This will appear undeniably true, if we consider,
1. The avowed design of God in the revelation he has given us —
[St. Paul speaking on this subject, repeats even to tauto- logy, that God designed from the beginning to exalt his own grace, and had so planned the way of salvation, as that every part of it might redound to his own honour a. All possibility of glorying was studiously cut off from man. With this view the knowledge of this salvation was imparted to the poor and ignorant in preference to the wise and noble b; and every per- son that embraced it was necessitated to seek every thing in and through Christ, that " the loftiness of man might be laid low, and that God alone might be exalted0."]
2. The disposition and conduct of all that have ever embraced it —
[Abraham, the father of the faithful, accounted himself only " dust and ashes d :" "nor had he any thing whereof to glory before Gode." Job, " a perfect and upright man, so that none was like him upon earth," yet spake with the utmost abhorrence of justifying himself before Godf. David, " a man after God's own heart," cries, " Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified g." Isaiah, that most distinguished prophet, lamented that he was vile as a leper11; and confessed that his righteous- nesses were as " filthy rags1." St. Paul, who was " not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles," yea, " laboured more abun- dantly than they all," acknowledges himself the very " chief of sinnersk," desires to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness1, and boils with indignation at the thought of glorying in any thing but the " cross of Christ™."
If any might glory in themselves, we might suppose that the glorified saints and angels would have liberty to do so : but among them there is one only theme, " Worthy is the Lambn."
Now if the way of salvation (whatever it may be) correspond with God's design in revealing it, or with the dispositions of those who have been the most distinguished ornaments of it, then it must of necessity cut off from man all occasion of
a Eph. i. 5 — 7, 9, 11,12, 14. and ii. 4, 5, 7 — 9, especially ver. 7. b 1 Cor. i. 26—29. c 1 Cor. i. 30, 31. with Isai. ii. 17.
d Gen. xviii. 27. e Rom. iv. 2.
f Job ix. 2, 3, 20, 21, 30, 31. and xlii. 6. e Ps. cxliii. 2.
h Isai. vi. 5. with Lev. xiii. 45. 'l Isai. lxiv. 6.
k 1 Tim. i. 15. 1 Phil. iii. 8, 9. m Gal. vi. 14.
" Rev. v. 11, 13.