demned by the Jews, nor coupled with a viler than himself. It is true, you find him here in the temple of prayer; not because he had retained, in his apostacy, conscience of the true religion, but God had awakened him, shewn him his sin, and bestowed upon him the grace of repentance, by which he was not only fetched back to the temple, and prayer, but to his God, and to the salvation of his soul.

The Pharisee then was a man of another complexion, and stood as to his own thoughts of himself, yea, and in the thoughts of others also, upon the highest and better ground by far. The Publican was a notorious sinner; the Pharisee was a reputed righteous man. The Publican was a sinner out of the ordinary way of sinning; and the Pharisee was a man for righteousness in a singular way also. The Publican pursued his villanies, and the Pharisee pursued his righteousness; and yet they both met in the temple to pray: Yea, the Pharisee stuck to, and boasted in the law of God; but the Publican did forsake it, and hardened his heart against his way.

Thus diverse were they in their appearances; the Pharisee very good, the Publican very bad: But as to the law of God, which looked upon them with reference to the state of their spirits, and the nature of their actions, by that they were both found sinners; the Publican an open outside one, and the Pharisee a filthy inside one. This is evident, because the best of them was rejected, and the worst of them was received to mercy. Mercy standeth not at the Publican's badness, nor is it enamoured with the Pharisee's goodness: It suffereth not the law to take place on both, though it findeth them both in sin, but graciously embraceth the most unworthy, and leaveth the best to shift for himself. And good reason that both should be dealt with after this manner; to wit, that the word of grace should be justified upon the soul of the penitent, and that the other should stand or fall to that which he had chosen to be his master.

There

There are three things that follow upon this dis

Course.

1. That the righteousness of man is not of any esteem with God, as to justification. It is passed by as a thing of naughtiness, a thing not worth the taking of. There was not so much as notice taken of the Pharisee's person, or prayer, because he came into the temple mantled up in his own good things.

2. That the man that has nothing to commend him to God, but his own good doings, shall never be in favour with him. This also is evident from the text: The Pharisee has his own righteousness, but had nothing else to commend him to God; and therefore could not by that obtain favour with God, but abode still a rejected one, and in a state of condemnation.

3. Wherefore, though we are bound by the law of charity to judge of men according as in appearance they present themselves unto us; yet withal, to wit, though we do so judge, we must leave room for the judgment of God. Mercy may receive him that we have doomed to hell, and justice may take hold on him, whom we have judged to be bound up in the bundle of life. And both these things are apparent by the persons under consideration.

We, like Joseph, are for setting of Manasseh before Ephraim; but God, like Jacob, puts his hands across, and lays his right hand upon the worst man's head; and his left hand upon the best, Gen. xlviii. to the amazement and astonishment even of the best of men.

"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, the other a Publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican, I fast twice in the week, I

give tithes of all that I possess."

*This proud beggar shews not his wounds but is worth; not his rags, but his robes: not his misery, but his stoutheartedness: he

brings

In these, words many things are worth the pointing. As.

First, The Pharisee's definition of righteousness; the which standeth in two things: 1. In negatives; 2, In positives.

In negatives; to wit, what a man that is righteous, must not be: "I am no extortioner, no unjust man, no adulterer, nor yet as the Publican."

2. In positive; to wit, what a man that is righteous must be: "Ifast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I. possess," &c.

That righteousness standeth in negative and positive holiness is true; but that the Pharisee's definition is, notwithstanding, false, will be manifest by and by. But I will first treat of righteousness in the general, because. the text leadeth me to it.

1. First then, A man that is righteous, must have negative holiness; that is, he must not live in actual transgressions; he must not be an extortioner, unjust, an adulterer, or as the Publican was. And this the. apostle intends, when he saith, "Fly fornication, fly youthful lusts, fly from idolatry; and little children keep yourselves from idols," 1 Cor. vi. 18. 10. 14. 2 Tim. ii. 22. 1 John v. 21. For it is a vain thing. to talk of righteousness, and that ourselves are righteous, when every observer shall find us in actual transgression. Yea, though a man shall mix his want of negative holiness with some good actions, that will not make him a righteous man. As suppose, a man that

is a swearer, a drunkard, an adulterer, or the like,

should,

brings in God Almighty as a debtor to him for his services, and thanks God more that others were bad, than for his own fancied goodness. Had the Pharisee with an humble mind thanked God for his restraining grace, that though he was not so good as he should be, yet he was kept from being so vile and bad as others were, this had been no fault: but his coming before God with a proud and scornful mind, is a wickedness incident to none but those of devilish dispositions and indicates the grossest ignorance and hypocrisy. And indeed it is to be lamented that these Pharisees are still se

numerous.

should, notwithstanding this, be open-handed to the poor, be a great executor of justice in his place, be exact in his buying, selling, keeping his promise with his friend, or the like; these things, yea, many more such, cannot make him a righteous man; for the beginning of righteousness is yet wanting in him, which is this negative holiness: For except a man leave off to do evil, he cannot be a righteous man. Negative holiness is therefore of absolute necessity to make one in one's self a righteous man. This therefore condemns them,

that count it sufficient if a man have some actions that in themselves, and by virtue of the command are good, to make a righteous man, though negative holiness is wanting. This is as saying to the wicked, Thou art righteous, and a perverting of the right way of the Lord: Negative holiness, therefore, must be in a man before he can be accounted righteous.

For it is

2. As negative holiness is required to declare one a righteous man; so also positive holiness must be joined therewith, or the man is unrighteous still. not what a man is not, but what a man does, that declares him a righteous man. Suppose a man be no thief, no liar, no unjust man; or, as the Pharisee saith, no extortioner, nor adulterer, &c. this will not make a righteous man; but their must be joined to these, holy and good actions, before he can be declared a righteous man. Wherefore, as the apostle, when he pressed the Christians to righteousness, did put them first upon negative holiness, so he joineth thereto an exhortation to positive holiness; knowing, that where positive holiness is wanting, all the negative holiness in the whole world cannot declare a man a righteous man. When therefore he had said, "But thou, O man of God, flee these things," (sins and wickedness) he adds, "and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness," &c. 1 Tim. vi. 11. Here Timothy is exhorted to negative holiness, when he is bid to flee sin. Here also he is exhorted to positive

C

positive holiness, when he is bid to follow after righteousness, &c. for righteousness can neither stand in negative nor positive holiness, as served one from another. That man then, and that man only, is, as to actions, a righteous man, that hath left off to do evil, and hath learned to do well, Isa. i. 16, 17. that hath cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light. "Flee youthful lusts, (said Paul) and follow after righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart," 2 Tim. ii. 22.

The Pharisee, therefore, as to the general description of righteousness, made his definition right; but as to his person and personal righteousness, he made his definition wrong. I do not mean he defined his own righteousness wrong, but I mean his definition of true righteousness, which standeth in negative and positive holiness, he made to stoop to justify his own righte ousness, and therein he played the hypocrite in his prayer: For although it is true righteousness that standeth in negative and positive holiness; yet that is not true righteousness that standeth, but in some pieces and ragged remnants of negative and positive righteousness. If then the Pharisee would, in his definition of personal righteousness, have proved his own righteousness to be good, he must have proved, that both his negative and positive holiness had been universal; to wit, that he had left off to act in any wickedness, and that he had given up himself to the duty injoined in every commandment: For so the righteous man is described, Job i. 8. ii. 3. As it is said of Zacharias and Elizabeth his wife. "They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, Luke i. 5. 6. Here the perfection, that is, the universality of their negative holiness, is expressed: They walked in all the commandments of the Lord; but that they could not do, if they had lived in any unrighteous thing or way.

They