Orthodoxy and Charity United, Essay 4
ESSAY IV. The Miſtaken Ways of coming to GOD without CHRIST.
JOHN xiv. 6.
No Man cometh to the Father but by me.
IF the Race of Man were immortal on Earth, and Sinners were never ſummon'd to die, or if they could put an eternal End to their Souls when the Body lies down in the Duſt, there would be little Concern among us, How ſhall I come and appear before God? or What ſhall I do to obtain his Favour? Sinful Creatures ſeem to live well enough among the Cares or Amuſements of this Life, though they are without God in the World; and if they could live for ever without ſeeing him, or could plunge into Death and the unſeen World, and not meet him there, they would take no Thought about that grand Enquiry, which Balak the King of Moab thought to be of ſuch Importance, Wherewith ſhall I come before the Lord, or how my ſelf before the high God?
But when the Conſciences of Men begin to be convinced that they are Tranſgreſſors againſt the Law of their Maker, and that they muſt one Day appear before him, as their Governor and their Judge, and anſwer for their Conduct, then they inquire in good earneſt, What they ſhall do to ſtand in his Sight with Acceptance, or to draw near his Majeſty without Terror? Then Reaſon and Nature exert all their Forces to find an Anſwer to this grand Queſtion.
But Nature and Reaſon darkened and weakened by the Fall of Man, and unaſſiſted by Revelation and divine Grace, lead them into many miſtaken Ways, ſuch as will never bring them into the Favour of him who made them, nor obtain true Happineſs. Poor fooliſh and fallen Mankind is ready to try many means of procuring Eternal Life for themſelves, before they will betake themſelves to the one only Way which God has appointed by his Goſpel, and that is, Faith in Jeſus Chriſt.
Of the ſeveral miſtaken Ways that Sinners are ready to chuſe in this Caſe, theſe three are the chief, (viz.) The Way of ſuppoſed Innocency, The Way of Dependance on God's general Goodneſs, and the Way of their own Repentence and Self-Righteouſneſs. Let us conſider each of theſe, and enquire into the Juſtneſs of their Pretenſions.
Firſt, The Way of Innocency. How many Souls are there in ſuch a Land as this, who come to God with a thoughtleſs Confidence, and expect to find Mercy at his Hands, though they are conſcious they have not done ſo much Good as they ought, nor have been ſo religious as they ſhould be? yet they think they are harmleſs and have done no Wrong, and therefore they are ſafe for Eternity. Perhaps, by Education and other Methods of reſtraining Grace, they have eſcaped the viler Pollutions of the Age, and been preſerved from groſs Impieties: Then they hope and believe all ſhall go well with them, and dream of nothing but the Favour of God, and Happineſs after Death, becauſe their Life has been outwardly unblameable in the World. Thus they live, and thus they die.
Ask theſe Perſons when they lie languiſhing on a dying Pillow, How they can venture to appear before the great the juſt and the holy God, in the World of Spirits? They will readily return this Anſwer, They have done no Harm, and they hope God will do them none; they have wronged no Man, and they know not why they ſhould not be accepted of God. Poor ignorant, unthinking Creatures! One would wonder that ſo groſs Blindneſs and Stupidity ſhould remain on the Minds of any who ſit under the preaching of the Law and Goſpel. Let me endeavour to convince ſuch Sinners here, and prove that this Hope is a falſe and dangerous one.
1. If it were poſſible that they ſhould be found ſuch as they ſuppoſe themſelves, that is, innocent in their outward Carriages and Actions toward their fellow Creatures, yet have their Language and their Lips been always innocent too? Or if they have in the main learnt to bridle their Tongues from groſs Falſehood, and Wrath, and Slander, yet have they never indulged evil Imaginations againſt their Neighbour, and the working of evil Paſſions? Sirs, if we conſtrue the Law of Duty to extend to our Hearts, as well as to our Lips and our Lives, as our Saviour has conſtrued it in his Sermon on the Mount, Matt. v. and vi. and vii. who is there can ever plead Innocence?
You have kept your Actions to all Appearance tolerably blameleſs, with regard to Men, but have you never broken the laſt Command of the ſecond Table, never deſirous or covetous of another's Poſſeſſions in Thought, never been guilty of Immorality's in Heart? Can ſuch Souls plead at the Bar of God, that they never allow'd one envious Thought againſt their Neighbour, and never let looſe a malicious Word? That they never coveted that which belong'd to another, nor wilfully leſſened their Neighbour's good Name or Reputation? Did they never find Wrath or Revenge kindling and burning within them without Reſiſtance? Did they never indulge the Motions of Luſt or Intemperance, or any ſinful Deſire ſtirring in their Hearts? When the great Apoſtle, in the ſecond and third Chapters to the Romans, is convincing all the World of Sin, and laying Mankind under a Senſe of Guilt, he convinces them effectually by their Breach of the ſecond Table, that all have ſinned and come ſhort of the Glory of God. Rom. ii. 21. and iii. 10, 12 — 14, &c.
