(75) &de bonis operib : stanqssam igitur hac nova obeolientia pro- cul abeft Aperfedione legis, tamen eft 7uftitiez,& meretur pramia, ideo quiaperform reconciliatee Pent : &poitea, Debet ad hac Bona accedere exercitatio noftra, qua & confervat ea & meretur incre- mentum,jtiXt4 illsed,habenti dabitur.Et Auguftinus praclaredixit; meretur increments's); Dileilionis,cum videlicet rxercetur, &c. &de Confefs. Menem; illud : feepe puniri peccata eti- . am temporalibusptenis in hacvita ; ut David,Manaffe, & alti mul- ti puniti font. Et has pcenas mitigari docemus bonis operibus,& uni- verfapeenitentia : flewdocet, Paulus, fi nos ipfos ju-?icaremos, non judicaremur d domino. Et pernitentia meruit ut Deus fententiam de deleneia Nineve mutaret. Reaf. 4. The Wittenberg Confeffion ufeth the word Merit in like manner : yet it is well known that the Lutherans were drawn by the Flaccianparty, to run into the extream, in detra&- ing from good works : as is too evident in many of their writings. Lege Con.fchlieffelburg. Contra Majorifias & roffiiThef. de bonis operibus, &Melchior. ildamum invita Georgii Majoris. Reaf. 5. Our molt Renouned Proteftant Divines do ufe the term .Merit. Melanahonufeth it inhis Apology for the 4ugu- ftane'Confefsion: He and Luther, with the reft of their party, ufed it in that Confefsion. Calvin, Ewer and others of chiefeft eminency, who areefteemed as of ? another party, did fubfcribe to that Confefsion. As many of the reft didoffer to do, and the Lutheran Churches do to this day. And I take the Churches in Denmark, Sweden, Saxonie, &c. to beProteftants. Real 6. We have made the termsEdeferving, and merityome- what lefs culpable, by ufing them familiarly in an improper fence our felves in our common fpeech.As is plain in the feveral inftan- ces given, when I opened the divers ufes of this word. For exam- ple ; Fa,' In fenfeeforenfi : we have fouled the term Merittina Caufe , that it is not very eafie to find out another that (hall fufficiently fupply its place, and be well underftood. And we call it Meritum Callft, and fay, The caufe deferves that the perfon be juftified, even in cafe ofa meer falfaccufation brought againft him ; becaufe every thing and caufe deferveth to be Judged as it is. 2. In a legall fence, we have ufed to fay , that an obedient fubjeft deferveth proteftion, and a valiant fouldier deferveth en- couragement, &c. though perhaps the Prince were never the L 2 better
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