A57966:436
The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace
The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace containing something of the nature of the covenant of works, the sovereignty of God, the extent of the death of Christ ... the covenant of grace ... of surety or redemption between the by Samuel Rutherford ...The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace containing something of the nature of the covenant of works, the soveraignty of God, the extent of the death of Christ ... the covenant of grace ... of surety or redemption between the by Samuel Rutherford ...
Edinburgh: printed by Andro Anderson for Robert Brown, 1655
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Yea when James saith we are not justified [Greek or Hebrew] only, he must mean fidem solitariam, a faith solitary which hath no works conveying it, as man sees not with eyes that are solitary and plucked out of the heart, and separated from hearing, smelling, and the senses, though faith, if true and properly so called (as they say this is) must justify as the eye sees only [Greek or Hebrew], and the e•re only, not the eye, hears, now this faith hath a causative influence in Justification as well as works (if it be proper and true faith, as they say it is, as the body without the spirit hath the nature of a body) and so James had no more ground for him to say, ye see then that we are not justified by faith only, then to say, ye see then that we are not justified by works only. For works separated from faith ⟨p. 170⟩are no less dead works & cannot justify, 1 Cor. 13.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Then faith separated from works, & really pulled from them, as in an hypocrite, is a true faith. Obj. When James saith that a man is justified by works, not by faith only, he maketh faith and works concomitant in that procurement of Justification, and in that kind of causality, for he saith not, as he is commonly interpreted (not by faith which is alone) but by faith only [Greek or Hebrew]. Ans. He is not more commonly, nor soundly and truly interpreted, he is not justified by faith which is alone, fide solitariâ, by dead faith. For solâ fide justificamur. Faith hath the only virtue of justifying as an instrument, and so is the Adverb [Greek or Hebrew] Solùm taken, Matth. 5.47. If ye salute your brethren [Greek or Hebrew] only, what do ye more then Publicans? Where [Greek or Hebrew] notes duties only natural excluding these which only converts in a spiritual way can do, Matth. 8▪8. Only say the word, 1[Greek or Hebrew] it clearly saith that a mandate of Omnipotency only in CHRIST could heal the sick servant; but yet that Omnipotency is not really separated from justice, wisdom, mercy,