Where's the Son or Daughter of Adam that can ſtand forth and ſay, I never diſhonoured Father or Mother, nor ever diſobey'd the juſt Commands of my Superiors; I never was unreaſonably angry againſt another; I never encouraged a wanton Thought within me, nor indulged any covetous and ſinful Wiſh; I never broke the Rule of Temperance in eating and drinking, nor ever gave way to an irregular Paſſion. I never was guilty of known Falſhood in Deſign or in Word. Let Mankind take but theſe Laws of God, which regard themſelves and their Neighbours, and make a ſincere Examination of themſelves thereby, and their own Conſciences will ſoon condemn the very beſt of them in the Sight of God. They are all condemn'd by the Law of Innocence, and if they have no better Plea, they will meet with an offended and angry God, in whoſe Sight no Sinner can ſtand and find Acceptance. His Law is wiſe and righteous, and every Violation of it deſerves a Proportion of Puniſhment.
Perhaps they will plead after ſuch a ſtrict Enquiry, that though they have not been perfectly innocent, yet their Offences have not been groſs and conſtant; but only of the ſmaller kind and few in Number, and therefore they hope for Excuſe: But the Apoſtle James takes away this Hope alſo, when he tells us, James ii. 8, 10. Whoſoever ſhall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one Point, he is guilty of all, for by one wilful Sin he abuſes that Governor and affronts that Authority by which all the Commands are enjoin'd. Nor is any wilful Sin ſmall in the Sight of Divine Juſtice, for it is the Fruit of a preſumptuous Heart, and is therefore highly criminal.
But ſuppoſe after their own Review of their Behaviour, they ſhould pronounce themſelves quite innocent, and ſay boldly, They knew nothing by themſelves; yet they are not ſufficiently juſtified hereby, for God ſees the Heart, and he knows us better than we know ourſelves. 1 Cor. vii. 2. and 1 Cor. iv. 4. Receive us, ſaith St. Paul, we have wronged no Man, we have corrupted no Man, we have defrauded no Man; for though I know nothing by my ſelf, i. e. nothing of Fraud or Deceit, on wilful Injury, yet am I not hereby juſtified, but he that judgeth me is the Lord. The Eyes of God are a Flame of Fire, and will find Iniquity where I can find none, for he ſees all the Diſguiſes and Veils of Self-Love and Self-Flattery, whereby every Man is naturally prone to cover his Sins, and to impoſe upon himſelf. He beholds thoſe ſecret Ferments, thoſe hidden Operations and Motions of Sin in the Soul, which paſs by unnoticed to ourſelves, and eſcape the Ac…uſation and Charge of our Conſciences. He knows ſo perfectly all the juſt Demands of his own Law, in the Lengths and the Breadths thereof, and is ſo perfectly acquainted with all the Motions of our Hearts, all their Follies and Paſſions, and ſinful Byaſſes, that he can find in us a thouſand Contrarieties to his Law, where we are fondly ready to preſume upon our own Innocence. Should I ſay with Joh, Chap. ix. ver. 30. If I ſhould waſh myſelf in Snow-Water, and make my Hands never ſo clean, thou wilt plunge me in the Ditch, and my own Clothes would abhor me. i. e. If I ſhould uſe all my own Purifications, thou wilt diſcover me to be ſtill as greatly defiled with Sin, as one who is plunged into a Ditch, and is unfit to put on his common Raiment, leſt he defile that and every thing about him.
Alas, how little do Men believe this? How little do they know and think of their own Guilt in the Sight of God, and the Depth of their own Miſery! How are they led by their own Thoughtleſneſs and ſhameful Ignorance of themſelves to build their Hopes for Eternity on a very ſandy Foundation, which will never ſtand in the Day of that Divine Tempeſt, which ſhall try every Man's Work?
You imagine, God will not be ſo ſtrict a Judge, and ſo ſevere, as Preachers repreſent him; but how do you know that he will not be thus ſevere in his Enquiries and his Judgment? I'm well aſſured the mere Light of Nature can never aſſure you of it, nor ſecure you againſt this Severity: And the Scripture often repreſents him thus ſevere in his Judgment, form'd by the Rules of his own Law, and abſtracted from the Goſpel of his Grace. David knew this in ancient times, Pſal. cxxx. 3. and cxliii. If thou, Lord, ſhouldeſt mark Iniquities; O Lord, who can ſtand? No Man living ſhall be juſtify'd in thy Sight. All Mankind are Sinners; There is none righteous; no, not one: Every Mouth is ſtopped, and the whole World lies guilty before God. Rom. iii. 19.
2. If we were entirely innocent as to Man, would that be ſufficient to anſwer for all our Injuries and Diſhonours done to God? Would this honeſt and blameleſs Conduct among your Neighbours, atone for all your Neglects of Religion, and your ſhameful Forgetfulneſs of God your Maker? What? Did God ſend you into this World among ſenſible things, and give you leave to neglect him, who is the Eternal and Almighty Spirit? Did he form your Spirits within you, and give you Underſtanding and Reaſon, and noble Powers to know the God that made you, and never require or expect that you ſhould uſe them to obtain this Knowledge? Have you a Tongue to ſpeak, and yet never ſpeak to him in Petition or Praiſe? 'Tis not only Cruelty, or Falſehood, or Injuſtice to our Neighbours, which the holy Apoſtle charges Mankind with, in order to lay their Conſciences under Guilt and Condemnation, but their Neglects of God and Religion are brought in as a heavy part of the Charge. Rom. iii. 11, 17, 18. There is none that underſtandeth, there is none that ſeeketh after God; there is no Fear of God before their Eyes. You hear the Accuſations of this Apoſtle, ſpeaking in the Name of God to Men, to make them ſenſible of their Guilt and Miſery; you have defrauded the great God of his due Glory; you have done him much Injury in withholding from him Worſhip and Reverence, Fear and Love, Prayer and Praiſe; and you fall under the Sentence of his broken Law for ever, if you have no better Plea than this.
