who are thereupon to be reconciled to him, and in love to receive him. G CHAP. XVI. Of Good Works. OOD works are only such as God hath commanded in his holy word, and not such as without the warrant thereof, are devised by men out of blind zeal, or upon any pretence of good intention. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him: and if he repent, forgive him. Ver. 4. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, faying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. Josh. 7. 19. And Joshua faid unto Achan, My fon, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Ifrael, and make confeflion to him; and tell me now what thou haft done, hide it not from me. Pfal. 51. throughout. 0 2 Cor. 2. 8. Wherefore I befeech you that ye would confirm your love towards him. Sec Gal. 6. 1, 2. 1. a Micah 6.8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do juft!y, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Rom. 12.2. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Heb. 13.21. Make you perfect in every good work to do his will. b Mat, 15. 9. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Ifa. 29. 13. Wherefore the Lord faid, For. asmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me: and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men. John 16. 2. They shall put you out of the fynagogues; yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. See I Sam. 15. 21, 22, 23. II. These good works, done in obedience to God's commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith: and by them believers manifeft their thankfulness, strengthen their afsurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the gospels, stop the mouths of the adversaries", and glorify God', whose workman II. c James 2. 18, 22. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith; and, I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? d Pfal. 116. 12, 13. What fhall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me. -I will take the cup of falvation, and call upon the name of the Lord I Pet. 2. 9. But ye are a chofen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. him, if we keep his commandments. But who so keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him. 2 Pet. 1. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. f 2 Cor. 9. 2. For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. Mat. 5. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may fee your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. g Tit. 2. 5. To be difcreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blafphemed. 1 Tim. 6. 1. Let as many fervants as are under the yoke count their own mafters worthy of all honor; that the name of God and his doctrine be not blafphemed. See alfo Tit. 2. 9, 10, 11, 12. h1 Pet. 2. 15. For fo is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to filence the ignorance of foolish men. ir Pet. 2. 12. Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles; that whereas they e 1 John 2. 3, 5. And here. by we do know that we know ship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereuntok, that, having their fruit unto holiness, they may have the end, eternal life'. III. Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ". And that they may be enabled there.. unto befides the graces they have already received, there is required an actual influence of the fame Holy Spirit to work in them to will and to do of his good pleasure"; yet are they not hereupon to grow negligent, as if they were not bound to perform any duty unless upon a special motion of the Spirit; but they ought to be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them". speak against you as evil doers, they may, by your good works which they fhall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Phil. 1. II. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jefus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. John 15. 8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit. k Eph. 2. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 1 Rom. 6. 22. But now being made free from fin, and become fervants to God. ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. III. m John 15.5. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Ver. 6. If a man abide not in me, he is caft for as a branch, and is withered: and men gather them and cast them into the fire. See Ezek. 36. 26, 27. n Phil. 2. 13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleafure. Phil. 4. 13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 2 Cor. 3. 5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves: but our fufficiency is of God, o Phil, 2. 12. Wherefore my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my prefence only, but now much more in my abfence, work out your own falvation with fear and IV. They, who in their obedience, attain to the greatest height which is possible in this life, are so far from being able to supererogate and to do more than God requires, that they fall short of much, which in duty, they are bound to dop. V. We cannot, by our best works merit pardon of fin, or eternal life, at the hand of God, by reason of the great disproportion that is between them and the glory to come, and the infinite distance that is between us and God, whom by them we can neither profit, nor fatisfy for the debt of our former fins1; but when we have done all we can, we have done, but our duty trembling. Heb. 6. 11, 12. And we defire that every one of you do shew the fame dili gence to the full affurance of hope unto the end. -That ye be not flothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Ifa. 64. 7. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that ftirreth up himself to take hold of thee for thou hast hid thy face from us, and haft confumed us, because of our ini quities. See alfo 2 Pet. 1. 3, 5, 10, 11. and 2 Tim. 1. 6. and Acts 26. 6, 7. together with Jude 20 and 21 verses. IV. p Luke 17. 10. So likewife ye, when ye shall have done all these things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. Job 9.2, 3.-But how For should man be just with God, V. q Rom. 3. 20. Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his fight; For by the law is the knowledge of fin. Rom. 4. 2, 4, 6. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God.-Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Even as David also defcribeth the bleffedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness with. and are unprofitable servants"; and because, as they are good, they proceed from his Spirit'; and, as they are wrought by us, they are defiled and mixed with fo much weakness and imperfection, that they cannot endure the severity of God's judgment'. VI. Yet notwithstanding, the perfons of believers being accepted through Chrift, their good works also are accepted in him", not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable and unreprovable in God's fight"; but that he, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to ac out works. Eph. 2. 8, 9. For by grace are ye faved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works, left any man should boaft. Pfal. 16. 2. O my foul, thou hast faid unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, my goodness extendeth not to thee. See also Tit. 3. 5, 6, 7. Rom. 8. 18, 22, 23. and chap. 35. 7, 8. r Luke 17. 10. See letter p in this chap. f Gal. 5. 22, 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentlenefs, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. t Ifai. 64. 6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind, have taken us away. Pfal. 143. And enter not into judgment with thy 2. servant: for in thy fight shall no man living be justified. Pfal. 130. 3. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities: O Lord, who shall stand? See alfo Gal. 5. 17. and Rom. 7. 15, 18. VI. v Eph. 1. 6. To the praife of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. 1 Pet. 2. 5. Ye alfo, as lively ftones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up fpiritual facrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Chrift. Gen. 4. 4. And Abel, he alfo brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof; and the Lord had refpect unto Abel, and to his offering. With Heb. 11. 4. w Job 9. 20. If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me; If I fay. I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. Pfal. 143. 2. |