Volume 1

Biographia Scoticana, or, A brief historical account of the most eminent Scots worthies : noblemen, gentlemen, ministers, and others, who testified or suffered for the cause of Reformation in Scotland ; from the beginning of the sixteenth century, to the year 1688 / originally compiled by John Howie; now revised, corrected and enlarged, by a clergyman of the Church of Scotland, and enriched with a preface and notes, by William M'Gavin.

Howie, John, 1735-1793.

Date:: 1828-9

Credit: Biographia Scoticana, or, A brief historical account of the most eminent Scots worthies : noblemen, gentlemen, ministers, and others, who testified or suffered for the cause of Reformation in Scotland ; from the beginning of the sixteenth century, to the year 1688 / originally compiled by John Howie; now revised, corrected and enlarged, by a clergyman of the Church of Scotland, and enriched with a preface and notes, by William M'Gavin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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I xxxii SCOTS WORTHIES. almost every where, to the utter discarding of free grace, of Christ’s imputed righteousness, and of true godliness. Ail these pernicious errors were expunged, by our reforming fore- fathers : and is it not highly requisite that their faithful con- 7. Item. vii. 18.) “ A man can do nothing except it be given him from abov. ; and no man can come unto me except the Father draw him,” (John iii. 27. vi. 4k) See also the Conf. chap. ix. § 3. Article of the church of England, 10. And for good works, however far they may be acceptable to God in an approbative way, as being conform to his command, and agreeable to the holiness of his nature, yet we are assured from his word that moral rectitude in its very summit, can never render one acceptable in his sight, in a justifying way, “ for by the works of the law shall no man be justified: not by works of righteousness that we have done,” &c. (Rom. iii. 28. Gal. ii. 16. Tit. iii. 5.) For though good works, or gospel obedience, and true holiness be absolutely necessary unto salvation (as being the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith in every believer), the greatest saint being the best moralist, yet these are no ways meritorious of man’s salvation; no, this depends upon God’s eternal purposes, (Rom. ix. 11. Eph. i. 4.) We find it often said in scripture, that it shall be rendered to every man according to his works, (Rom. iii. 6. Rev. xxii. 12,) but never for their works; yea works, (though otherwise materially good in themselves) in an unregenerate man, become sinful before God, “ for whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” (Rom. xiv. 23.) although the omitting of them be more dishonouring to him, (Rom. viii. 8. Psalm xxxvi. 5. Matth. xxiii. 23.) Conf. chap. xvi. § 2, 3, 6. And so Luther, Calvin, Diodati, Beza, Perkins, Fisher, Flavel, Owen, Simson, Binning, Dickson, Gray, Ruther- ford, Durham, Gillespie, Guthrie, Renwick, Pool, Henry, Halyburton, Boston, Marshal and many others. 2. They are antipodes to reason, and strike eminently, against the very nature of God’s covenant, for according to the tenor of the covenant of works, nothing but perfect, pei'sonal and perpetual obedience, (if any thing in a degenerate crea- ture may be so called) can merit; and can any reasonable man look his own con- science in the face and say, that he is the person that can perform this ? Again, if we betake ourselves unto the covenant of grace, reason itself might blush and be ashamed, once to suppose, that the blood of the immaculate Son of God, stood in any need of an addition of man’s imperfect works, in order to complete salvation. See Catechizing on the Pleidelberg catechism on question Iii. page 180. Blackwall’s Ratio Sacra, page 17, &c. 3. They must be very dangerous, soul-ruining, and Christ-dishonouring errors; for, it might be counted altogether superfluous for a person to come to a physician for a cure, while he is not in the least suspicious of being infected with any mal- ady : so in like manner, can it be expected that any soul will cordially come (or be brought) to Christ, without a due sense of its infinite distance from God by na- ture, of the impossibility of making any suitable approaches to him, and of its utter disability to do any thing that may answer the law, holiness and righteous- ness of God therein ? “ For they that be whole (at least think themselves so) need not a physician,” saith Christ; “ I came not to call the righteous (or such as think themselves so) but sinners to repentance.” (Mark ix. 12.) From hence observe, that whosoever intends to forsake his sin, in order to come to Christ, or effectually to correct vice, before he believes on him, must needs meet with a miserable disappointment, (“for without faith it is impossible to pleaseGod,” Heb. xi. 6.) and in the end sink himself into an immense and bottomless chaos of un certainties, like one loppingoff the branches of a tree, to kill the root. “ Noman cometh to the Father but by me, and without me ye can do nothing,” says Christ him- self, (John xiv. 6. xv. 5 ;) the love of God being the prima causa, the obedience am] meritorious righteousness of Christ the foundation, source and spring of man's salvation and all true happiness, “ for by grace ye are saved,” (Eph. ii. 8.) Who- soever has been made rightly to know any thing of the depravity of his natun

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