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of the holiest angel in heaven, is, that he is fit to be approved in the sight of God, because he is perfectly such as God requires him to be. And now, because God loves to put honor upon virtue, and to exercise the infinite bountifulness of his nature, therefore he gives them the reward of eternal life. And thus God promises us eternal life, upon condition of perfect obedience, in the first covenant: as if God had said, "If "you will love me with all your heart, and obey me in every thing, as you are bound in duty to do; then, although you will "deserve nothing, yet, as becomes a holy and good God....a "kind and bountiful Governor, I will make you everlastingly "blessed in the enjoyment of myself; and that in testimony "of my approbation of your perfect and steady fidelity." And so, by covenant and promise, this reward would have been due, had the condition been performed. Hence, that in Rom. iv. 4 ....Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of DEBT. And now here self-righteous persons are wont to come in with their works, and insist upon their right, and plead the reason of things, as well as the promise. "If we do "(say they) as well as we can, which is all that God does or "can in justice require of us, surely he will accept of us-it "would be cruel to cast us off-his goodness and faithfulness are "engaged for us:" Just as if they had now made full amends for all their past sins, by their repentance and reformation; and grown to be as good as angels, by taking some little pains in religion! For the best angel in heaven does not pretend to any other title to blessedness than this; namely, that he has done as well as he can, and that this is all that God has required, and although he is an unprofitable servant, yet he depends upon the promise, the goodness and faithfulness of his bountiful Creator. Indeed, self-righteous persons may pretend to expect all for Christ's sake; and say, that what they do, only entitles them. to an interest in him; but it is all mere pretence; for still they. think that God is bound to give them an interest in Christ and eternal life, if they do as well as they can; and would think God dealt very hardly with them, if he did not: So that their

real dependance, at bottom, is upon their own goodness, their own worth or worthiness, to make amends for past sins, and recommend them to God, and entitle them to all things; the infinite absurdity of which will be evident presently. Again, (3.) A man may be said to be rewarded, when he neither deserves any thing, nor is it fitting that his person and conduct, considered merely as they are in themselves, should be approved; but ought to be condemned, according to reason, and according to God's righteous law, they being so sinfully defective; nevertheless, such a man may be said to be rewarded, when, merely on the account of his interest in the righteousness and worthiness of CHRIST, his person and performances are accepted, and peculiar favors shewn him. And in this way are believers accepted, according to the covenant of grace, and entitled to the reward of eternal life: Phil. iii. 8, 9-Eph. i. 6 -I Pet. ii. 5. Now, those who look for a reward in this way, will be so far from thinking it MUCH, which they have done for God, that they will forever set all down for nothing, and worse than nothing,* their best duties being so sinfully defective; and judge themselves worthy of hell every day, and every moment: And all their dependance will be on Christ's worthiness, and the free grace of God through him: Luke xviii. 13-Rom. iii. 24. And all that is said in the New Testament about God's rewarding the believer's good works, being viewed in this light, gives not the least countenance to a self-righteous spirit, but

* Worse than nothing....NOTE. I do not mean, that an imperfect, and very defective conformity to the law is worse, and more odious in God's sight, than no conformity at all; but only, that there is more odiousness than amiableness in such defective services and that, therefore, we are, in the sight of God, on their account, more proper objects of hatred and punishment, than of love and reward, if considered merely as in ourselves, without any respect to our relation to Christ: so that, in point of recommending ourselves to God, we do, by our best duties, thus considered, rather discommend ourselves in his sight....and, in this sense, they are worse than nothing: they are even so far from paying our constant dues, that, in the sight of God, they constantly run us into debt. We are infinitely to blame in our best frames and best duties, and have not any thing in them, which tends, in God's sight, in the least degree, to counterbalance our blame.— But if any are desirous to see this point fully explained and proved, and all objections answered, I refer them to Mr. Edwards's excellent discourse on justification by faith alone.

