Wherefore, as I also hinted before, the godlywise have been afraid to be found in their righteousness, I mean their own personal righteousness, though that is far better than can be the righteousness of any carnal man; For the godly man's righteousness is wrought by the Spirit and faith of Christ, but the ungodly man's righteousness is of the flesh, and of the law. Yet I say, this godly man is afraid to stand by his righteousness before the tribunal of God, as is manifest in these following particulars.

1. He sees sin in his righteousness, for so the pro- · phet intimates, when he saith, " All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," Isai. Ixiv. but there is nothing can make one's righteousness filthy but sin. It is not the poor, the low, the mean, the sickly, the beggarly state of man, nor yet his being hated of devils, persecuted of men, broken under necessities, reproaches, distresses, or any kind of trouble of this nature that can make the godly man's righteousness filthy; nothing but sin can do it, and that can, doth, hath, and will do it. Nor can any man, be he who he will, and though he watches, prays, strives, denies himself, and puts his body under what chastisements or hardships he can; yea, though he also get his spirit and soul hoisted up to the highest peg or pin of sanctity, and holy contemplation, and so his lusts to the greatest degree of mortification; but sin will be with him in the best of his performances; with him, I say, to pollute and defile his duties, and to make his righteousness speckled and spotted, filthy and menstruous. I will give you two or three instances for this.

(1.) Nehemiah was a man, (in his day,) one that was zealous, very zealous, for God, for his house, for his people, and for his ways; and so continued, and that from first to last, as they may see that please to read the relation of his actions; yet when he comes seriously to be concerned with God about his duties, he relinquisheth a standing by them. True, he mentioneth them to God, but confesseth that there are imperfections in them,

righteousness. Deliver me in thy righteousness.— Judge me according to thy righteousness. Quicken me in thy righteousness. O Lord," says he, give ear to my supplications: In thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord: For in thy sight shall no man living be justified." And David, What if God doth thus? Why then saith he, "My tongue shall speak of this righteousness. My tongue shall sing of thy righteousness. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness. Yea, I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only," Psal. lviii. xxxi. 1. XXXV. 24. cxix. 40. XXXV. 28. li. 14. lxxi.15, 16.

Daniel also, when he comes to plead for himself and his people, he first casts away his and their righteousness, saying," For we do not present our supplications unto thee for our righteousness:" And pleads God's righteousness, and that he might have a share and interest in that, saying, "O Lord, righteousness belongeth to thee:" to wit, that righteousness, for the sake of which mercy and forgiveness, and so heaven and happiness, is extended to us.

Righteousness belongeth to thee, and is thine; as nearly as sin, shame, and confusion, is ours, and belongeth to us. Read the 16th and 17th verses of the ixth of Daniel. "O Lord," saith he, "according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thy anger, and thy fury, be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and thy people, are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplication, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake:" For the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ; for on him Daniel now had his eye, and through him to the Father he made his supplication: yea, and the answer was according to his pray, to wit, That God would have mercy

on

on Jerusalem; and that he would in his time send the Lord, the Messiah, to bring in everlasting righteousness for them.

Paul also, as I have hinted before, disclaims his own righteousness, and layeth fast hold on the righteousness of God; seeking to be found in that, not having his own righteousness; for he knew that when the rain descends, the winds blow, and the floods come down on all men, but they that have that righteousness, must fall, Phil. iii.

Now, the earnest desire of the righteous to be found in God's righteousness, ariseth from strong conviction of the imperfections of their own, and the knowledge that was given them of the terror that will attend men at the day of the fiery trial; to wit, the day of judgment. For although men can now flatter themselves. into a fool's paradise, and persuade themselves that all shall be well with them then, for the sake of their own silly and vain-glorious performances, yet when the day comes that shall burn like an oven, and when all that have done wickedly shall be as stubble, (and so will all appear to be that are not found in Christ) then will their righteousness vanish like smoke, or be like fuel for that burning flame. And hence the righteousness that the godly seek to be found in, is called the name of the Lord, a strong tower, a rock, a shield, a fortress, a buckler, a rock of defence, unto which they resort, and into which they run and are safe.

The godly therefore do not, as this Pharisee, bring their own righteousness into the temple, and there buoy up themselves and spirits by that into a conceit, that for the sake of that, God will be merciful and good unto them: But throwing away their own, they make to God for his, because they certainly know, even by the word of God, that in the judgment none can stand the trial but those that are found in the righteousness of God.

3. That the best of men are afraid to stand before God's tribunal by the law, there to be judged to life

and death, according to the sufficiency or non-sufficiency of their righteousness, is evident; for they know, that it is a vain thing to seek, by acts of righteousness, to make themselves righteous men, as is the way of all them that seek to be justified by the deeds of the law.

And herein lieth the great difference between the Pharisee and the true Christian man. The Pharisee thinks, by acts of righteousness he shall make himself a righteous man; therefore he cometh into the presence of God well furnished, as he thinks, with his negative and positive righteousness.

Grace suffereth not a man to boast it before God, whatever he saith before men. His soul that is lifted

up, is not upright in him; and better is the poor in spirit, than the proud in spirit. The Pharisee was a very proud man; a proud, ignorant man; proud of his own righteousness, and ignorant of God's: For had he not, he could not, as he did, have so condemned the Publican, and justified himself.

And I say again, that all this pride and vain-glorious shew of the Pharisee, did arise from his not being acquainted with this, that a man must be good before he can do good; he must be righteous, before he can do righteousness. This is evident from Paul, who insinuateth this as the reason "why none do good," even because there is none that is righteous, no not one.""There is none righteous," saith he; and then follows, "There is none that doth good," Rom. iii. 10, 11, 12. For it is not possible for a man that is not first made righteous by the God of heaven, to do any thing that in a gospel-sense may be called righteousness. To make himself a righteous man, by his so meddling with them, he may design; but work righteousness, and so by such works of righteousness make himself a righteous man, he cannot.

The righteousness of a carnal man is indeed by God called righteousness; but it must be understoood as spoken in the dialect of the world. The world indeed

calls

calls it righteousness, and it will do no harm, if it bears that term with reference to worldly matters. Hence worldly civilians are called good and righteous men, and so, such as Christ, under that notion, neither died for, nor giveth his grace unto, Rom. v. 7, 8. But we are not now discoursing about any other righteousness, than that which is so accounted either in a law or in a gospel sense; and therefore let us a little more touch upon that.

A man then must be righteous in a law-sense, before he can do acts of righteousness, I mean, that are such in a gospel-sense. Hence, first, you have true gospel-righteousness made the fruit of a second birth. "If ye know that Christ is righteous, know ye, that every one that doth righteousness is born of him," 1 John ii. 29. Not born of him by virtue of his own righteous actions, but born of him by virtue of Christ's mighty working with his work upon the soul, who afterwards, for a principle of life, acteth and worketh righteousness.

And he saith again, "Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." Upon this scriprure I will a little comment, for the proof of what is urged before; namely, that a man must be righteous in a law-sense, before he can do such things that may be called acts of righteousness in a gospel-sense. And for this, this scripture, 1 John iii. 7. ministereth to us two things to be considered by us.

The first is, That he that doth righteousness is righ

teous.

The second is, That he that doth righteousness is righteous, as Christ is righteous.

First, He that doth righteousness; that is, righteousness which the gospel calleth so, is righteous; that is, precedent to, or before he doth that righteousness. For he doth not say, he shall make his person righteous by acts of righteousness that he shall do; for then an evil tree may bear good fruit, yea, and may make itself good