our unrighteousness, and made us good, righteous, and holy before God; who, beholding us engrafted into His Son by faith, esteemeth us not now any more as the children of Adam, but as His own children, and hath made us heirs of all His riches, with His own begotten Son.

4. The godly childhood and youth of the Bridegroom hath justified the childish and youthful life of His dearly beloved bride. For the love and union that is betwixt the soul of a true Christian, and the Bridegroom Jesus Christ, maketh all the works of either of them to be common to them both. By reason whereof, when a man saith, Jesus Christ hath fasted, Jesus Christ hath prayed, Jesus Christ was heard of the Father, raised the dead, drave devils out of men, healed the sick, died, rose again, and ascended into heaven; likewise, a man may say that a Christian man hath done all the self-same works; forsomuch as the works of Christ are the works of the Christian, because He hath done them for him. Verily, a man may say that a Christian hath been nailed to the cross, buried, raised again, is gone up into heaven, become the child of God, and made partaker of the Godhead.

5. He that cometh unto God with assuredness of this faith, believing Him, without any mistrust or doubt of His promises, and warranting himself for a certainty that God will perform all that ever He hath promised him, giveth all the glory unto God, and liveth continually in rest and endless joy, evermore praising and thanking the Lord God for choosing him to the glory of the eternal life.

6. If we will say the truth, a man can do no good works, except he first know himself to be become righteous by

faith; for, before he knoweth that, his doing of good works is rather to make himself righteous, than for the love and glory of God; and so he defileth all his works. with self-love, for the love of himself and for his own profit. But he that knoweth himself to be become righteous by the merits and righteousness of Christ (which he maketh his own by faith), laboureth happily, and doth good works all only for the love and glory of Christ, and not for love of himself, nor to make himself righteous. And thereupon it cometh that the true Christian (that is, to wit, he that accounteth himself righteous by reason of Christ's righteousness) asketh not whether good works be commanded or not; but, being wholly moved and provoked with a certain violence of godly love, he offereth himself willingly to do all the works that are holy and Christian-like, and never ceaseth to do well.

7. And, therefore, may every poor sinner say, with an assured confidence, Thou, Christ, art my sin and my curse; or, rather, I am Thy sin and Thy curse; and, contrariwise, Thou art my righteousness, my blessing, and my life, my grace of God, and my heaven. And thus, if we by faith do behold this brazen serpent, Christ hanging upon the cross, we shall see the law, sin, death, the devil, and hell killed by His death; and so may, with the apostle Paul, sing that joying heart-ditty, 'Thanks be to God who hath given us victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

F

HAMILTON (PATRICK).

BORN 1503-MARTYRED 1528.

1. The law sheweth us our sin; the Gospel sheweth us a remedy for it. The law sheweth us our condemnation; the Gospel sheweth us our redemption. The law is the word of wrath; the Gospel is the word of grace. The law is the word of despair; the Gospel is the word of comfort. The law is the word of unrest; the Gospel is the word of peace.

2. The law saith, Pay thy debt; the Gospel saith, Christ hath paid it. The law saith, Thou art a sinner, despair, thou shalt be damned; the Gospel saith, Thy sins are forgiven thee, be of good comfort, thou shalt be saved. The law saith, Make amends for thy sins; the Gospel saith, Christ hath made it for thee. The law saith, Where is thy righteousness, goodness, and satisfaction? the Gospel saith, Christ is thy righteousness, thy goodness, and satisfaction. The law saith, Thou art bound and obliged to me, to the devil, and to hell; the Gospel saith, Christ hath delivered thee from them all.

3. He that lacketh faith trusteth not God; he that trusteth not God, trusteth not His word; he that trusteth not His word, holdeth Him false and a liar; he that holdeth him false and a liar, believeth not that He may do what He promiseth; and so he denieth that He is God. Therefore it followeth, he that lacketh faith cannot please God.

4. No man can do a greater honour to God than to count Him true.

5. Faith is a certainty or assuredness; he that hath faith well knoweth that God will fulfil His word.

6. Faith is the root of all good; unbelief is the root of all evil. Faith maketh God and man good friends; unbelief maketh them foes. Faith bringeth God and man together; unbelief sundereth them.

7. Faith sheweth us that God is a sweet Father; unbelief sheweth Him as a terrible Judge. Faith holdeth firm by the word of God; unbelief wavers here and there. Faith knoweth God; unbelief knoweth Him not. Faith only saveth us; unbelief only condemneth us. tolleth God and His deeds; unbelief herself and her deeds. 8. Faith cometh of the word of God; hope cometh of faith; and charity springeth of them both.

Faith ex

9. What is it to say that Christ died for thee? Verily it is that thou shouldest have died perpetually, and that Christ, to deliver thee from death, died for thee, and changed thy perpetual death into His own death. For thou madest the fault, and He suffered the pain, and that for the love He had to thee, before thou wast born.

10. Thou must do good works; but beware that thou do them not to deserve any good through them. For if thou do so, thou receivest the good, not as a gift of God, but as a debt due to thee, and makest thyself fellow with God, because thou wilt take nothing of Him for nought. Therefore, do nothing to Him, but take of Him; for He is a gentle Lord, and with more glad will gives us all we need, than we can take it of Him.

BULLINGER.

BORN 1504-DIED 1574.

1. As bread nourisheth and strengtheneth man, so the body of Christ, eaten by faith, feedeth and satisfieth the soul of man, and furnisheth the whole man to all duties of godliness. As wine is drink to the thirsty, so the blood of our Lord Jesus, drunken by faith, doth quench the thirst of the burning conscience, and filleth the hearts of the faithful with unspeakable joy.

2. I confess and acknowledge, with open mouth and sincere heart, that spiritual, divine, and quickening presence of our Lord Christ, both in the Supper and also out of the Supper, whereby He continueth to pour Himself into us, not by signs lacking life, but by His Holy Spirit, to make us partakers of all His good graces, to justify, quicken, nourish, sustain, and satisfy us; which presence we do also feel in ourselves through faith, by the which we are sustained, nourished, and satisfied. For Christ is the Head of the Church, and we have fellowship with Him. How should a living body be without its head? How should we be partakers of Christ, if we do not feel Him present, yea, living and working in us?

3. The truest and most proper cause why sacraments be instituted under visible signs, seemeth partly to be God's goodness, and partly man's weakness. For very hardly do we reach unto the knowledge of heavenly things, if,