LXI.

walk in the imagination of my heart: and, So I gave them SERM. unto their own heart's luft, and they walked in their own counfels. These are descriptions of bad men, implying selfconceit to be the root of their impiety.

Pf. lxxxi.

12.

31.

2. Again, we are apt to conceit highly and vainly of Prov. i. 30, our moral qualities and performances; taking ourselves Ifa. Ixvi. 4. for perfons rarely good, perfect, and blameless; apprehending no defects in our fouls, or miscarriages in our lives, although indeed we are as full of blemishes, we are as guilty of faults as others; There is, faith the Wife Man, Prov. xxx. a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not 12. washed from their filthiness; to this generation we belong, if we admire our virtues, if we justify our lives, if (as

it is faid of the Pharisee) we truft in ourselves that we are Luke xviii. righteous.

This practice doth include great folly, and it produceth great mischiefs.

It is very foolish, and argueth the greatest ignorance that can be; for fuch is the imperfection, the impotency, the impurity of all men, even of the wifest and best men, (discernible to them who search their hearts and try their ways, ftrictly comparing them to the rules of duty, God's laws, and the dictates of reafon,) that no man can have reafon to be fatisfied in himself or in his doings: every man looking into himself, shall find his mind so pestered with vain and filthy thoughts; his will fo perverse, fo froward, fo weak, fo unsteady; his defires fo fond and unwarrantable; his paffions fo diforderly and ungovernable; his affections so mifplaced, or at least fo cold and dull in regard to their right objects; his refolutions toward good fo weak and flack; his intentions fo corrupt, or mixed with oblique regards; he that observeth his actions, fhall in the best of them (as to the principles whence they rife, as to the ends they drive at, as to the manner of their performance) find fo many great defailances, that he will fee cause rather to abhor than to admire himself.

9. xvi. 15. x. 29.

Who, let me afk, doth love God with all his foul, fo as Hier. in to place in him his total content and delight, fo as to do Lucif. cap. all things out of love to him, with a regard to his honour

6.

SERM. and fervice? fo as to be willing and glad to part with all LXI. things for his fake? who hath that conftant and lively fenfe of God's benefits and mercies that he fhould have? who hath a perfect refignation of will to his pleasure, fo as to be displeased with no event dispensed by his hand? who hath fuch a vigour of faith and confidence in him, as will support him in all wants, in all diftreffes, in all temptations, so as never to be difquieted or difcouraged by them, fo as to caft on God (as he is commanded) all the cares of his foul and burdens of his life? who conftantly maintaineth a fervour of spirit, a steadiness of resolution, a clear and calm frame of foul, an abftractedness of mind from worldly defires and delights? who continually is fervent and undistracted in his devotion? who with an unwearied and inceffant diligence doth watch over his thoughts? who doth entirely command his paffions, and bridle his appetites? who doth exactly govern his tongue? who is perpetually circumfpect over his actions? who loveth his neighbour as himself, seeking his good, and delighting therein as in his own; being forry for his adverfities, as if they had befallen himself? who feeleth that contrition of spirit, that shame, that remorfe for his fins, or that deteftation of them, which they deserve? who is duly fenfible of his own unworthiness? Very few of us furely, if we examine our confciences, can answer, that we are they who perform these duties; and if not, where is any ground of felf-conceit? how much caufe rather is there of dejection, of displeasure, of defpifing and detefting ourselves!

The Dona

tifts-re

There have indeed been fects of men (fuch as the Novamiffionem tians and the Pelagians,) who have pretended to perfecpeccato- tion and purity; but these men, one would think, did datis, quafi never read the Scripture, did never confult experience, did nullum never reflect on their minds, did never compare their prac

rum fic

habeatis

tum, &c.

Ecclef. vii.

ipfi pecca- tice with their duty; had no confcience at all, or a very Opt. lib. 2. blind and stupid one. Who can fay, I have made my heart Prov. xx. 9. clean, I am pure from my fin? was a question of Solomon, to the which he thought no man could answer affirmatively of himself: If I justify myself, my own mouth fhall 4. iv. 18. ix. 2. (Pfal. cxliii. 2.)

20.

XV. 14. XXV.

condemn me; if I fay I am perfect, it shall prove me per- SERM. verfe; was the affeveration of that perfon, whofe virtue LXI. had undergone the fevereft trials: In many things we Jam. iii. 2. offend all, was the confeffion of an Apostle in the name of the wifeft and best men.

10.

Such men indeed (in contemplation of themselves and of their doings) have ever been ready to think meanly of themselves, to acknowledge and bewail their unworthiness, to disclaim all confidence in themselves, to avow their hope wholly to be repofed in the grace and mercy of God; (in his grace for ability to perform somewhat of their duty; in his mercy for pardon of their offences;) to confefs themselves, with Jacob, lefs than the leaft of God's Gen. xxxii. mercies; with David, that they are worms, and no men ; Pf. xxii. 6. with Job, that they are vile, and unable to answer God, Job xl. 4. calling them to account, in one cafe of a thousand; that 2. they abhor themselves, and repent in duft and afhes; that after they have done all, they are unprofitable fervants. Luke xvii. And is he not very blind who doth fee in himself thofe 10. perfections which the greatest faints could not defcry in themselves? is he not infinitely vain that fancieth himself more worthy than they did take themselves to be?

