(1.) For in justification there must he a poverty of spirit, to make us see that there is no I'ighteousness in ourselves, or that can come from us, that is able to stand against the law and against the justice of God ; all is defiled and spotted and unanswerable. And upon this poverty and apprehension
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of what is defective in ourselves, comes an admiration of that righteousness of God in Christ — for it is of God's devising, and of God's approving, and of God's working, Christ heing God and man — to force us every day to renew our right in the righteousness of Christ, and to be ' found in him.' There is such a poverty of spirit as to account all 'loss, and dross,' Phil, iii. 8, and nothing ; to be willing to part with all to be found in Christ, * not having our own righteousness, but that which is of God in Christ,' as Paul divinely speaks, ver. 9. So it is necessary in that main passage, of justification, to be ' poor in spirit ;' that is, to see a defect in our own righteousness, to stand opposite to God's justice, who is * a consuming fire.' It is requisite in regard of our daily living by faith in justification.
(2.) In the whole course of sanctijication there must of necessity be poverty of spirit ; that is, a sense that we have no sanctifying grace of our- selves, but we must fetch it from the fulness of Christ, whose fulness is for us : * of his fulness we receive grace for grace,' John i. 16.
The ground of this is, that now in the covenant of grace all is of grace, both in justification and sanctification ; all is of grace, nothing but grace. God hath set himself to get the glory of his free grace and mercy now in Jesus Christ. Therefore as our salvation is wrought out of us altogether by our surety, the ' second Adam,' Christ ; so our righteousness is alto- gether out of ourselves, whereby we appear righteous before God. It is his, and given to us by marriage ; being one with him, his righteousness is ours. And likewise in him we have the principle of all grace. He is the principle of our life, the root and foundation of spiritual life and sanc- tification : ' Without me you can do nothing,' John xv. 5. So that in Christ we have all that concerns our spiritual life in sanctification and jus- tification, because it is a state of grace. Adam had it in himself. Though God at the first clothed him with his image, yet notwithstanding he had not such a necessity as we have to go to Christ for all ; but now in the ' second Adam,' Christ, we must fetch grace for everything from him. Therefore there must be poverty in regard of our knowledge — we have no spiritual knowledge of ourselves — and poverty in regard of our afiections. We have no joy, no peace, no comfort of ourselves, no delight in good things, nor no strength to them ; we have all from Christ. ' By grace,' saith the apostle, ' I am what I am,' 1 Cor. xv. 10 ; as if grace had given him his being, his form, as we say. Indeed, so it doth ; grace gives a Christian his form and being, his work and his working, for all working is from the inward being and form of things. By grace we are what we are in justification, and work what we work in sanctification. It is by what we have freely from Christ. Therefore in that respect there must be poverty of spirit.
Nay, I say more ; in every action when we are in the state of grace, and have had the beginnings of the new creature in us, there needs poverty of spirit, in regard of our own inability to perform every action. For even as it is in our form — the life and soul, there is need of it in every moving and stirring — so there is a need of the spirit of grace, which is as the form and hfe and being of a Christian, to every holy action. ' In him we live, and move, and have our being,' saith the apostle, Acts xvii. 28. ' In him,' that is, in ' God reconciled to Christ,' we have not only our being, that is, our form, but in him we ' live and move' to every particular act. We are no wiser in particular things than God makes us on the sudden ; the wisest man will be a fool if God leave him to his own wit. We are no stronger i n every particular act that needs strength than God supplies us with spiri-
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tual strength. Wc are no holier than God by his Spirit shines on us, and raises our souls in particular actions. So that it is not only necessary that we have grace at the first to make us Christians, but we must have a per- petual regiment * of the Spirit, from whence we must have an influence to every particular act. Though we have grace, yet we cannot bring forth that grace to act without new grace. Even as trees, though they be fitted to bear fruit, as the vine, &c., yet without the influence of the heavens they cannot put forth that fitness in fruits ; so though we be fitted by the Spirit of God, yet we cannot put it forth to particular acts when occasion serves, without the influence of Heaven to promote and further that grace ;; and applying our spirits to every holy action by removing the impediments that would hinder it, adding new supply and strength to help grace. Ifi the temptations be too strong, as sometimes they are, former grace will nob serve, without a new supply of strength. As he that may carry a lesser; burden cannot carry a greater without new strength, so in every tempta-; tion there is required more strength than the former; and in every new- action there is required not only a continuance of grace, but a fresh supply* of stronger grace.