militates directly against it: And, indeed, if we were as perfect as the angels in heaven, it appears, from what has been said, that we should deserve no thanks. It is impudent, therefore, and wicked-it is contemptuous-and, in a sort, blasphemous, and most God-provoking, for a proud, conceited Pharisee, to feel as he does in his self-righteous frames.— And God might expostulate with such an one in this manner: "What, is there so little lovelines in me? And is it so "great, so hard, so self-denying, to love me, that you think it "such a mighty thing! and expect now, that all past sins shall "be forgiven, and my favor secured, for this good frame! yea, "and that I shall give you heaven into the bargain? What, are "your obligations to me so small, that I must be so much be"holden to you for your love? What, did you never hear that I แ was the Lord! and that it was I that stretched abroad the heav"ens! and that you are my clay, whom I formed and fashion"ed for myself?—-Begone, thou impudent wretch, to hell, thy "proper place: thou art a despiser of my glorious majesty, "and your frame of spirit savors of blasphemy: Know it, I am "not so mean as you imagine, nor at all beholden to you for "your love." And this is one reason that the sacrifice of the wicked is such an abomination to the Lord; not only when they pray with a view to recommend themselves to their fellow-men, but also when, in doing their best, they only design to ingratiate themselves with God. Prov. xxi. 27.... The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination (even his very best): how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind? The infinite greatness, glory and excellency of God, and the infinite obligation thence resulting which we are under to love him with all our hearts, and obey him in every thing, renders a self-righteous spirit unspeakably odious, and infinitely provoking in the eyes of a holy God. But this will appear still plainer under the next particular. To proceed, therefore,

[2.] If we are under an infinite obligation to love God supremely, live to him ultimately, and take everlasting delight in him, because of his infinite glory and excellency, then the least

disposition to disesteem him....to be indifferent about his interest and honor, or to disrelish communion with him; or the least disposition to love ourselves more than God, and be more concerned about our interest and honor than about his, and to be pleased and delighted in the things of the world, more than in him, must, consequently, be infinitely sinful, as is self-evident. When, therefore, the great Governor of the world threatens eternal damnation for the least sin, (as in Gal. iii. 10.) he does the thing that is perfectly right; for an infinite evil deserves an infinite punishment.

Hence, also, it is no wonder that the holiest saint on earth mourns so bitterly, and loaths and abhors himself so, exceedingly for the remaining corruptions of his heart; for, if the least disposition to depart from God and disrelish communion with him, and to be careless about his honor and interest, is infinitely sinful, then the best men that ever lived have infinite reason always to lie as in the dust, and have their hearts broken. Although it be so with them, that all which the world calls good and great, appears as dross to them; and it is nothing to them to part with friends and estate, honor and ease, and all, for Christ; and although they have actually suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, not worth mourning about, or repining after; yet, notwithstanding all these attainments, attended with the fullest assurance of eternal glory in the world to come, they have infinite reason to do as they do....to dislike themselves....to hate themselves, and lie down in the dust all in tears, because still there is such a remaining disposition in their hearts to disesteem the Lord of glory....to neglect his interest, and depart from him; and because they are so far from being what they ought to be, notwithstanding the obligations lying up

* The least sin may be an infinite evil, because of the infinite obligation we are under to do otherwise, and yet all sins not be equally heinous : for there is as great a difference among infinites, as among finites; I mean, among things that are infinite only in one respect: For instance, to be for ever in hell is an infinite evil, in respect of the duration; but yet the damned are not all equally miserable. Some may be an hundred times as miserable as others, in degree; although the misery of all is equal in point

of duration.

on them are infinite. Oh! this is infinitely vile and abominable, and they have reason indeed, therefore, always to loathe and abhor themselves, and repent in dust and ashes; yea, they are infinitely to blame for not being more humble and penitent.A sight and sense of these things made Job lie down in the dust and mourn so bitterly for his impatience under his past afflic tions, though he had been the most patient man in the world.... Job xlii. 5, 6. This made the psalmist call himself a beast..... Psalm lxxiii. 22. And hence, Paul called himself the chief of sinners, and cried out, I am carnal, sold under sin; O wretched man that I am! And hated to commend himself when the Corinthians drove him to it, and seemed to blush at every sentence, and, in a sort, recalled his words-I am not a whit behind the very chief of the apostles, yet I am nothing.....I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I. Such a sight of things kills a self-righteous spirit at root, in the most exalted saint; for he has nothing (all things considered) to make a righteousness of, but, in strict justice, merits eternal damnation every hour, and does nothing to make the least amends.

For, if perfect obedience merits no thanks, as was before ob-served; and if the least sin is an infinite evil, and deserves an infinite punishment, as we have now seen, then a whole eternity of perfect obedience would do just nothing towards making the least amends for the smallest sin; much less will the best services of the highest saint on earth: And, consequently, when Paul came to die, he deserved to be damned (considered merely as in himself), as much as when he was a bloody persecutor, breathing out threatenings and slaughter; yea, and a great deal more too: for all his diligence and zeal in the service of Christ did just nothing towards making the least amends for what was past; and his daily short-comings and sinful defects run him daily infinitely more and more into debt, which he did nothing to counterbalance: And hence, Paul accounts himself to be nothing (II Cor. xii. 11.), as well he might; and all his attainments to be, in a sense, not worth remembering (Phil. iii. 13.) and looks upon himself the chief of sinners (I Tim. i. 15.), and I