Fellowship with God, Sermon 20
SERMON XX·
1 Joh. 1.10.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
THere is nothing in which Religion more consists, then in the …rue and un…eigned knowledge of our selves. The Heathens supposed th…t sentence, foreign, know thy self, descended …om Heaven. It was indeed the Motto of the wisest and most …eligious amongst them▪ but certain it is, that the t…ue and sincere unde…standing of ou… selves, descends …rom the Father of lights, and is a great gift as man i… capable of, next to the knowledge of God him…self. The…e is nothing more necessary to man, either as man, or as a Christian, either as indowed with …eason, o… pro…essing Religion, then that he should be th…oughly acquainted with himself, his own heart, its disp…siti…ns, and inclinations, and lusts, his wayes, and actions, that while he travels abroad to other creatures and Countreys, he may not commit so shameful an absurdity, as to be a stranger at home, where he ought to be best acquainted; Yet how sad is it, that this which is so absolutely needful, and universally p…ofitable, should be lying under the manyest difficulties in the attainment of it? So that there is nothing ha…der, then to b…ing a man to a pe…fect unde…standing of himself, what a vile, naughty, and base creatu…e he is, how defiled and desperatly wicked his natu…e, how abomin…ble his actions, in a word, what a compound of darknesse and wickednesse he i…, a heap of defiled dust, and a masse of con…usion, a sink o… impiety and iniquity, even the best of mankind, those of the rarest and most …efined extraction, take them at thei… best estate, thus they are as sepulchres painted without, and putrified within, outwardly ado…ned, and within …u… of rottennesse and cor…uption, the imagination of his heart only evil continually. Now, I say, here is the great businesse and labour of Religion, to bring a man to the clear discerning of his own nature, to represent unto him justly his own image, as it is painted in the Word of God, and presented in the glasse of the Law, and so by such a surprizing monstruous appearance, to affect his heart to self-abhorrency in dust and ashes, and to have this representation, however unpleasant, yet most profitable, continually obversant to our minds, that we may not forget what manner of persons we are. Truly, I may say, if there be a perfection in this estate of imperfection, herein it consists; and if there be any attainment of a Christian, I account this the greatest, to be truly sensible of himself, and vile in his own eyes.
It was the custome of Philip King of Macedonia, after he had overcome the …amous Republick of Greece, to have a young man to salute him fi…st every morning with these words, Philippe homo es, Philip thou art a man, to the end that he might be daily minded o… his mortality, and the unconstancy of hum…ne aff…irs, lest he should be pust up with his victory, and this was done be…ore any could have accesse to speak with him, as if it were, to season and prepare him for the actions of the day; but O, how much more ought a Christian to train up his own heart, and accustome it this way, to be his continual remembrance… of himself, to suggest continually into his mind, and whisper this first into his ear in the morning, and mid day, and evening, peccator es, thou art a sinner, to hold our own image continually before us, in prayer, and praises, in res…aints, in liberties of spi…it, in religious actions, and in all our ordinary conversation, that it might salt and season all our thoughts, words, and deeds, and keep them from that ordinary putrifaction and corruption of pride and self-conceit, which maketh all our ointm…nt stink.
If we say we have no sin, we make him a liar. Why is this repeated again? but to shew unto us, even to you Christians, who believe in Ch…ist, and are washen in his blood, how hard it is to know our selves a…ight. If we speak of the g…osser sort of persons, they scarce know any sin, nor the nature and vilenesse o… any that they know, the…e…ore they live in secu…ity and peace, and blesse themselves in their own hearts, as if they had no sin; for such I say, I shall only say unto …hem, that your self deceiving is not so subtill, but it may soon be discerned, your lie is grosse, and quickly seen th…ough. But I would turn my self to you Christians, who are in some measure acquainted with your selves, yet there is s…mething against you from this word; after ye have once got some peace from the challenge of sin, and hope of pardon, you many times fall out of acquaintance with your selves, having attained by the Lords grace, to some restraint o… the more visible out-breakings of sin; you have not that occasion to know your selves by, and so you remain strangers to your hearts, and fall into better likeing with your selves, then the fi…st sight of your selves permitted you. Now, my beloved in the Lord, herein you are to be blamed, that you do not rather go in to the fountain, and the…e behold the stream…, then only to behold the fountain in the streams; you ought rather upon the Lord… testimony of man, to believe what is in you, before you find it, and see it breaking out, and keep this character continually in your …ight, which will be more powerful …o humble you, then many out-breaking…. I think we should be …o well acqu…inted with our own natures, as to account nothing …range to them that we see abroad, but r…ther think all the gros…nesse and wi…ke…nesse of men suitable and correspondent to o…r spi…its, to that root of bitternesse that is in them; The goodnesse of God in restraining the appearance o… that in us, which i… within us in …e…lity, should rather increase the sense of our own wickednesse, then dimin…sh it in our view.