In fine, every man is in fome kind and degree bad, finful, vile; it is as natural for us to be fo, as to be frail, to be fickly, to be mortal: there are fome bad difpofitions common to all, and which no man can put off without his flesh; there are some, to which every man (from his temper, inclination, and conftitution of body or foul) is peculiarly subject, the which by no care and pain can be quite extirpated, but will afford during life perpetual matter of conflict and exercise to curb them: conceit therefore of our virtue is very foolish.

And it breedeth many great mischiefs.

xlii. 6. ix.

12.

Hence doth spring a great fecurity, and carelessnefs Matt ix. of correcting our faults; for taking ourselves to be well, John ix. we fee not any need of cure, thence feek none, nor admit 11. any.

Yea, hence rifeth a contempt of any means conducible to our amendment, fuch as good advice and wholesome re

VOL. III.

SERM. proof; to advise fuch an one is to accufe him wrongfully, LXI. to reprove him is to commit an outrage upon his presumed

integrity of virtue. Hence also proceedeth a neglect of imploring the grace and mercy of God; for why should perfons of fo great ftrength crave fuccour? how should they beg pardon, who have fo little fenfe of guilt? It is for a weak person to cry, Lord help me; it is for a PubliLuke xviii. can to pray, God be merciful unto me a finner.

13.

It breedeth arrogance and prefumption even in devotions, or addreffes to God, inducing such persons in unfeemly manner to justify themselves before God, to claim fingular intereft in him, to mind him, and as it were to upbraid him with their worthy deeds, to thank him for their imaginary excellencies; like the conceited Pharifee; Luke xviii. God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers—I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I poffefs. They cannot demean themselves toward God as miferable finners, who fancy themselves as admirable worthies, and gallants in virtue.

11.

9.

Also, a natural refult thereof is a haughty contempt of others, venting itself in a fupercilious and faftuous demeanour; fo it was in the Pharifees, who, faith St. Luke, Luke xviii. trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. Such persons, observing or fufpecting defects and misbehaviours in others, but difcerning none in themselves, do in their opinion advance themselves above their brethren, and accordingly are prone to behave themselves toward them fuch men as they are the especially good men, the godly, the faints, the flower of mankind, the choice ones, the darlings of God, and favourites of Heaven, the special objects of divine love and care: others are impure and profane, rejectaneous and reprobate people, to whom God beareth no good-will or regard; hence proceedeth a contemptuous difregard or eftrangedness toward other men; like that of those separatists in the Prophet, If. lxv. 5. who, notwithstanding they were a people provoking God to anger continually to his face, were yet, in conceit of their own special purity, ready to fay, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou: whereas those

who, foberly reflecting on their nature, their hearts, their SERM. ways, do frame a right judgment of themfelves, can hardly LXI. esteem any man worse than themselves; they perceive themselves fo frail, fo defectuous, fo culpable, as to find great reafon for their compliance with those apostolical precepts; In lowlinefs of mind, let each man efteem others Phil. ii. 3. better than himself; In honour prefer one another.

This likewife difpofeth men to expect more than ordinary regard from others; and they are much displeased, if they find it not in degree anfwerable to their conceit of themselves; taking them for filly, envious, or injurious perfons, who forbear to yield it: fuch excellent perfons muft in all things be humoured, and cockered, otherwife you greatly wrong them.

Hence alfo fuch men eafily become discontented and impatient; for if they be croffed in any thing, if any miffortune toucheth them, they take it very ill; fuppofing they deserve it not, but are worthy of better ufage and fortune.

Rom. xii.

10.

In fine, as this causeth a man to behave himself untowardly in respect to all others, (toward God and toward his neighbour,) fo thence he most unbeseemingly carrieth himself toward himfelf; he is no faithful friend, no good companion to himself, but a fond minion, a vile flatterer, or a profane idolater of himself: for (like Narciffus) being transported with conceit of his own incomparable beauty or excellency, he maketh love to and courteth himself; finding delight in such conceit, he by all means cherisheth it, glozing and flattering himself (as the Pfalm hath it) in Pfa. xxxvi. his own eyes; representing his qualities to his imagination in falfe fhapes, he devoutly adoreth thofe idols of his brain. Farther,

3. Self-conceit is alfo frequently grounded upon other inferior advantages; upon gifts of nature, (as ftrength, activity, beauty;) upon gifts of fortune, (fo called,) as birth, wealth, dignity, power, fame, fuccefs; upon these things men ordinarily much value themselves, and are strangely puffed up with vain opinion, taking themselves from them to be great and happy perfons: but seeing (as we touched

2.