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the hufks of the world will be your portion. People may think it is their principle, that the world is but vanity; yet still they are taken up with the vanity thereof, till they fee the glory of God. The Lord is a full and fufficient good: he is a proportionable good, fuiting the foul: he is an everlafting good, fuiting the immortal foul.

5. Believe the providence of God: he that made the world by creation, doth ftill préferve it by providence, allotting every man his portion; and by making every man's condition, in the world, beft for him: "Your heavenly Father taketh care of you," faith Christ.

6. O beware of valuing yourselves for what you have of the world: I affure you, in God's name, it will be one of your challanges when death comes, or fome time a-day or other, Oh! I neglected my poor foul! Like the woman that left her child in the flame; many leave their foul thus, to be confumed in the flame of divine wrath. Seek to have Christ for your everlasting portion. Many fay, "Who will fhew us any good?" But fay you, "Lord, lift thou upon me the light of thy countenance; then fhall I have more gladness than they, when their corn and wine abounds." Never reft till you come to that, "Whom have I in heaven but thee ?" And then you will be able to say also, "When heart, and flesh, and all fail, the Lord is the ftrength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

7. Take up Luther's refolution, that you will not be put off with this world for a portion. If God, for holy ends, fee fit to imbitter worldly felicity to you, pray for weaning influences, improve weaning difpenfations, and weaning words, weaning rods, and weaning ordi

nances.

SERMON

SERMON VIII.

SELF-CONCEIT incident to a Multitude of Profeffors; or, the imaginary pure Generation found not washed from their Pollution

PROV. XXX. 12.

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

THE fubjects I lately treated, as formerly obferved †,

hold out to us, 1. The FATHER'S exhibition of Chrift, faying, "I have given thee for a covenant of the people." 2. The SPIRIT'S operation upon the hearts of the people, in order to his being known and believed in; "He fhall teftify of me." 3. The Son's declaration of his own excellency, as being God equal with the Father; "I and my Father are one." And fo Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft concur in their commendation of him to us. But, 4. We treated a little of the WORLD'S difapprobation of this glorious One, and their harfh entertainment of him; "Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me, are for figns and for wonders in Ifrael ." And now, 5. This text may be looked upon as the ground and reafon, why there are fo many, even in Ifrael, that entertain Christ and his followers with marks of reproach, and look upon them as figns and wonders: Why?" There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not wafhed from their filthinefs."Their

This fubject was handled in feveral difcourfes; but we are uncertain when or where delivered: though it is more than probable, they were preached in his own church at Dunfermline, fometime in the year 1723. The place they have in his notes feems to determine it.

+ See Serm. VI.

See Serm. VI.

Their felf-conceit makes them value themselves, to the undervaluing and contemning of others: though yet, while they fuppofe themfelves to be pure, their impurity remains.

We may obferve two forts of perfons in the vifible church.

1. Some truly exercifed perfons, who, looking more to their spots and weakneffes, than to their graces and privileges, are ready to conclude themfelves to be hypocrites and diffemblers with God. There are à few of thefe.

2. There are those who have nothing but a profeffion of religion, being firangers to the power of it; yet entertain an high opinion of themselves: wha, locking more to their feeming righteousness, than to their real cafes; more to their gifts than to their fpats, conceive themselves to be, what they really are not. They have an high conceit, a towering imagination, and raifed opinion of themfelves; and there is a multitude of fuch: "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthinefs."

This chapter contains, 1. Agur's confeffion of faith. 2. His prayer, and the parts of it. 3. His fixfold quaternary; that is, his coupling of four things together, and making a comparifon among them; as you may fee them divided in the contents of the chapter, upon fome of your Bibles.-The first four is a fourfold generation of finners that are moft deteftable to God: though this be not expreffed, yet it is clearly implied; and you will find a parallel where it is expreffed, Prov. vi. 16, Now, of the four generations he here fpeaks of, the fecond is in our text: "A generation that are pure in their own eyes, yet are not wafhed from their filthinefs." The fcope whereof is to fhew, That it is a fault incident to vaft multitudes, to have an high opinion of themfelves, while yet they are naught; to think themfelves pure, while yet they are impure: they take external reformation for true converfion; outfide-holinefs, for inward fanctification; and common grace for saving.

