Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

he that doth thus, need not, cannot resign to Christs righteousness: he need not, for why should he go out of doors for a righteousness which he hath within in his own heart; and he cannot, for justification by our own righteousness and justification by Christs are contraries, and so are a dependence on our own righteousness for justification, and a dependence on Christs for it. Hence the Jews, when they went about, though ignorantly, to establish their own righteousness, could not believe, they submitted not themselves to the righteousness of God, saith the Apostle, Rom. 10.3. their own unresigned righteousness kept them from believing, as being in the very matter of it contrary thereunto. Moreover, some sins, which may not be known for fins in the matter of them, may yet be darlings, Delilahs, and as the Hebrew word imports, exhausters, such as drain out the very marrow of the heart; I mean, the prime love, choice desire, and supreme delight thereof. These in respect of their intimate conjunction with the soul are bars to resignation, and so to faith. How can ye believe which receive honour one of another? ⟨p. 159⟩saith our Saviour, Job. 5.44. their darling vain-glory made their believing impossible: After the same manner all lawful things, when once they are set up as Idols in the heart, and the love and the joy dance before them, are obstacles to faith; thus we find, They would not come to the marriage-supper of the Gospel; and why? their darling farms and merchandise kept them away, Math. 22.5. Haec vincula, hae catenae quae carnales constringunt; these are the bonds and the chains which keep men from resignation, and the more dangerously, because they lie invisible and hid among the stust of our lawful things. Christ and earthly things (saith a Great Divine) come often in competition, in every unjust gain, Christ and a bribe; in every oath, Christ and a blasphemy; in every sinful fashion, Christ and a rag or excrement; in every piece of vain-glory, Christ and a blast; in every intemperance, Christ and a vomit: whatever the thing be in it self, lawful or sinful, as soon as it becomes the Idol of the heart, it proves an obstacle to faith.

he that doth thus, need not, cannot resign to Christs righteousness: he need not, for why should he go out of doors for a righteousness which he hath within in his own heart; and he cannot, for justification by our own righteousness and justification by Christs are contraries, and so are a dependance on our own righteousness for justification, and a dependance on Christs for it. Hence the Jews, when they went about, though ignorantly, to establish their own righteousness, could not believe, they submitted not themselves to the righteousness of God, saith the Apostle,