The Last Judgment, Tract · Doctrine 20
Ver. 37, 38, 39. Then ſhall the Righteous anſwer him, ſaying, Lord, when ſaw we …ee an …ungred, and fed thee … &c.
Doct. XX. is this, That the Elect Saints are ſo farre from putting any confidence in any thing they do for the Lord, that they cannot own any thing that they have done, at that day.
Reaſons. 1. From the Lord. 2. From themſelves. 3. From the duties they perform.
From the Lord. 1. From his Infiniteneſs, which our …inite works can no way reach unto, Iſa. 40.15, 16. and how the… can we put any confidence in what we do? or how ſhould we own any thing that we have done in reference to him. 2. From his Perfection and Sufficiency in Himſelf, we cannot adde any thing to him, Job 22.2, 3. & 35.6, 7, 8. Pſal. 16 2, 3. 3. From his Beneficence; for whatever we do in the beſt way for him, is from him, 1 Chron. 29.14, 16. Iſa. 26.12. 1 Cor. 4.7. 4. From the Purity of his Nature, which … not but abhor our beſt ſervices, as they come from us, Habak. 1.13. W…c to us, if we ſhould ſtand before him in our beſt works, Iſa 64.6. Titus 3.5. 5. From his Soveraignty and Greatneſs, Mal. 1.14. Pſal. 47.2. and what poor things are our duties for ſuch a Prince as he? 6. From his Command to us, Luke 17.10. 7. From his Juſtice, which requires exact obedience. 8. From his Omniſcience, 1 John 3.20.
2. From the Saints themſelves. 1. They ſee no worth at all in what they have done. 2. They deſire pardon for their beſt works, N…b…m. 13.22. 3. They ſee them all wofully defiled, Iſa. 64.6. 4. They pray that God would not enter into judgement with them for the beſt of them, Pſal. 143.2. 5. They ſee them at beſt imperfect, 1 Cor. 13.9, 10. 6. They ſee that their Alms, though Sacrinces, Heb. 13.16. yet need an Altar to ſanctifie them, Mat. 23.19. 7. They acknowledge themſelves unable to ſtand, if God ſhould mark their iniquities, Pſal. 130.3. 8. They acknowledge, though they cannot accuſe themſelves, yet they are not thereby juſtified, 1 Cor. 4 4.
3. From the Duties they perform. 1. They have their ſpots. 2. They come hardly off, M…t. 11.30. 3. They are ſuch things as we are apt to be weary of, Galat. 6.9. 4. They are ſo performed, as that we have cauſe to be aſhamed of them. 5. They are at beſt but childiſh things, 1 Cor. 13.11. 6. They need covering and waſhing. 7. They are onelyonly acceptable to God through Jeſus Chriſt, 1 Pet. 2.5. 8. They cannot ſave us. Titus 3.5. Eph. 2.8, 9.
Ʋſe 1. for Information: 1. We ſee what little reaſon any have to glory or boaſt of any of their works of Bounty o… Mercy that they have done, for at the laſt day the Saints will be ſo farre from this, that they cannot tell how to own their beſt works. 2. We ſee what a folly it will be in Hypocrites to plead their Works at that day, Mat. 7.22, 23. for if the Saints put no confidence in their works that they have done, how poorly will Hypocrites come off that plead theirs? 3. We ſee how lowly in heart Chriſtians will then be at that day: here we have our pangs of Pride ſometimes, to overvalue what we do, but then we ſhall have another ſpirit. 4. We ſee how loathſome our ſins ſhould be to us, if our beſt duties be of ſo little worth that we cannot tell how to own them at the laſt and great day, Rom. 12.9. We ſhould loath our ſelves for them, Ezek 36.31. 5. We ſee the vanity of many men, that will brag of their works, Prov. 20.6. 6. We ſee how inconſiſtent it is with a gracious ſpirit, to boaſt of any thing we do, how good ſoever in it ſelf the thing be. 7. We ſee how contrary to the grain of Chriſtianity, that Popery is, that affirms, That Good Works merit Eternal Salvation: at the laſt day the Saints will own no ſuch thing, nor any gracious Saint now. 8. We ſee that confidence in any thing that we can do, will never ſtand in the day of Chriſt. 9. We ſee that if our beſt works will be undervalued then, how ſhould we undervalue all we do now? Luke 17.10. 10. We ſee that the Elect Saints will at that day aſcribe all the glory to the Lord of what they have done, and nothing to themſelves, Pſal. 115.1.
Ʋſe 2. for Humiliation: 1. To thoſe that tell others in a braving way of what they have done, Mat. 6.1, 2. 2. To thoſe that are too vain and luxuriant in praiſing others, Prov. 27.14.
Ʋſe 3. for Exhortation: 1. To eſteem little of our beſt works now, for we ſhall ſo do at the laſt day, if we be the Lords elect ones, Lu. 17.10. 2. To take heed that pride ſhep not in, and mix it ſelf with our works of mercy, Mat. 6.1. 3. To long after that day, when we ſhall be of ſuch an humble frame. 4. To abhor the thought of having any confidence in our beſt works, Job 9.20, 21. 5. To confeſs that all our righteouſneſs is as filthy rags, Iſa. 64.6. 6. To pray that God would not enter into judgement with us, Pſal. 143.2. 7. To truſt only in the mercy of God through Chriſt Jeſus, notwithſtanding all our Good Works; that's the ſafeſt, by the confeſſion of Beliarmine himſelf, that great Champion for Good Works: ſee alſo Gal. 2.15, 16. Rom. 4.1, 2. 8. To rejoyce in Chriſt Jeſus, and have no confidence in the fleſh Phil. 3.3.
Ʋſe 4. for Conſolation: 1. To thoſe that renounce their beſt works, ſo as to put no confidence in them, it is a pledge of their Election. 2. To thoſe that have low thoughts of all their works of mercy that they have done. 3. To thoſe that plead and argue againſt truſting to Works for merit.