Why doth not God bless gi'eat preparations, many times, to war ? &c. Because we put too much trust in them. Here are too many, saith God to Gideon, Judges vii., el alibi. Take away some, here are too many to go to war. What is the reason that God, where the greatest excellencies are, adds some imperfection to balance them '? Because they should not trust in themselves.
What is the reason that in the church God chooseth men of meaner parts and sufficiencies, the disciples fishermen ? If they had been gi-eat men, men would have said place had carried it ; if they had been scholars, men would have said that their learning had carried it ; if they had been witty* men, they would have said their wit had carried it. It had been no marvel if they should win the world. But when they saw they were mean men, fishermen, sitters at the receipt of custom (and perhaps their parts were not great), then they might attribute it to the divineness of the gos- pel, to the divineness of God's truth, and to God's blessing upon it.
What is the reason that God suffers excellent men to fall foully some- times, St Peter himself, and David ? &c. Because they should not trust in themselves, not trust in their grace, not trust in anything, no, not in the best things in themselves.
What is the reason that God goes by contraries in all the carriage of our salvation '? ' That we should not trust in ourselves.' In our calling he calls men out of nothing. ' He calls things that are not as if they were,' Rom. iv. 17. In justification, he justifies a sinner, he that despairs of his own righteousness. That no man should trust in anything he hath, or de- spair if he want any perfection, God justifies a sinner that despairs of himself. In sanctification, God sanctifies a man when he sees no goodness in himself. Most of all, then, he is a vessel fit to receive grace. And he doth sanctify him sometimes by his falls. He makes him good by his slips, which is a strange course to make a man better by. Saith St Austin, ' I dare say, and stand to it, that it is profitable for some men to fall ; they grow more holy by their slips' (?/). As Peter, he gi-ew stronger by his infir- mity. This strange course God takes. Why so ? That we should not trust in ourselves. In our calUng, in our justification from our sins, ' that vfQ should not trust in ourselves,' nor despair.
In sanctification. Nay, he takes a course that we shall gi'ow better by our falls, that we may be ashamed of them, and be more cautelousf and humble, and more watchful for the time to come. In glorification he will glorify us, but it shall be when we have been rotten in our graves before ; we must come to nothing. So in every passage of salvation he goes by contraries, and all to beat down confidence in ourselves, and that we should not distrust him in any extremity ; for then is the time for God to work his work most of all.
' That we might not trust in ourselves.' To help us further against this self-confidence, let us labour to know ourselves well, what we are, distinct from the new creature, distinct from gi-ace and glory. Indeed, in that re- spect we are something in God. K we go out of ourselves and see what * That is, ' wise.' — G. f That is, ' cautious.' — G.
138 COMMENTARY ON
we are in Christ, we arc somebody. For wo are heirs of heaven, we are kings and rulers over all, all things are subject to us, hell, and sin, and death. We are somebody there. ]3ut in that wherein our nature is prono to put over much coniidence, what are we ? "What are we as we are strong, as we are rich, as we are noble, as we are in favour with great ones ? Alas ! all is nothing, because ere long it will be nothing. What will all be in the hour of death, when wo nuist receive 'the sentence of death?' What will all favours do us good '? They will be gone. What will all relations, that we are styled by this and that title, what good will it do '? Alas! these end in death ; all earthly relations shall be laid in the dust. All the honours in the earth, all riches and contentments, all the friends that we have, what can they do ? Nothing! All shall leave us there. And for us to trust in that which will fail us ere long, and which being taken away, wo receive a great foil -f (for he that leans to a thing, if that be taken away, down he falls), what a shame will it be ?
As the heathen man said, that great emperor, ' I have been all things, and nothing doth me good now,' when he was to die (z). Indeed, nothing could do him good. ' Let not the rich man gloiy in his riches, nor the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength,' saith the prophet ; ' but let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord,' Jer. ix. 22. •