In the morning Mr Jeremiah French came to call me in order to go and execute our summons and went to call Joseph Fuller in order to get him to go as a witness for us that we actually did serve him with the summons. As we were a-going to Peter Adams, we were so fortunate as to meet him not far from Master Potter’s, where after some talk and persuasions for him to consider and not give us trouble and put himself to an unnecessary expense, I served the summons on him. He seemed a little surprised at the sight of it and actually did behave better than I expected and promised to see us again tonight or tomorrow morning.
I came home and found Mr Roase at our house, who stayed and breakfasted with us, put went away directly afterward. I then rode over to Framfield to borrow some more sugar of my mother and also carried her walnuts. I received for them 2d and ½ gallon of black currants. Came home and dined on a piece of bacon and beans. At home all the afternoon. In reading Hervey’s Theron and Aspasio I find the following most fine and delightful passage quoted from out of one of our homilies:
The true understanding of this doctrine, we be justified freely by faith without works, is not, that this our act to believe, or this our faith in Christ, doth justify us: for that were to count ourselves to be justified by some act or virtue, that is within ourselves. But the true meaning thereof, is, that although we hear God’s word, and believe it; although we have hope and faith, charity and repentance, and do never so many good works: yet we must renounce the merit of all our virtues and good deeds, as things that be far too weak and insufficient, to deserve remission of sin, and our justification. We must trust only in God’s mercy, and that sacrifice which our High Priest and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God, offered for us upon the cross.