neither bred, nor taught, nor kept up these monsters. In good fellowship, I pray thee, whosoever thou be, read our books: they are to be sold in every place. What hath there ever been written by any of our company, that might plainly bear with the

sial writing in JEWELL'S day. It is, moreover, less unseemly in the original Latin, than when translated.]

[Here the author speaks the sentiments of his age. To avow a toleration of fundamental error (or, indeed, a free toleration of any error,) would at that time have been deemed unbearable. It had not been imagined possible by any, on either side of the great question then in dispute. On the one hand, the practice of the Romanists so long as they retained the ascendency is well known. On the other hand, the Reformers, if they were less severe, were so rather from want of occasion or of power, than from opposite principle. CALVIN is well known to have been diligent in procuring the death of SERVETUS, because he denied the divinity of CHRIST; while LUTHER approved the act, and even the gentle MELANCTHON censured it solely on the ground of inexpediency. CRANMER at least consented to the burning of Arians, of Anabaptists, and, in the earlier stages of the reformation, of Sacramentarians. And to come down far later, did not the Pilgrims of NewEngland, when they had left their native soil because freedom of opinion and worship was denied them, commence persecutors on their arrival in their chosen asylum, and banish the dissenters from their polity, and burn the poor fanatics who disturbed their unity?

The true extent of the command of CHRIST, 'Put up thy sword '— the crowning principle of the Reformation-entire freedom of opinion and worship-was undiscovered when JEWELL wrote. He appealed to the modes of thinking of his contemporaries, and doubtless secured their approbation, when he spoke of 'straitly and severely holding in by lawful and politic punishments' the luckless beings whose want of information, or strength of prejudice, prevented their recognition of the light of truth which he and his associates enjoyed.]

[For accounts of the rise and peculiarities of these sects of fanatics, (all contemporary with the reformation, and deriving their existence from the excitement it produced) the reader is referred to the Ecclesiastical Histories of that age.]

d [JEWELL here uses the word in the limited sense in which it was then commonly applied to the 'pure gospel' taught in the doctrine of the reformers.]

VOL. III.-7