Under ſuch a Charge Multitudes would be ready to riſe up, and with a thoughtleſs and inconſiderate Pertneſs would ſay, Far be it from us to injure our Maker when we would not injure or wrong a Worm: And this is the common Sentiment and Language of Neighbours and Friends when a Man dies, even though he were a Drunkard or a Man of Irreligion. Alas, for him! Poor Man! he has been honeſt and juſt; his Soul is at reſt, he never did any body an Injury but himſelf When ſuch Sinners are charged with Neglect of Religion, they cry out as though they were falſely accuſed, as thoſe Jews do in Mal. iii. 8. When God complains of them, Ye have robbed me, ſaith the Lord; but they reply'd with Impudence and Ignorance, Wherein have we robbed or wronged thee?
Alas, Sirs, you are far from Innocence in this Reſpect; for you have robbed God of your Hearts and beſt Affections; you have robbed him of your Thoughts and ſerious Meditations; you have robbed him of your higheſt Love and chief Delight. Were all the Paſſions of your Souls and Powers of Nature given you to be employ'd about the Trifles of this World? Doth not God, in the Perſon of Divine Wiſdom, call to Men in the Book of Proverbs, My Son, give me thy Heart? And hath not the World had theſe Hearts of yours given up to it entirely? Doth not the Light of Nature, as well as our Saviour, ſay, Love the Lord your God with your whole Heart, and your whole Soul, with all your Mind, and all your Strength? And hath God had all this ſhare of Love from you?
What time have you ever ſpent in his Service, in ſecret Tranſactions between God and your own Souls? What Seaſons have you taken for Prayer to him, or for ſpeaking his Honours? And yet our time is all his: And though he gives us ſufficient Portions of time for all our Neceſſaries and Conveniencies of Life, yet have you not robbed God of much of your time in neglecting Religion ſo entirely as you have done? Have you lived upon the Lord as your Delight and your Life? Have you made him your Hope and your All? Have you daily expected all your Comforts and Bleſſings from him, and have you returned all the Fruits of your Bleſſings back again to him in a way of Thankfulneſs and Obedience? Surely your Conſciences muſt anſwer, No: Then believe it and be afraid; you have robbed God, you have injur'd the Almighty, you are far from Innocency, and you muſt expect to periſh with Malefactors, if you have no better Plea than this.
O diſmal Change of Apprehenſions, when God ſhall make Creatures, who thought they were innocent, appear abominable in his Sight, guilty of Atheiſm and Irreligion and high Ungodlineſs, and ſhall judge and ſentence and puniſh them as Criminals of a deep Dye, for God was not in all their Thoughts, they lived without God in the World.
Dare not therefore, O Sinners, dare not continue one Day longer in this Practice: Renounce and abandon your falſe and fooliſh Hopes: Walk no longer in this vain, this dangerous, this ſuppoſed Way of Innocency, for it will never bring you to God and his Favour. Nor go on to think yourſelf fit for Heaven, becauſe you imagined you had done no wrong on Earth, for upon a ſerious Search you muſt be convinced in your Conſciences, that you have been evident Tranſgreſſors againſt the Law of God, both in regard of the Duties of Religion and Morality, in what you owe both to God and Man; and Innocency will be found a falſe and vain Plea at the Bar of God.
But I will go one Step further in making it appear with abundant Evidence, that the Way of pretended Innocency can never bring ſuch Creatures as we are into the Favour of God; and that is, by enquiring of ſuch as call themſelves Chriſtians; what is the Uſe of Chriſtianity, and why was it brought into the World? Surely, if Innocence had been the Way to Heaven, Chriſt Jeſus the Son of God would never have come into Fleſh and Blood, that he might die for us; God would never have ſent ſo glorious and divine a Perſon to have expoſed himſelf to ſo many Infirmities and Sorrows, Fatigues and Sufferings among the wretched Inhabitants of this our Globe, if we could have been ſaved in the Way of Innocence. Never would the Son of God have entered our World to have been driven out of this mortal Life again by cruel and bloody Men; nor ſuſtain'd the Shame, the Pangs and Agonies of the Croſs, and a curſed Death. There would have been no new Religion introduced by him; there would have been no Goſpel, for there needed none if we are ſaved by Innocence. The Coming of the Son of God into our World, his painful Circumſtances of Life, and his atoning Death at the End of them, ſufficiently prove, that the Law of Innocency can never ſave Mankind.
The Covenant or Law of Innocence was broken by our firſt Parents; our Natures are corrupted, and this Law or Covenant is for ever weak, and unable to bring us to God again. Rom. viii. 3. What the Law was not able to do in that it was weak through the Fleſh, Jeſus Chriſt came to do for us, by coming in the Fleſh, and making his Soul an Offering for Sin.
