the cause of the whole lies solely in their own ignorance and want
of experience of the things which themselves professed.
_ Fourthly, Ignorance of the righteousness of God hath been another spring of this apostasy. This the apostle expressly declares to be the reason why men go about to establish a righteousness of their own:
Rom. x. 3, “ Being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted them- selves unto the righteousness of God.” And this he speaks of the Jews, and that the best of them, who “followed after the law of righteous- ness, but sought it as it were by the works of the law,” Rom. ix. 31, 32. Of all men they thought themselves most knowing of the “right- eousness of God;” for they “made their boast of God, and knew”
(as they thought and professed) “his will, and approved the things
that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law, and were confident that they themselves were guides of the blind, and the light of them which are in darkness, instructors of the foolish, and teachers of babes, having the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law,” Rom. ii. 17-20. Yet these men submitted not unto the righteousness of God, but went about to establish their own right- eousness, because they were ignorant of the righteousness of God. And wheresoeyer this ignorance is, men will do so.
Take the “righteousness of God” in any sense wherein it is men- tioned in the Scripture, and this event will follow upon the igno- rance thereof; for it must be either the righteousness that is in him, or the righteousness he requires of us in the law, or the righteousness he hath provided for us in the gospel. Consider it any of these ways, and the ignorance of it is that which countenanceth men in betaking themselves unto a righteousness of their own, yea, unavoidably cast- eth them upon it; for,—
1. A right understanding of the infinite purity, the glorious essen- tial holiness, of the nature of God, of his absolute eternal righteous- ness as the Lord and judge of all, will teach men what apprehensions they ought to have of any thing done in them or by them. “ Our God is a consuming fire,” Heb. xii. 29; “a God of purer eyes than to behold evil,” Hab. i. 13; “ who will by no means clear the guilty,” Exod. xxxiv. 7; “ whose judgment it is, that they which commit sin are worthy of death,” Rom.i. 32; “an holy God, a jealous God, who will not forgive transgressions and sins,” Josh. xxiv 19. Whilst the dread and terror of the excellency of his holiness and righte- ousness is before men, they will not easily betake themselves and their trust unto a righteousness of their own. There are two sorts
154 THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF APOSTASY.
of persons that the Scripture represents under an apprehension of this righteousness of God. The first are, convinced, guilty sinners; and the other, humble, holy believers. And what thoughts of them- selves each sort is thereon filled withal it doth declare. For the former sort, we. have an instance in Adam, Gen. ui. 10; im others, Isa. xxxiii, 14, as also Micah vi. 6, 7. The sum is, they can think of nothing, have no other conceptions in their minds, but how either they may flee from him and hide themselves, or feign to themselves impossible ways of atonement, or be swallowed up in horror and de- - spair, Send them in this condition unto a righteousness of their own, and they will easily understand you do but reproach their misery. And for the other sort, or humble, holy believers, we may see also how on this occasion they express themselves in this matter, Job iv. 17-19, ix. 2; Ps. exxx. 3, exliii, 2. They all jointly acknow- ledge that, such is the glorious holiness and righteousness of God, such the imperfection of our righteousness and impurity of our works, there is no appearance or standing before him on their account. It is the want of a due meditation hereon that hath produced the many presumptuous opinions in the world concerning the justification of sinners. The Scripture, speaking of justification, directs us to conceive it “ in God’s sight,” Ps. exliii. 2, or “before him,” Rom. iii. 20; teaching us that in this matter we should set ourselves as in the presence and under the eye of this holy God, and then con- sider on what ground we may stand before him. But when men are “ignorant of the righteousness of God,” when they have secret thoughts that he is “ altogether such an one as themselves,” as the psalmist speaks,—that is, one who is either not so holy in himself as is pretended, or one who doth not require a suitableness in us unto his holiness, but is little concerned in our duties, less in our sins,—is it any wonder if men think they can of themselves do that which is satisfactory unto him, and so “go about to establish their own righteousness?” And this way even in teaching have some betaken themselves unto. They endeavour to satisfy their disciples that there is no such severity in God against sin as some pretend, no such holiness in his nature as necessarily to infer an indignation against every sin; that they are but vain frights and needless dis- quietments which either their own consciences or the preaching of some men do put them unto. And if they can prevail to be credited herein, there is no doubt but that those whom they so persuade will be pleased with their own righteousness: but whether God, in this matter of justification, will be pleased with it or no is not so easy to be determined.