Secondly, This acknowledgement is accompanied with a renouncing all his own works: His own strength, his own duties, he doth not so much as think of them, nor mention them; Yea, he is afraid of them: He crieth, Woe unto him, if grace be not ready to plead for him. Thus you have Paul running from his own righteousness, and speaking worse of them, then some do of their very sins, Phil. 3.8. And why? Only to exalt the grace of God in Christ. That proud and arrogant Pharisee, he could thank God: I thank thee, I am no extortioner, nor such a sinner as this Publican, Luk. 18.81. You see, he could thank God, who yet trusted in his works, and expected Justification by them. Therefore then you thank God, when you have no inward secret confidence in your works; when you have no inward rest upon the goodness of your heart, and your actions. I tell you, this is the secret poison that destroyeth many. If men are not Publicans, then they are commonly Pharisees. To be a Publican, is to live in some gross, notorious, and filthy sin. And if they are not such, then how apt are men to be Pharisees? that is, to trust in an external righteousness, and outward conformity unto the Law of God. Now, this sin is a very damnable one, because it doth immediately oppose Christ in the whole work, and necessity of mediation. For, if so be thy actions, thy doings, be to this purpose considerable, what need is there of Christ? If thy tears can do away thy sin, what need is there of the blood of Christ? Oh, take heed then, of this inward confidence in thy self! We are of the Circumcision, who rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, Phil. 3.3. Our Saviour spoke a Parable against those that trusted in their own righteousness, Luk. 18. All godliness doth not lie in renouncing of thy lusts, and thy filthy sins, but also of thy righteousness and thy duties. Then thou art a pure and Evangelical and Gospel Christian, when thou goest out of this latter as well as the former.
Secondly, This acknowledgment is accompanied with a renouncing all his own works: His own strength, his own duties, he doth not so much as think of them, nor mention them; Yea, he is afraid of them: He cryeth, Wo unto him, if grace be not ready to plead for him. Thus you have Paul running from his own righteousness, and speaking worse of them, then some do of their very sinnes, Phil. 3.8. And why? Only to exalt the grace of God in Christ. That proud and arrogant Pharisee, he could thank God: I thank thee, I am no extortioner, nor such a sinner as this Publican, Luk. 18.81. You see, he could thank God, who yet trusted in his works, and expected Justification by them. Therefore then you thank God, when you have no inward secret confidence in your works; when you have no inward rest upon the goodness of your heart, and your actions. I tell you, this is the secret poison that destroyeth many. If men are not Publicans, then they are commonly Pharisees. To be a Publican, is to live in some grosse, notorious, and filthy sinne. And if they are not such, then how apt are men to be Pharisees? that is, to trust in an external righteousness, and outward conformity unto the Law of God. Now, this sin is a very damnable one, because it doth immediately oppose Christ in the whole work, and necessity of mediation. For, if so be thy actions, thy doings, be to this purpose considerable, what need is there of Christ? If thy teares can do away thy sinne, what need is there of the blood of Christ? Oh, take heed then, of this inward confidence in thy self! We are of the Circumcision, who rejoyce in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, Phil. 3.3. Our Saviour spoke a Parable against those that trusted in their own righteousness, Luk. 18. All godliness doth not lie in renouncing of thy lusts, and thy filthy sinnes, but also of thy righteousness and thy duties. Then thou art a pure and Evangelical and Gospel Christian, when thou goest out of this latter as well as the former.