In the text thefe perfons are defcribed two ways; both negatively and pofitively. I. Nega

1. Negatively, from what they are not in reality; they are not washed from their filthinefs: where, as the defilement of fin is expreffed by the word filthiness, fignifying excrement, and denoting the pollution and defilement of fin; fo the neceffity of purity is fuppofed; they are not washed; they were never cleanfed in the fountain opened for fin and for uncleannefs; they never wathed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; their hearts and natures remain polluted, and under the power of corruption.

2. They are defcribéd pofitively, from what they are in their own opinion; they are pure in their own eyes;' they have a spiritual pride. For it is of this, I think, the text chiefly means: because carnal pride is spoken of, ver. 13. They have an high opinion of them elves. And they are fet forth by their number: There is a generation of fuch. This word is fometimes taken for the fucceffion of one age to another. Sometimes it imports. a multitude; and in this fenfe I chiefly take it; "There is a multitude of people that are pure in their own eyes, yet are not wafhed from their filthinefs."

The farther explication I refer to the profecution of these three doctrines, 1. That fin is an impure thing, of a polluting and defiling nature. 2. That purity is an excellent thing, and of abfolute neceffity to denominate a true faint." Whatever we think of ourfelves, if we be not washen from this defilement, we are naught. 3. That felf-conceit is incident to a multitude of profeffors. Many who are most impure, do yet look on themselves as pure, and labour under a fad and woful delufion; a grofs and damnable mistake, about the ftate of their immortal fouls; they have a good heart, they think; and yet, alas! it is the worst part about them. "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthinefs." The two former doctrines are clearly implied, the laft is plainly expreffedand is what I mainly defigned in fixing on the text: but I fhall touch at the two other alfo. I begin with the first of these, and would speak a little to it at the time. DOCT

X 4

DOCT. I. That fin is a pollution and defilement.

The method we propofe for handling this subject, through divine aid, fhall be the following,

I. We would confider what the fcripture faith about the pollution of fin.

II. We would compare the pollution of fin with the guilt of fin, for clearing the difference between the one and the other; and for evidencing the greatness of this defilement.

III. Speak of the nature and qualities of this pollutior, IV. We would fhew whence this pollution comes, and how it is derived into the world.

V. Make application of the whole fubject.

I. The First thing propofed was, To confider what the fcripture faith about the pollution of fin. Indeed the fcripture compares it to all the greateft deformities imaginable. Sometimes it is compared to the blood and pollution of a new-born infant, Ezek. xvi. 4, 5, 6. Sometimes to a dead body, or a rotten carcale, hanging upon a man, Rom. vii. 24. "O wretched man that I am! who fhall deliver me from this body of fin and death ???Sometimes to a ftinking exhalation of a green open grave, and the rottennefs of the land of darkness, Rom. iii. 13. Sometimes to the poifon of afps, or ferpents, Rom. iii. 13. Sometimes to the vomit of a dog, and the puddle of wine, 2 Pet. ii. 22. Sometimes to a canker, or gangren, 2 Tim. ii. 17. Sometimes to the dung of filthy crea tures, Phil. iii. 8.; or human dung: we read of the dung of mens facrifices caft in their faces. Sometimes, to the plague and peftilence, to a putrifying fore, Ifa. i. 6.

-But, not to name any more; furely if fin had not been fuch a pollution and abomination, the Spirit of God would not have made ufe of fo many terms, to lay before us the odious nature of it: yet none of thefe, things, to speak properly, are pollutions in themselves, being part of the ornament of the creation, though. they be poifon to man, or difagreeable to our fenfes :

but

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