of the audience of their prayers. God may hear the prayer of people, with refpect to fome bleffings that they need; and yet give leannefs to their foul.-Sometimes perfons judge by the falfe rules of the law, misunderftood as when they judge either by a part of the law, or judge by the outfide of the law, and not the infide and spirituality of it. Indeed, the application of the law, is one great cause of self-conceit: fo it was with Paul; I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, fin revived, and I died, Rom. vii. 9. -Sometimes perfons judge themselves by the falfe rules of the gospel, mistaken; fuch as that word, If there be a willing mind, it is accepted; which belongs only to believers, that are accepted in the Beloved. 6. Another caufe of felf-conceit is felf-righteousness; Rom. x. 3. Being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, they have not fubmitted their over-proud conceit of their own righteousness it flows from their being poffeffed with a legal righteousness of their own; and this makes them fo proud and felfish, that they will have nothing ado with the righteousness of the God-man.-Some have a righteoufnefs of difpofition; a good natural temper that they lean to, and deceive themselves with.-Some have a righteousness of education: they have been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and have had a good example; and this hath had much influence upon them, to restrain them from many evils; and this deceives them. Some have a righteoufnefs of profeffion, as Paul; one of the strictest Pharifees, of the ftricteft fide; one that fides himself with those who make the most splendid profeffion.-Some have a righteoufnefs of intention: they have good refolutions; All that the Lord hath commanded we will do.-Some have a righteousness of reputation they are of good repute among others, and held in high efteem amongst thofe of diftinguished abilities.— Some have the righteoufnefs of reformation: they do many things, and reform in many particulars, and keep themselves from many of the groffer and more open violations of God's holy law. Some have the righteoufness of common spiritual operations; common enligh : tenings tenings and taftings of the heavenly gift, Heb. vi. 5, 6.; a common work of the Spirit upon the understanding, will, affections, confcience, and converfation.-In a word, fome have a natural righteousness, a cradle faith; they never did any thing amifs.-Some have a negative righteousness; they are not as other men. They are not guilty of this and the other grofs violation of God's holy law. Some have a pofitive righteoufnefs; they read, and pray, and faft, and give alms, and attend upon ordinances. Some have a comparative righteoufnefs; they imagine they are better than others: I am holier than thou.-Yea, fome have a fuperlative righteoufnefs; they fay and do their beft. And I know not how many kinds of righteousness might be mentioned. -Some have an active righteoufnefs; they do what they can: nay, they do many things.-Some have a paffive righteousness; they have fuffered loffes and croffes for a good caufe, and the fake of religion. Upon these, and the like, many profeffors build: and hence they conceive highly of themselves, and are pure in their own eyes; and yet, after all, are not washed from their filthiness. IV. The fourth general head of the method, was, to speak of the evil of this fin of felf-conceit. We may view this, 1. More generally. 2. More particularly. ift, We may view the evil of felf-conceit more generally. Where felf-conceit is, in its power, it is an evidence and plain indication of being a stranger to religion, and of being a grofs hypocrite: for, he that lifteth up his heart, is not upright, Hab. ii. 4. His foul that is lifted up in him, is not upright. He that hath a conceit of his own purity and attainments, is but a diffembler, is not what he pretends to be. 2dly,. Let us take a more particular view of the evil of felf-conceit. The evil of it will appear in these fix refpects. 1. In refpect of ourselves. 2. In refpect of others. 3. In refpect of Chrift. 4. In refpe&t of graces. 5. In refpect of duty. 6. In refpect of danger. 1. The evil of felf-conceit will appear in refpect of ourfelves. Where felf-conceit is in a perfon, there is pride; and, you know, God refifteth the proud, but be giveth grace to the humble. Where felf-conceit is, there is carnal fecurity; and, drousiness shall clothe a man with rags. Where it is, there is contempt of means: Self-conceit produces either a defpifing of the means, or a not ufing of the means that God hath appointed. The man being felf-fufficient, he is, in fome manner, above means: the means of grace, the means of knowledge are undervalued. 