If after all this Repreſentation of Things you are reſolved to continue in this way, and ſeek eternal Life in the way of Innocence, you give a ſenſible Affront to the Son of God, who came down from Heaven to bring Sinners near to God, and you ſay in effect, he might have ſpared his Journey to Earth to ſhew us the Way to Heaven, or to provide a new Way for us, for we have done no Harm to God or Man here in this World, and therefore God will not condemn or hurt us in the other. O my Friends, beg of God to convince you deeply of Sin, and that there is no Hope by all your Pretences of this Kind.
The ſecond miſtaken Way of coming to God is by a mere Dependance on the abſolute and ſovereign Goodneſs of his Nature, while you neglect the particular Methods of Salvation which you hear and read he has appointed in the Book of his Grace. 'Tis true, his tender Mercies are over all his Works, and Men imagine this eternal Love to his Creatures will not ſuffer him to make any of them miſerable hereafter, for what they call a little Miſconduct here: And while they leſſen their own Sins, and enlarge upon his Goodneſs, they venture their Souls upon an unſafe Foundation, and build up a dangerous and ungrounded Hope. Fancy his Goodneſs, O Sinners, as large and glorious as you will, and I may venture to affirm it yet larger and more glorious than your Fancy; but if all your Hopes reſt here, and you walk onward in this Confidence, you will never ſee the Face of God with Comfort; nor arrive at his Favour. Remember this is ſpoken particularly, and only, to thoſe who have known and heard the Goſpel of Chriſt, and yet have neglected to receive it.
Yet how common a Miſtake is this, even among thoſe who are called by the Chriſtian Name? Many will confeſs, We are Sinners indeed, and ſo are all Men; but God is infinitely merciful, and he will not damn us: Surely he will never condemn ſo many Millions of Souls; he did not make Mankind to deſtroy them; his Goodneſs will not bear to ſee us eternally miſerable, and therefore tho' we do indulge a little Sin here, we ſhall not periſh for ever. Thus that very Sin is committed, which the Apoſtle warns Men of, Rom. ii. 4. The Riches of the Goodneſs and Forbearance and Long-ſuffering of God which ſhould lead Men to Repentance are abuſed to indulge and uphold them in Sin. 'Tis a ſhamefui Indignity and Diſhonour done to the Goodneſs of God, to pretend to truſt to it for Salvation from Puniſhment, and yet neglect the Means this very Goodneſs hath appointed to obtain it. But I will endeavour to convince you here, that this is not a ſufficient or a ſafe Way.
1. Infinite Goodneſs doth not ſave ſinning Angels, and why ſhould it ſave ſinning Men? Thoſe noble Creatures, who ſinned again God, and left their firſt Station, are for ever damned and miſerable, and yet God is for ever Good: How largely is his Goodneſs diffuſed through all the Heavenly World, and he receives endleſs Hallelujahs for it; how largely on this Earth, though we often overlook it, and neglect his Praiſe: But he is not bound to exerciſe Goodneſs in Hell too; nor is his Heart to be charged with Hardneſs, nor his Hand with Shortneſs, becauſe he will not ſave thoſe who deſerve Deſtruction.
2. Though the Goodneſs of God be infinite in its Nature, yet its Exerciſes are all regulated and limited by Wiſdom and Juſtice; and theſe are alſo infinite. Wiſdom hath join'd with Divine Goodneſs, and ſaved a Multitude of Sinners; but is it bound to ſave them all? Or is it obliged to ſave you? Terrible Majeſty, Holineſs and conſuming Fire are with our God; and among rebellious Creatures, his Wiſdom finds proper Seaſons and Objects where theſe muſt have their Exerciſe: And if you are Sinners, why ſhould not his juſt Vengeance be let out upon you? It is a dreadful Word which is written, Iſa. xxvii. 11. This is a People of no Underſtanding: therefore he that made them will not have Mercy on them, and he that formed them will ſhew them no Favour. Thoſe who are ſo ignorant of God and his Way of Salvation in the midſt of the brighteſt Means of Knowledge, deſerve Deſtruction from the Almighty, as the Fool who ſays in his Heart There is no God.
3. There is no Promiſe in the Goſpel made to thoſe that reſt on Infinite Goodneſs, and refuſe the Means God has ordain'd to Salvation, i. e. Repentance towards God, and Faith in our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. Goodneſs, when it is not bound by a Promiſe, is perfectly free: And, indeed, if it were confin'd always to act to the utmoſt of its reach, it were not free, nor divine, nor worthy of God. And where there is no divine Faithfulneſs engaged to ſupport you by a Promiſe, a Sinner's Hope in Goodneſs itſelf will not be a ſufficient and effectual Security.
4. Though the Goodneſs of God is infinite, yet it doth not expreſs itſelf in all the Ways that it can do in temporal Things, and why muſt it then he exerciſed in ſo unbounded a Manner in Things eternal? If Divine Goodneſs exerted itſelf to the utmoſt in this Life, there would be no Pain, there would be no Sickneſs among Men, no Heart-ake, no Sorrow: But you ſee there is much Sickneſs, Sorrow and Pain among us, notwithſtanding the boundleſs Goodneſs of God. There are ten thouſand ways for Infinite Goodneſs to expreſs itſelf in, beſides in Forgiveneſs of the Sins of Men.
