This would be a mighty prefervative: Beholding as in a glass the glory of God, we are changed, 2 Cor. iii. 18. When Job faw this fight, then he crys out, Behold, I am vile; now, I abhore myfelf, and repent in duft and afbes. A fight of Christ's matchlefs beauty would make us loath our deformity. A fight of his perfect righteoufnefs, in its glory, would make us fee and be humbled for our own guiltinefs and fin.-If a foul fac'd perfon, who thinks himself handsome enough, fet himself with a very beautiful perfon to look into a glafs together, the beautiful face, which he fees befide his own, will make him think very little of himself, when compared with the other. O! how infinitely more, if, with one eye, we look at our own deformed picture, and with the other at the infinite perfection of beauty that is in Chrift! we cannot but abhore ourselves. Never any man faw Chrift's beauty, but he looked upon himfelf as a monster, and fank into nothing in his own conceit. O then, Sirs, feek a fight of the glory of Christ. The third antitode against self-conceit, is, "To com

pare ourselves with those that are before us, and not "behind us." A blockhead is but a blockhead ftill, though he hath more learning ftill than a plowman: though, perhaps, comparing himfelf with a clown, he thinks himself to be a learned man; but compare him with a learned man, and then, notwithstanding his high opinion of himself, he will appear but half an idiot. So it is here; the civil honeft man, when he compares himfelf with the fwinish drunkard, the foul adulterer, the prodigious fwearer, he begins, in a manner, poor man, to Saint himself, as if he was the only man that should be faved. And thus the proud-conceited Pharifee raifes himself on his tip-toes, by comparing himself with the publican; God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men, nor as this publican: fo faith the civil man; I am not fuch a drunkard, fuch a fwearer, as fuch a man is: and fo, because they are not fo bad as others that are worse, hence they conceive themselves to be wonderfully good. But now, the way to meafure yourselves, is, not to look backward, but to look forward: not to confider how much you are behind drunkards and fwear

ers;

ers; but to look forward, and fee how far fhort you are of them who are truly zealous and religious, truly godly and gracious. Compare yourselves with them; have you that measure of knowledge, faith, experience, mortification, zeal, and obedience, which they have? Are you as confcientious in fecret devotion, and other parts of religion? Alas! how far short do you come of them! And yet the best of them are far fhort of what they fhould be: and if you be short of them, who are but fhort-comers themfelves; how far fhort do you come! What grounds have you to think well of yourfelves, who are beyond a drunkard, when, in the mean time, you are far fhort of a good Chriftian? Therefore, to keep down this spiritual pride, look not at publicans, but gracious perfons. And if you find yourselves like to fwell with this conceit, I am not as this publican; then, on the other hand, humble yourselves with this meditation, I am not as this gracious perfon.

But fome will think, that even gracious perfons have their blemishes; and fo they compare themselves, and their fins, with the grofs fins of Lot, Noah, David, Peter, and other godly men; and so still they conceive a good opinion of themselves, and think all is well. But you would confider, that the falls of the godly did ferve for their own humility, and for our warning. God knoweth how to chaftife his own who offend, giving repentance unto life and falvation: but he will justly condemn those who wittingly ftumble at their falls, and wilfully ly in their fins, being fallen. We are not to follow the best of men in all their actions. As the cloud that guided the Ifraelites had two fides, the one bright and fhining, the other black and dark; fuch is the cloud of the examples of godly men: thofe that will be directed by the light fide thereof, fhall, with the children of Ifrael, pass fafely toward the heavenly Canaan: but thofe that will follow the dark fide of it, fhall perish, with the Egyptians, in the Red-fea of deftruction.

'

The fourth antidote against felf-conceit, is, "To think upon that exact and ftri&t judgment and eftimate, that "must be taken of you at the great day of judgment."

VOL. I.

