] 6 ON JUSTIFICATION.
faith, hope, and trust in God, of sincerity in obedience, which with so much earnestness he before insisted on, are now quite laid aside. He saw well enough that they were not pleadable at the tribunal before which he now appeared, so that God should enter into judg- ment with him thereon, with respect unto his justification. Where- fore, in the deepest self-abasement and abhorrency, he betakes himself unto sovereign grace and mercy. For " then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken ; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no farther," Job xl. 3-5. And again, " Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear : but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I ab- hor myself, and repent in dust and ashes," chap. xlii. 4-6. Let any men place tliemselves in the condition wherein now Job was, — in the immediate presence of God; let them attend unto what he really speaks unto them in his word, — namely, what they "svill answer unto the charge that he hath against them, and what will be their best plea before his tribunal, that they may be justified. I do not believe that any man living hath more encouraging grounds to plead for an interest in his own faith and obedience, in hia justification before God, than Job had; although I suppose he had not so much skill to ma- nage a plea to that purpose, with scholastic notions and distinctions, as the Jesuits have ; but however we may be harnessed with subtile arguments and solutions, I fear it will not be safe for us to adven- ture farther upon God than he durst to do.
There was of old a direction for the visitation of the sick, com- posed, as they say, by ^Anselm, and published by Casparus Ulenber- gius,^ which expresseth a better sense of these things than some seem to be convinced of: — " Credisne te non posse salvari nisi per mortem Christi ? Respondet infirmus, ' Etiam.' Tum dicit illi, Age ergo dum superest in te anima, in hac sola morte fiduciam tuam constitue; in nulla alia re fiduciam habe, huic morti te totum committe, hac sola te totum contege, totum immisce te in hac morte, in hac morte totum te involve. Et si Dominus te voluerit judicare, die, ' Domine, mortem Domini nostri Jesu Christi objicio inter me et tuum judi- cium, alitor tecum non contendo.' Et si tibi dixerit quia peccator es, die, ' Mortem Domini nostri Jesu Christi pono inter me et peccata
1 Anselm was born in 1033, at Aosta, in Piedmont, became arclibishop of Can- terbury in 1093, and died in 1109. His works extend to tbree folio volumes. He spent a troubled life in maintaining the usurpations of the clergy and the church against the kings of England. He developed very full;- the doctrine of substi- tution in the atonement. See bis treatise, Cur Deus-homo ? — Ed.
* An author who published a catechism of lloman Catholic doctrine at Cologne in 1582.— ]<:d.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 17
mea.' Si dixerit tibi quod mcruisti damnationem ; die, 'Domine, mortem Domini nostri Jesu Christi obtendo inter te et mala merita mea, ipsiusqiie merita offero pro merito quod ego debuissem habere nee habeo.' Si dixerit quod tibi est iratus, die, ' Domine, mortem Domini Jesu Christi oppono inter me et iram tuam;'" — that is, "Dost thou believe that thou canst not be saved but by the death of Christ ? The sick man answereth, ' Yes ;' then let it be said unto him. Go to, then, and whilst thy soul abideth in thee, put all thy confi- dence in this death alone, place thy trust in no other thing; commit thyself wholly to this death, cover thyself wholly with this alone, cast thyself wholly on this death, wrap thyself wholly in this death. And if God would judge thee, say, ' Lord, I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and thy judgment ; and otherwise I will not contend or enter into judgment with thee.' And if he shall say unto thee that thou art a sinner, say, ' I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and my sins." If he shall say unto thee that thou hast deserved damnation, say, ' Lord, I put the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between thee and all my sins; and I offer his merits for my o^vn, Avhich I should have, and have not." If he say that he is angiy with thee, say, 'Lord, I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and thy anger.' " Those who gave these directions seem to have been sensible of what it is to appear before the tribunal of God, and how unsafe it will be for us there to insist on any thing in ourselves. Hence are the words of the same Anselm in his Medita- tions : " Conscientia mea meruit damnationem, et pcenitentia mea non sufficit ad satisfactionem ; sed certum est quod, misericordia tua superat omnem oflfensionem;" — " My conscience hath deserved damnation, and my repentance is not sufficient for satisfaction ; but most certain it is that thy mercy aboundeth above all offence." And this seems to me a better direction than those more lately given by some of the Roman church; — such as the prayer suggested unto a sick man by Johan. Polandus, lib. Methodus in acijuvandis morientibus: " Domine Jesu, conjunge, obsecro, obsequium meum cum omnibus qua3 tu egisti, et passus es ex tarn perfecta charitate et obedientia. Et cum divitiis satisfactionum et meritorum dilectionis, patri seterno illud ofiferre dig- neris." Or that of a greater author, Antidot. Anim^, fol. 17, " Tu hinc o rosea martyrum turba offer pro me, nunc et in hora mortis meae, merita, fidelitatum, constantioe, et pretiosi sanguinis, cum san- guine agni immaculati, pro omnium salute effusi." Jerome, long before Anselm, spake to the same purpose : " Cum dies judicii aut dormitionis advenerit, omnes manus dissolventur ; quibus dicitur in alio loco, confortamini manus dissolutoe; dissolventur autem manus, quia nullum opus dignum Dei justitia reperiatur, et non justificabitur in conspectu ejus omnis vivcns, unde propheta dinit in psalmo, ' Si VOL. V. 2