How do you know that God will forgive any one Sinner, or beſtow upon him eternal Life? The Light of Nature cannot aſſure us of it, much leſs can the Light of Nature inform us, that a God of Infinite Goodneſs will pardon every Sinner, or ſave them from the Puniſhment which is due by his righteous Law. And I am well aſſured the Scripture gives us no ſuch general Hope: Thouſands and Millions will be puniſhed with everlaſting Deſtruction from the Preſence of the Lord Jeſus, and from the Glory of his Power, notwithſtanding his own and his Father's unſearchable Treaſures of Grace and Goodneſs. The Lord is abundant in Goodneſs, and yet Earth and Hell abound in miſerable Creatures.
5. Although you could prove that the Mercy of God will pardon ſome Sinners, yet how can you be ſure it will pardon you? If you were told, that it will ſave a Million of Tranſgreſſors, yet can you ever prove that it will ſave you? Nay, as highly ſovereign as you fancy it to be, you may be ſtill excluded from the Exerciſe of it; for you may as well imagine this to be one Inſtance of Sovereignty, to forgive thouſands, and yet puniſh you, if you have nothing elſe to plead but his mere Goodneſs. Now it is not wiſe to venture ſo important an Intereſt as that of an Immortal Soul upon any Uncertainty whatſoever, if it can be avoided; and according to your own Principle of Dependance on Sovereign Mercy, you are left at a dreadful Uncertainty, if you have nothing elſe to truſt to but the mere Sovereignty of Divine Goodneſs.
6. You have over and over again, by repeated Sins, forfeited all Pretences to the Favour and Mercy of God: Whatſoever Ground you have had to hope in his Goodneſs, yet you have cut off all thoſe Grounds by your frequent actual Iniquities. Let us enter into Particulars, and ſurvey a little what Claims, what Pretences you have to truſt in this abſolute Goodneſs of God.
(1.) Will you ſay, You are his Creature, and he is your Maker and Owner, therefore you truſt him to ſave what is his own? But remember that every Sin of yours has diſowned his Dominion, violated his Authority, and forfeited his Love and all his kind Regards, as a Creator and Proprietor.
(2.) Will you plead, You have obey'd him, and done much Service for him, and therefore you hope his Goodneſs will reward you? But have you not done more againſt him? Surely your Sins are more than your Acts of Piety, and they cancel all pretended Obligations you could hope to lay upon a God: I fear, ſhould all our Virtues and Devotions be put into the Scale againſt our Vices and Sins, they would be found greatly wanting in the Weight.
(3.) Will you add this Plea, You are in a miſerable State, and you truſt in his Compaſſion that he will not leave poor ſinful wretched Beings in a State of Miſery? But have you not affronted him ſince your Miſeries began, and ſinned againſt him, even in your Bonds? And is not his Compaſſion thereby utterly forfeited? Beſides, might not fallen Angels make the ſame Plea as you do? Are they not in great Miſery? And yet are they not bound in Chains of Darkneſs, becauſe of their Sins, and ſhut up to further Vengeance.
O ſee what an uncertain Foundation your Souls lean upon, when you venture to truſt in the mere abſolute Mercy of God, and his Goodneſs, without his, Goſpel. 'Tis a Goodneſs ſovereign and abſolutely free, and therefore not bound to ſave ſuch Wretches as you from Miſery: 'Tis a Goodneſs that can ſee ſinning Angels periſh for ever, and not help them: 'Tis a Goodneſs that is regulated in its Exerciſes, by infinite Wiſdom and Righteouſneſs, and the Authority and Juſtice of a divine Governor, and theſe muſt have their proper Exerciſes too: It is abſolute Goodneſs without a Promiſe, without Engagement; Goodneſs that has ten thouſand ways to exerciſe itſelf beſides in forgiving Criminals: It is a Goodneſs that may forgive ten thouſand Sinners, and not forgive you; and it is a Goodneſs too, that you have ſo often diſhonour'd, whoſe Favours you have ſo ſhamefully forfeited and abuſed. Stand and wonder then that it is not turned into Fury againſt you long ago without Change and without Hope.
Surely ſince I have a Soul of Immortal Duration, I'll ſtrive to have better Reſt and Support for it than this is, and never venture it here, ſince there is a ſtronger and better Hope. Ye holy and happy Souls that have learnt the new and living Way of coming to the Father, bleſs him, that he has not left you to ſeek all your Salvation from abſolute and unpromiſed Goodneſs: Bleſs him that has bound his Goodneſs by many a kind Promiſe to you in his Goſpel, and ſeal'd it with the Blood of his own Son.
We proceed now to conſider the third falſe or miſtaken Way of coming into the Favour of God, and that is by Self-Righteouſneſs: For when we are made ſenſible that none is innocent, and the Goodneſs of God in general is not ſufficient Ground enough to raiſe and ſupport a ſolid and aſſured Hope, then we are ready to offer ſomething of our own to God, to engage this general Goodneſs of his on our Side, and make our Righteouſneſs the way to procure divine Favour, expecting that God ſhould exerciſe and expreſs his Goodneſs towards us, in the Bleſſings of Pardon and Salvation This Self-Righteouſneſs may be divided into four Sorts.
