The Governance of Virtue, Part 2 · Section 29
Against the slacknes of doyng good workes.
IF that futtle Sathan by his crafty persuasions woulde at any time make thee beleue that thou art so thorowly iustified by faith alone, and so perfectly saned by Christe onelye, that thou nedes… not do any good workes nor yet bring forth the frutes of faith according to thy profession but liue as thou lust, and do what thou wilt, so at the full art thou saued thorow faith in Christe, take hed… thou be not deceiued with this painted visar, but rather to the vtteri…ost of thy power, labour to cō firme thy faith with the plenteous doynge of good workes workyng thinc owne saluation as blessed Paule saith with feare and trembling. And that thou maiest be the better encouraged so to do, set these sentences and examplee of the holy scripturs euer before the eies of thy minde.Gen. 17.
Examples out of the olde Testament.
I am the almightye God walke before me and be perfect.
Kepe the commaundementes of the lordDeut. 6. thy God, and his witnesses, and his couenauntes which he hath commaunded thee, and do thou that which is acceptable and good in the sighte of the Lorde, that thou mayest prosper.
Now Israel, what doth the lord thy godDeu. 10 require of thee? but to feare the Lorde thy God, and to walke in all his wayes, to louelove him, and to serue the Lorde thy God with all thyne harte, and withal thy soul, namely that thou kepe the commaundementes of the lorde and hys ordinaunces, that thou maiest doe wel and prosper.Psalme. 1.
The faithful man is like a tree planted by the water side, that will bring forth his fruite in due season.
Thou hatest althem (O Lord, that workPsalme. 5. iniquity.
Lord who shall dwel in thy tabernacle?Psal. 15. who shall rest vponupon thy holy hill? Euen he that leadeth an vncorrupt life & worketh righteousnesse. &c.
¶ Reade the whole Psalme.
Departe from euill and do good.Psal. 34
Put thou thy truste in the Lord, and bePsalm. 37. thou doing good.
Cease to do euil, learne to do good, SekeEsay. 1. to do right, deliuer the oppressed, helpe the fatherlesse to his right, defend the widow.
Breake thy bread to the hungry, the nedy,Esay. 58. and the wayfaring man lead thou into thy house. Whan thou seest a naked man, couer him, and hide not thy face from thy neighbour. &c.
Examples out of the olde Testament.
Nohe was perfect and iust in his generations,Gen. 6. 7. and walked with god, loued god, that is to say, beleued in god, leued god, feared god, soughte the glory of god, and framed his life according to the wil of god, being plenteous in al good and godly workes: therfore God preserued him and his, when he dro…ned all suche as were wicked persons and doers of no good workes.
Abraham was obedient to the wil of godGen. 17 and walked after his holye commaundements, euer doing good works: god therfore meruelously blessed hym, made him the father of many nations, and promised him, that in his seede all kinreds shoulds be blessed.
God saw the workes of the NiniuitesIon. 3 (which vndoubtedly sprange of faith, for they beleued the words of the Prophet) & he had psty on them and spared them.
Sentences out of the new Testament
Now is the axe put to the roote of theMath. 3 trees. Euerye tree therefore that bringeth not foorth good fruites is hewen downe & cast into the fyre.
Let your light so shine before men thatMath. 5 they may see your good workes and glorify your father which is in heauen
Euerye good tree bringeth foorth goodMath. 7 fruite. An euil tree bringeth euil frute. A good tree cannot bring foorth euill frute nor an euill tree good frute. Euerye tree that bringeth not forth good fxnte, is hewen down andeast tnto…he fyre.
Whosoeuer heareth of me these words … Math. 7doth the same, I wil likē him vntounto a wise man, which bnilte his house on a rock, &c.
A good man out of the good treasure of his hart, bringeth soorth good thinges, andMath. 12 an euill man out of that euill treasure, bringeth forth euil thinges.
If ye were Abrahās children, ye would…ohn. 8 do Abrahams workes.
We knowe that God heareth no sinners, but if anye man be a worshipper of…. 9 God and obedyent his wil, him heareth he
He that hath my commaundements, & kepeth thē, he it is that loueth me. If any man loueth me, he will keepe my wordes.
In the sighte of God they are not righteous which heare tee lawe but the doers of the lawe shalbe …uste fied.
We are the workemanship of God created in Christ Iesu, vntounto good workes, which god had prepared that we shoulde walke in them.
Be ye renued in the spirit of your minds and put on the the newe man which after the image of god is shapen in righteousnes and true holines.
walke worthy of y• lorde in al things y• please, being fruitful in al good workes, & …ncreasing in the knowledge of God.
Br…theren be not werye in wel doing.
Be to them that beleue an example in woord, in cōuersation, in louelove, in spirit, in faithe, & puernes.
Thou which art the man of Godfollowe righteousnes, godlines, louelove, patience, and …eaknes.
The suer grounde of God remaineth & hath this seale. the lorde knoweth them y• are his: and let eueryevery man that calleth on the name of Christ depart from iniquitye.
Lusts of youth loke thou auoyd & folow righteousnes, fayth, louelove, & peare wt them that call on the Lord with a pure hart.1. Pet. 2.
Dearely beloued I besech you as straū gers and pilgrimes, abstaine from fleshly lustes, which fight against the soule. And see y• ye hauehave honest conuersation among the heathen, that they which backbite you as ill doers, maye see your good works, and prayse God in the day of visitation.1. Ioh. 1.
If we say we hauehave felowship with god, and yet walke in darknes, we lie, & do not the truth. But if we walke in light, euen as he is in light, then hauehave we fellowship with hym, and the bloude of Iesu Christ hys sonne maketh vsus cleane frō all sinne.
He that doth righteousnes, is righteus.1. Iohn. 3. He that cōmitteth sinne, is of the deuill, for the deuil sinneth from the beginning.
See ye be doers of the worde, and notIames. 1. hearers onelyonly, deceauing your selues.
Read the whole epistle of S. Iames.
God sayth to the false and fayned Christians:Apoc. 2 I knowe the blasphemie of them which cal themselues Iewes, and are not, but the Sinagoge of Sathan.
Examples out of the new Testament.
THe idle were reproued because theyMath. 20. wrought not, & they that would laboure, were hired into the vineyarde, & at nighte receiued their reward.
The seruauntes which receiued talētsMath. 2… of their Lord and occupied them and gayned moe by them, are praised and rewarded for wel doing. But the idle seruaunte whiche would not occupy the talent that he receiued of his Lorde but went and hid it in the grounde, gaining nothing therewith, was cast into vtter darknesse, where weping and gnashing of tethe is.
The fig tree whiche was vnfruitful, & Marc. 1…brought for the nothing but leaues, was cursed and withered away.
Zache a ruler amonge the PublicanesLuke. 19▪ gaue half his goods to the poore and if he did any man wrong, he restored him foure times as much. Therefore said Christe vn to him: this day is helth come to this house forasmuche as he also is become the childe of Abraham.