Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the moral law and the covenants, from the…Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the morall law and the covenants, from the…

Thus then justification is of grace, because thy holiness doth not only not deserve this, but the clean contrary. Now what a cordial may this be to the broken heart, exercised with its sins? How may the sick say, There I find health? the poor say, There I find riches? And as for the Papists, who say they set up grace, and they acknowledge grace; yet first it must be set down in what sense we take grace. It is not every man that talketh of grace, doth therefore set up Scripture-grace. Who knoweth not that the Pelagians set up grace? They determined, that whosoever did not a knowledge grace necessary to every good act all the day long let him be an anathema: and this fair colour did deceive the Eastern Churches, that they did acquit him: But Austin and others observed, that he did use the word grace, to decline envie, gratiae vocabulo uti ad frangendam invidiam; even as the Papists do at this time: therefore if they say, Thy patience is grace, Thy hope is grace, and therefore by grace thou art saved; say, This is not the Gospel-grace, the Scripture-grace, by which sins are pardoned, and we saved.

Thus then justification is of grace, because thy holinesse doth not only not deserve this, but the clean contrary. Now what a cordiall may this be to the broken heart, exercised with its sinnes? How may the sick say, There I finde health? the poore say, There I finde riches? And as for the Papists, who say they set up grace, and they acknowledge grace; yet first it must be set down in what sense we take grace. It is not every man that talketh of grace, doth therefore set up Scripture-grace. Who knoweth not that the Pelagians set up grace? They determined, that whosoever did not a knowledge grace necessary to every good act all the day long let him be an anathema: and this faire colour did deceive the Eastern Churches, that they did acquit him: But Austine and others observed, that he did use the word grace, to decline envie, gratiae vocabulo uti ad frangendam invidiam; even as the Papists do at this time: therefore if they say, Thy patience is grace, Thy hope is grace, and therefore by grace thou art saved; say, This is not the Gospel-grace, the Scripture-grace, by which sins are pardoned, and we saved.