1. Penances and Mortifications, Sorrow and Regret of Soul, with all our own fancied Atonements for Sin.
2. Works of Charity to the Poor.
3. Forms of Religious Worſhip.
4. Outward Reformation with Vows and Labour after better Obedience.
Let us examine each of theſe briefly.
1. Penances and Mortifications, and our own Remorſe of Conſcience and Regret of Soul, together with many fancied Atonements for Sin: Thus the Heathens, ancient and modern. What Tortures have ſome of them inflicted on themſelves for the Expiation of their own Sins, or the Sins of their Country? So great and powerful hath been their Senſe of the Guilt of Sin, that large Sacrifices, and dreadful ones too, have been propoſed by ſome of them for this Purpoſe, Micah. vi. 6, 7. Thouſands of Rams, and ten thouſand Rivers of Oil, and ſome of them have actually offered their Firſt-born for their Tranſgreſſion, the Fruit of their Body for the Sin of their Souls.
The Gentiles, when they are a little conſiderate, one would think, muſt acknowledge God to be the Governor of the World, and that he is a great and dreadful God, who has, in very viſible Inſtances, ſometimes manifeſted his Diſpleaſure againſt the Sins of Men, and revealed his Wrath from Heaven againſt their Unrighteouſneſs and Ungodlineſs: And under the Fear and Terror of his Vengeance they have ſometimes put on Sackcloth and lived in Aſhes: They have deny'd themſelves the common Food of Nature, and half famiſhed their Bodies with Abſtinence. So the Ninevites did at the Threatning of the Lord by Jonah the Prophet. Sometimes they have baniſh'd themſelves from Towns and Cities, and all Converſe with Men, into meer Deſarts and Caves of the Earth, and ſtrain'd their Limbs in painful Poſtures, for Years together, to make Atonement for the Sins of the People; ſo ſome of the pretended Saints in the Eaſt-Indies have done. They have put themſelves in Iron Cages, with ſharp Spikes, to be carried about and wounded from Head to Foot, as ſome of the Bonzes in China; they have thrown themſelves under a heavy loaden Chariot of their huge Images and Idols, and been cruſhed to Death, as ſome of their holy Men in Malabar. But what hath all this avail'd to obtain the Favour of that God whom they have offended? Who hath required this at their Hands? And what Ground have they to think God will accept it?
So alſo thoſe of the Roman Church, who are fallen from the Doctrine that St. Paul once wrote to the Romans, have invented various Penances, and endeavour'd to come into the Favour of God by them: As though laſhing themſelves with Cords, could ſatisfy infinite Juſtice for their Crimes, and wearing Sackcloth on their Fleſh could make their polluted Souls pure and acceptable to God. In following Ages when the Prieſts were grown more crafty and covetous, they taught them to come to God by Money, and to buy Pardons for Sin and Titles to Heaven of the Pope. This was called a Commutation of Penance, and making their Purſe ſuffer inſtead of their Fleſh; and thus they compounded with the Juſtice of God for the Sins of their Souls. They laviſh away much Silver and Gold, to make Atonement before God for breaking his Law. Poor Attempts and hopeleſs Pretences, to remove the Diſpleaſure of a God, and make a Way for their favourable Acceſs to him! There have been ſome auſtere Perſons that have ſeparated themſelves from the lawful Cuſtoms of the World, and common Comforts of Life, in order to appeaſe their Conſciences for paſt Indulgence and Senſuality, as though God and his Holineſs, and his governing Wiſdom and Majeſty, would be as eaſily ſatisfy'd as their blinded Conſciences.
Others again after Sin are terrify'd with Fears of Death and Deſtruction; and under theſe Impreſſions they ſeem to mourn for their Sins, and then fly to their Repentances and Tears to ſave them; though perhaps their Repentance and Regret of Conſcience carries no more Hatred of Sin in it than Judas had who hang'd himſelf for inward Vexation and Anguiſh of Soul.
But if this Repentance were never ſo ſincere, is the great God obliged to pardon ſuch repeated Crimes and Iniquities as ours are, merely becauſe the Criminal repents? Do the Princes of the Earth think it neceſſary to forgive every Rebel and Traytor, becauſe he is ſorry he has been guilty of Treaſon and expoſed himſelf to Puniſhment? Why then ſhould the King of Kings be bound to let every Criminal paſs without being puniſhed, merely becauſe he repents of his Wickedneſs? It will be ſaid perhaps, we have nothing better to offer than our Repentance. And what then? Muſt a poor Rebel be always pardon'd becauſe he has nothing to make Satisfaction to his injured Sovereign, beſides his own Tears? And yet there are too many who ſtill will hope that their Sins are waſhed away, and their Guilt atoned for, by their Sorrows and Repentances; and ſome Chriſtian Divines have expreſſed themſelves a little too groſsly and unwarily on this Point.