2. The evil of felf-conceit will appear, if we take a view of it with refpect to others. The evil of it is such, that it produceth either a contempt of others; Blessed be God, I am not like this man; he undervalues them, and looks down upon them, as below him: or, it produceth uncharitableness, if not contempt. None fo uncharitable as the man that hath a conceit of himself. I think the apostle Paul feems to hint at this, Gal. vi. 3. compared with the firft verfe: q. d. I know none will ftand in oppofition to this duty of charitable carriage towards their neighbour, but thofe that are puffed up with an high conceit of themfelves. The evil of this felf-conceit will appear in refpect 3. of Christ. Such people contemn him; and they defpife his fulness, righteoufnefs, and blood. They defpife his fulness for their supply: why, they are full of themfelves; They are rich and increafed with goods, and ftand in need of nothing. They come rich, and go empty away. They defpife his righteousness for their juftification while they are puer in their own eyes, they content themselves with a righteousness fpun out of their own bowels, out of their own duties.-They defpife his blood, his Spirit, his grace, for their fanctification: why, a person that thinks himself already pure, will not make application to the fountain where unclean fouls are made clean. 4. The evil of felf-conceit will appear, if we view it in refpect of graces. The evil of it is fuch, that it stands in oppofition to every grace; particularly to that mother grace, humility. God giveth grace to the humble; but he refifteth the proud. Humility is fuch a grace that, without it, a man cannot be a Christian. Now, this pride is oppofed opposed to humility and felf-denial, which Christ injoins on all his difciples: it is opposed to that felf-loathing that he requires. The felfifh man will not be covered with the vail of blufhing: No; he feldom takes a look of his failings. He looks more on his beauty than his defilement. He will not cry out with 'Agur, in the context, I am more brutish than any man; I have not the understanding of a man. The motto of the humble man is, I abhore myself, and repent in duft and afkes. The motto of the felf-conceited man is, God, I thank thee I am not like other men. He looks on any thing of attainment through a magnifying glafs; but upon his fins in a diminishing one. 5. The evil of felf-conceit is great in refpect of duties. The evil of it will appear very great if we confider the following particulars, among feveral others.-For it produceth rafhnefs in adventuring upon duty; even the moft folemn duty: because, being pure in their own eyes, they stand upon no duty; while the poor humble and felf-abased creature is afraid left he mifmanage his work. -It produceth a fuperficial performance of duty: tho' they think very much of their duties, yet they perform them but overly; for they imagine any fort of fervice from them is enough. And yet it produceth a kind of meritorious opinion of their duties; Wherefore have we fafted, and thou feeft not? wherefore have we afflicted our foul, and thou takeft no knowledge, Ifa. Iviii. 3, 4. As if God had been faulty, in not taking notice of their performances.We might mention a variety of other thiugs to the fame purpose. 6. The evil of felf-conceit will appear in refpect of danger. The evil of it is exceeding great. Why fo? Here is great deceit; for, he that thinketh himself to be fomething, when he is nothing, deceiveth himself, Gal. vi. 3. And this is the worst of all deceit. To deceive another, is certainly a great fault: but to deceive ourselves; what a terrible evil is it! For a man to kill and deftroy another, is a fad thing; but to kill and deftroy himfelf, is yet more dreadful!-The felf-conceited perfon imagines he can perform any duty; that he can read, pray, communicate, believe, repent: but he deceives himfelf --- himself. To be deceived about earthly things is ill; but to be deceived and cheated out of our immortal jouls, alas! that is worst of all.-When a felf-conceited perfon hears the threatening, or the promife, he misapplies all: that threatening, is not to him, he thinks; and yet that is his portion that promife is to him, he imagines; and yet he hath no part in that matter. Again, as fuch people are never likely to get good of ordinances; fo, they are not eafily convinced of their mistake: and no wonder; for we are told, Jer. vii. 5. They hold faft deceit, when we fay all we poffibly can fay to them. They will still declare, that they have a good heart towards God, and that they have a great love to Christ; though yet they never faw their ill heart, nor their strong enmity: They hold faft deceit. Self-conceited perfons will come under a fad disappointment in the iffue; for, fearfulness fall furprise the hypocrite in Zion. Who among us Shall dwell with devouring fire? who can abide with everlafting burning? Why will they be furprised with fear and terror? What is the matter? Why, they had a good hope of heaven; and fo, the higher their hope, the more difmal their fall and disappointment. Oh! how many ride triumphantly to hell in a chariot of foul-deftroying delufion! They imagine they are right enough, and that all is well; while it is quite otherwife with them. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes; and yet is not washed from their filthiness. The [The ninth Sermon on this text.] HIS text affigns two or three differences between the godly and the wicked. and the wicked. 1. They differ from each other in their number; there is a generation of wicked men |