Indeed, self-love is that which blinds us, and bemists us in the sight of our selves, we look upon our selves through this …alse medium, and it repr…sent… all things more beautiful then they a…e; and therefore the Apostle hath reason to s…y, we deceive our selves, and we make God a liar. O, how much practical self-deceit is there in the application of truth? there are many errours contrary to the truths themselves, and many deceivers, and deceived, who spread them: but I believe there is more errour committed by men, in the application of truths to their o…n hearts, the… in the contemplation of it; and more self-deceiving, then de…eiving of others. It is strange to think, how sound, and clear, and distinct, a mans judgement will be against those evils in others, which yet he seeth not in himself; How many Christians will be able to decipher the natur… of some vices, and unbowel the evils of them, and be quick-sighted to e…py the leas… appea…ance of them in another, and …o condemn it, and yet …o pa…tial a…e they in judging themselve…, …elf-love so purblinds them in t…is reflection, that they cannot discern that in them…elves, which o…hers cannot but discern. How o…ten do men declaim against pride, and covetou…nesse, and self-seeking, and other evils of that kind? they will pour out a flood of eloquence and zeal against them▪ and yet …t is strange they do not adv…t, that they are accusing themselves, and impannel…ing themselves in such discourse…, though others, it may be, will easily pe…ceive … p…dominancy of these evils in them. Who art thou, O m…, who judgeth another, and …ost the same things? Canst thou escape Gods judgement? Rom. 2.1. Consider this, O Ch…istian, that thou may le…rn to turn the edge of all thy censures and convictions against …hy self, that thou may prevent all mens judgements of thee, in judging thy self all things, that men can judge thee, that is, a …hief of sinners, that hath the root of all sin in thee; and so, thou may anticipa… the divine judgement too, for if we judge our selves, we shall not be judged. Labour thou to know these evils tha… are incident to thy nature, before others can know them, that is, in the root and …ountain, before they come to the …ruit and stream; to know sins in the first conceptions of them, before they come to such productions as are visible; and this shall keep thee humble, and preserve thee from much sin, and thou sh…lt not deceive thy self, nor dishonour God, in making him a liar, but rather set to thy seal to his …ruth, and his word shall abide in thee.
There is a common rule that we have in judging our selves, by comparing our selves amongst our selves, which (as Paul saith) is not wisdom, 2 Cor. 10.12. When we do not measure our …elves by the perfect rule of Gods holy Word, but parallel our selves with other persons, who are still defective from the rule, far further from it, then any one is from another: this is the o…din…ry method of the judging of self-love; we compare with the worst person…, and if we be not so bad as they, we think our selves good; if not so ignorant as some ar…, we presume that we know; if not so prophane as many, we believe our selves religious. Lord, I am not as this Publican, so …aith man… in their hearts, there's a curser, a swearer, a drunkard, a blind ignorant soul, that neglects prayer in privat and publick, and upon these ruines of others sins, they build some better estimation of themselves. But, I pray … what will that avail you to be unlike them, you be more unlike your pattern, then they are unlike you? It may be, others will compare with these that are good, but it is with that which is worst in them, and not that which is best; How often do men reckon this way, here is a good man, here is an eminent person, yet he is such and such, subject to such infirmities, and here self-love flatters it self, and by flattering, deceives it self. My beloved, let us learn …o establish a more perfect rule, which may shew all our imperfections: let our rule ascend, that our hearts may descend in humility, but when our rule and pattern descends to men of like infirmities, then our pride and self-conceit ascend…, and the higher we be that way in our own account, the lower we are indeed, and in Gods account; and the lower we be in our selves, we lose nothing by it, for as God is higher in our account, so we are higher in Gods account, according to that standing rule, Mat 23.12. Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.