O let us have a Care of ſuch Miſtakes, and bleſs the Lord, that he hath taught us a better Laver than our own Tears, a more powerful Atonement than any of our Sorrows or Terrors. The Pollutions of the Soul by Sin require a better cleanſing, and Affronts to the Majeſty of Heaven demand a higher Satisfaction or Recompence, than any that we can make with our utmoſt Efforts of this kind.
2. Others fly to Works of Charity to the Poor, or of ſuppoſed Piety towards God, performed either in Life or at Death. Hence ariſe ſome extraordinary Appearances of Liberality in the World: This Hope of making ſome Compenſation for Sin, lays the Foundation of Churches and Hoſpitals: And magnificent Structures ariſe upon the Earth to gain the Favour of the God of Heaven, who hath been provoked by former Iniquities. Whole Eſtates are ſometimes given away by old Sinners, and alienated from their natural Heirs and Poſſeſſors, even from needy Friends and Kindred, and are devoted to religious and charitable Uſes, in order to purchaſe Salvation for their Souls.
If they are Proteſtants indeed, we can hardly ſuppoſe they have theſe actual Reaſonings within themſelves, as to infer, that God will be ſo much pleaſed with theſe Legacies, as to pardon their Sins for the ſake of ſuch a Liberality to the Church or the Poor; this is the Popiſh Doctrine of Merit, which as Proteſtants we all renounce. But ſtill there is a ſecret working of this Self-Righteouſneſs in the Hearts of Multitudes: And when upon a Death-bed they bequeath large Legacies to the Service of God, or the Relief of the Poor, they hope to breathe out their Spirit comfortably into the Hand of God the Father, with ſome Dependance on theſe Legacies, at leaſt as ſufficient Evidences of their Love to God, and with confident Expectations of obtaining his Salvation.
But alas! what can a little Charity to the Poor do toward the Reconciliation of a God to an offending Creature. Is there any Force in this Reaſoning, becauſe I do a Kindneſs for a Fellow-Worm, therefore my Maker muſt love me, and forgive me all Affronts againſt him? Or becauſe I have given to the Service of God, ſome of thoſe worldly good things which he firſt beſtow'd upon me, therefore he muſt pardon all my former Iniquities, he muſt receive me for ever into his Favour, and confer upon me the Riches of Glory and the Inheritance of the Saints in Light? How weak and ignorant are theſe Reaſonings? And yet how many have been ready to lay the Streſs of their Hopes upon them, having nothing elſe within their View to truſt in?
3. Forms and Obſervances of religious Worſhip, are another vain Pillar upon which Sinners lean and ſupport themſelves. This is a moſt common and powerful Deceit. How many thouſands are there, that by daily Attendance upon Solemnities of Worſhip and coming up to the Houſe of God, hope at laſt to come to the Arms of the Father with Acceptance? And eſpecially if they have practiſed ſecret Devotion too, in the common Rounds and Forms of it, and have frequently bow'd their Knees to God in their Retirements, their Hope has riſen high; and though they have not arrived at a thorough change of Heart, and ſincere Love to God, yet they will preſume upon his Acceptance without any great Concern about the Salvation of Jeſus Chriſt.
But let me ask ſuch ſort of Candidates for Heaven and Happineſs, whether a formal Round of Duties and Services, without the Heart and Soul in them, without ſincere Love to God and Delight in him, can ſo far pleaſe the bleſſed God, as to perſwade him to neglect all the righteous Demands of his governing Juſtice for paſt Crimes? Or if your Hearts are ſometimes engaged in theſe Solemnities, is this ſufficient to cancel all former Tranſgreſſions?
Beſides, if you have no Mediator, who ſhall introduce ſuch a Sinner, or his Duties, into the Preſence of God with Acceptance? May he not juſtly drive us with all our ſolemn Formalities, afar from his Seat, ſince we neglect the only Hope ſet before us, i. e. the Name of his Son, without which no Man ſhall come to be accepted of the Father. John xiv. 6. No Man cometh to the Father but by me.
4. The laſt thing I mention, on which ſome Perſons are prone to depend, in order to obtain divine Favour and Forgiveneſs, is a Courſe of outward Reformation, and ſome Vows and ſome Endeavours after better Obedience: But I would endeavour in theſe few Particulars, to diſcover the Vanity of all Hopes of this kind.
(1.) Our Duties of Obedience are very imperfect: They do not in any Degree anſwer the ſtrict Demands of the Law and Juſtice of God; and the beſt of them are ſo defective that they can never claim or pretend to any Merit in them, ſince they do not come up to anſwer the Requirements of God in his general Rule of Government.
(2.) Our Obedience of to day cannot wipe away or cancel the Crimes of yeſterday or our paſt Life: Theſe Crimes ſtand like high and unpaſſable Mountains in the way betwixt God and us: Paying a new Debt never wipes off old Scores among Men, and why ſhould we imagine it will do ſo before the Throne of God?
(3.) Were our Duties perfect, yet 'tis not only a guilty, but a worthleſs Creature, a mere polluted Worm performs them; and the eternal Favour of an offended God is not to be purchaſed for Rebels at ſo cheap a rate.