Ooo

Then

Then must you be judged, not by what you judge yourfelves to be, but by what you are indeed. Meditate with yourselves; "Now, I am pure in mine own eyes; "I think I may be contene with the purity I have: "but am I now, and will I then be pure in God's fight, "whofe eyes are as a flame of fire, to penetrate through " and try all the most retired wickedness, and hidden "drofs and corruption which lies in my heart and nature, "thoughts and affections, as well as in my life and ac"tions?" Will you be able to stand that exquisite trial of the impartial Judge? No, by no means. The faith and meditation of this would mortify the elevated conceit you have of yourselves. Remember you must come to judgment.

In a word, if you would not die of this disease, then truft not your own judgment in your own cafe. He that would be wife, in the fcripture fenfe, muft become a fool, that he may be wife, 1 Cor. iii. 18. He must deny himfelf, and not lean to his own understanding, Prov. iii. 5. There is pride of understanding that takes place, both in humbled finners, who dare not come to Chrift; and in hardened finners, who will not come to Christ.

There is a pride of understanding, I fay, and a pride of wisdom, that takes place in humbled finners, who dare not come to Chrift? Why do they not come to Christ? Truly they judge themselves fo vile, that they think they should not come: what pride is here? O! if I was purè, then I would come! What is the language of this? If I were pure and holy, then, you think, Christ would love me. Indeed, it were well, poor humbled foul, if there be any fuch here; it were well if you were pure and holy but to imagine that he will not fave

you, becaufe you have no goodness, or worth in you, to induce him to love you, is an evidence of the greateft pride: is it not pride that you would be at fomething in yourfelf, for which Chrift fhould caft his love upon you? But know, that Chrift will fave you, not because you are good; but that he may make you good: not ebcaufe you are pure; but that he may make you pure. therefore, if the fenfe of your impurity keep you back from coming to him, it is but ftinking pride. Though,

And

perhaps,

perhaps, you did not think it was pride; yet it is fo: for though you be vile in your own eyes; yet, the thing you would be at, in this matter, is, you would be pure in your eyes; and then you think you would be pure in his eyes too. Come to Christ, though you have nothing of your own to bring with you to him; for, you muft come to him empty, and stript of all your own proper good; that you may get all in him, and from

him.

Again, There is a pride of understanding and opinion, that takes place in hardened finners, who will not come to Christ. They truft their own judgment in their own cafe: they are both judge and party; and their judgment is not according to truth: for they judge themselves not to be fo bad as they are. Yea, they are pure in their own eyes and therefore they will not come to Chrift to be purified, justified, or fanctified; and fo, no wonder that they are not washed from their filthiness.

Therefore, I fay, do not truft your own judgment, in your own cafe. Let the word of God judge you: and judge yourselves, not by your own understanding, but by that word of God that will judge you at the last day.-Examine yourselves by the word: felf-examination would bring down your felf-conceit. And pray that God would fearch and try you, faying, with the pfalmift, Pfalm cxxxix. 23, 24. Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my reins and fee if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlafting.

SERMON XVII.

NON-CONFORMITY to the World injoined; or, the Evil and Danger of SYMBOLIZING with the Wicked, opened. *

I

ROM. xii. 2.

Be not conformed to this world.

T is the character of the children of God, that they have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, 1 Cor. ii. 12. They are not of the world, even as Chrift is not of the world. But it is the character of the wicked, that they are the men of the world, who have their portion in this life, Pfal. xvii. 14. Conformity to Chrift is the great mark and character of faints Whom he did foreknow, them he did predeftinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, Rom. viii. 20. formity to the world is the great characteristic of Atheists and wicked perfons: and therefore the apostle here diffwades all the children of God from fuch conformity; Be not conformed to this world.

;

But con

The apostle having at large treated the foundamental doctrines of the Chriftianity, in the preceding chapters, he comes now in this to prefs home, upon the confcience, the principal duties thereof. True religion is not only defigned to inform the judgment; but also to

* This Sermon was preached by our Author in his own church at Dunfermline, in the year 1723. And from the beginning of the Sermon itself, as well as from the place it has in the note-book, we learn, that it was delivered immediately after thefe on Prov. Xxx. 12. printed above, p. 319.-This is the fecond impreffion.

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