salvation, Heb. vi. 9, but not procure it. This is Christ's work, not the work of grace. When Israel waited on the Lord at Mount Sinai, they had their bounds ; not a man must come up besides Moses to treat with God, no, not touch the Mount lest they die : thus all the graces of the Spirit wait on God, but none come up to challenge any acceptance of God besides faith, which is a grace that presents the soul not in its own garments. But you will say. What needs all this ? where is the man that trusts in his grace ? Alas ! where is the Christian that doth fully stand clear, and freely come offby his own righteous- ness? He is a i-are pilot indeed that can steer his faith in so direct a course, as not now and then to knock upon this duty, and run on ground upon that grace. Abraham went in to Hagar, and the children of Abraham's faith are not per- fectly dead to the law, and may be found sometimes in Hagar's arms ; witness the flux and reflux of our faith, according to the various aspect of our "obedience; when this seems full, then our faith is at a spring-tide, and covers all the mountains of our fears ; but let it seem to wane in any service or duty, then the Jordan of our faith flies back, and leaves the soul naked. The devil's spite is at Christ, and therefore since he could not hinder his landing, which he endeavoui-ed all he could, nor work his will on his person when he was come, he goes now in a more refined way to darken the glory of his sufferings, and the sufficiency of his righteousness, by blending ours with his; the doctrine of justification by faith hath had more works and batteries made against it, than any other in the Scripture. Indeed, many other errors were but his sly approaches to get,nearer to undermine this ; and lastly, when he cannot hide this truth, which now shines in the church like the sun in its strength, then he labours to hinder the practical improvement of it, that we, if he can help it, shall not live up to our own principles ; making us at the same time, that in our judgment we profess acceptance only through Christ, in our practice confute oiu-selves. Now there is a double pride in the soul which he makes use of for this end ; the one I may call a mannerly pride, the other a self-applauding pride.
First, A mannerly pride, which comes forth in the habit and guise of humility ; and that discovers itself, either at the soul's first coming to Christ, and keeps him from closing with the promise, or afterwards in the daily course of a Christian's walking with God, which keeps him from comfortably living on Christ.
First, When a poor soul is starved off" the promise by the sense of liis own unworthiness and great unrighteousness; tell him of a pardon, alas ? he is so wrapped up with the thoughts of his own vileness, that you cannot fasten it upon him. What ! will God ever take such a toad as he is into his bosom, discount so many great abominations at once, and receive him into his favour, that hath been so long in rebellious arms against him ? he cannot believe it ; no, though he hears what Christ hath done and suffered for sin, he refuseth to be comforted. Little doth the soul think what a bitter root such thoughts spring from ; thou thinkest thou dost well, thus to declaim against thyself, and aggravate thy sins ; indeed, thou canst not paint them black enough, or enter- tain too low and base thoughts of thyself for them : but what wrong hath God and Christ done thee, that thou shouldst so unworthily reflect upon the mercy of the one, and the merit of the other? Mayest thou not do this, and be tender of the good name of God also ? Is there no way to shew thy sense of thy sin except thou asperse thy Saviour ? Canst thou not charge thyself, but thou must condemn God, and put Christ and his blood to shame before Satan, who triumphs more in this than in all thy other sins ? In a word, though thou like a wretch hast undone thyself, and damned thy soul by thy sins, yet art thou not willing God should have the glory of pardoning them, and Christ the honour of procuring the same ? Or art thou like him in the gospel, Luke xvi. 3, ' who could not dig, and to beg was ashamed ?' Thou canst not earn heaven by thine own righteousness, and is thy spirit so stout that thou wilt not beg it for Christ's sake, yea, take it at God's hands, who in the gospel comes a begging to thee, and beseecheth thee to be reconciled to him ? Ah, sold ! who would ever have thought there could have lain such pride under such a modest veil ? And yet none like it. It is horrible pride for a beggar to starve, rather than to take an alms at a rich man's hands ; a malefactor rather to choose his halter, than a
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