(4.) It is true, 'tis by Duties of Worſhip we muſt draw near unto God, and by the Acts of our Mind and Will, by Knowledge, Aſſent, Faith, Truſt, Hope, Prayer and Repentance, we muſt come to God; but 'tis ſtill by and through the Mediation and Intereſt of Jeſus the Son, that theſe Acts of the Soul muſt be addreſs'd to the Father. Theſe conſider'd alone in themſelves, are not preſcribed in my Text as the Way itſelf, for Chriſt is the Way, the Truth and the Life: He is the only true and living Way to God: Theſe Actions perform'd with a due regard to Chriſt, are properly our walking in the way which God hath appointed; but if we have no regard to Chriſt in theſe Actions, we are not walking in God's Way, nor can we raiſe any ſolid Hope that we ſhall arrive at his gracious Preſence, while we neglect or refuſe the only Way which God has ordained.
Perhaps ſome more intelligent or more conceited Hearers, may cry out here, why are theſe Rudiments and plain Principles of Chriſtianity preached to us? Surely we know better, and underſtand more of the Goſpel of Chriſt, than to make ſuch Diſcourſes neceſſary for us to attend them.
I anſwer, 1. However learned ſome may be in theſe Truths, yet perhaps there may be others coming continually into our Aſſemblies, who know little enough either of the Law or Goſpel; and they had need of the Doctrines of their own Guilt, and Miſery, and Danger, to be ſpoken in very plain and clear Language to them, before they will hearken and ſtand ſtill, and conſider their own Circumſtances, and their Peril: And the Nature of Man when under the Awakenings of Conſcience, is ſo prone to take hold of every falſe and feeb… Refuge, and to venture their Eternal Hopes upon them, that it is very neceſſary to ſpeak theſe things often, and to repreſent them in the cleareſt Light, in order to caution Sinners againſt building their Hopes on the Sand, and reſting all their Expectation of the Favour of God and Happineſs, upon ſome feeble Foundation which will not bear them. 'Tis not the Wiſe and the Learned that I pretend to inſtruct; but it is pity any poor Soul, even of the loweſt Ranks of Mankind, ſhould abide ignorant of theſe important Concerns, and ſhould periſh in ſuch a Land of Light, and for want of Chriſtian Knowledge.
Anſw. 2. Let us ſearch diligently our own Hearts. Have we all attained and kept up ſuch a due Senſe of our Danger without Chriſt as we ſhould have? Are we never inclined to depend on Self-Righteouſneſs at all? Are we never under any Temptation to indulge this falſe Hope? Some pious Souls have complain'd of this Temptation, and corrupt Nature is very ready in the beſt of Chriſtians, to build up ſome Parts of their own Righteouſneſs as their ſufficient Refuge, and ſometimes to put it in place of the perfect Mediation and Atonement of the Bleſſed Jeſus.
Anſ. 3. However the Caſe be now with us, and if we have truly got the Victory over all Temptations of this Kind, yet it is very proper to remember what once we were, and reflect upon what falſe Hopes we once were ready to build on, and to bleſs the Holy Spirit of Light and Grace, that hath diſcover'd our Miſtakes unto us, that has turned our Feet from every dangerous Hope, and led us to the Father by the true and living way Chriſt Jeſus.
Let this Thought alſo call us to mourn over the Souls of Men, even the greateſt Part of our Fellow Creatures, Inhabitants of this World, who are made of the ſame Fleſh and Blood as we are, and who, through groſs Ignorance, are ever practiſing ſome fooliſh Methods of pacifying God for paſt Sins, and aiming at his Favour and Happineſs in ſuch Ways as will never attain their End. O Come, Lord Jeſus, and ſpread thy Light and thy Truth through the dark Nations, and ſcatter all the remaining Miſts and Darkneſſes that lie upon Countries which have only the Name of Chriſt, and ſome of the Forms of his Religion among them. Thouſands there are, even in Europe, who neither know the Goſpel in Truth, nor come to God by this Mediator: They live not by the Faith of the Son of God, nor have juſt Reaſon, according to the Goſpel, to expect divine Favour and Forgiveneſs. Bleſſed God, enlighten the Thouſands of dark and wretched Mankind, and lead them in thine appointed Way to Happineſs.
The next Eſſay will ſhew us a plain and eaſy Account of Faith in Chriſt, or of coming to God by Chriſt: I acknowledge, I have been ſometimes uneaſy and aſhamed to hear a Divine of the Proteſtant Church tell his People, that Faith in Chriſt is a myſterious Thing, and it is not to be well known, or clearly conceived in itſelf, but it may be much better conceived by its Effects, therefore, ſaith he, I proceed, inſtead of ſpeaking of Faith itſelf, to give you an Account of the Fruits and Effects of it.
As though there was any thing in the Affairs of human Life, in Reaſon, or in Religion, clearer than this Notion, (viz.) Upon a Sight and Senſe of our Sins and Dangers, and our Weakneſs to help ourſelves, to commit ourſelves into the Hands of Chriſt, by an humble Act of Truſt or Dependance on him, complying with his appointed Methods of Relief in the Goſpel.
'Tis but as a Man ſenſible of his Sickneſs applies himſelf to a wiſe and knowing Phyſician, and gives himſelf up to him, and truſts himſelf in his Hands to relieve him, complying with the Remedies appointed in order to his Cure: which I hope will appear very plain in the following Eſſay.