} Chap. 22. An Expofition upon the Booke of jr o B. Verf.3, II asgreatde4ight in Burnt !jferingsand Sacrifices, at in obeying the voyce ofthe Lord ? God gave thee a word,a Command,towhich he expecîed thy conformity, but thou haft thought to pleafe the Lord withSacrifices, which he commanded thee not, this was thy mittake and thy folly. We honour God when we doe his wia, furely then he muff needs take pleafure in thofe that doe ir. Man takespleafure when he can have his will ( though it be a corrupt and ifinfuil will) fulfilled : It cannot but be pleafure to God when his holy will is fulfilled, or done on earth as it is in heaven. Thus we 'fee the fecond Propofition cleared , for the underftanding of thefe words , That as the Lord cakes pleafure in thofe who are righteous by the imputed righteoufneffe of his Son foeven in thofe alto who are righ- teous by the Implanted righteoufneffe or holineffe of his fpirit. Thirdly, god takes pleafure to fee afncere and upright perfn juftifie himfelfe, or plead his ownju fice afainfi all thefalte accufa- tions andfufpitioi: of men. The Lord likes it well co heare a man who is faffly accufed, toRand up and maintaine his own innocency, yea it is our duty, and we are bound inconfcience to maintaine our own innocency. So David in the feventh Pfalme and in the eighteenth Pfalm ¡unified himfe fe againft Saul. And thus lob all along in this Booke juftified himfelfe againft the opinionofhis friends; in this fenfe God takes plea- fure, when we are fo righteous in all our dealings, and perfeet in all our wayes, that we dare encounter whofoever fpeakes the contrary, and can wafh off all the afperfions which either mif- guided and miftakenfriends, or profeffed enemies caft upon us, You have now had thofe three affirmative propofitions for theunderftandingofthe Text. Take three more in the Nega- tive. Firft, God kathno pleafure tofee us jaßifteour (elvesbefore bip, or to plead our own rígkteoufneffe with him, yea he fs extreamely difpleafed at it. This fome conceive the chicle thing which Eli,. phazaimed at. Is it anypleafure to the e4lmighty that thou doef juftifie thyfelfe ? No; thou doff highly provoke him in doing fo, toplead with or to juftifie our felves before God that we are righteous, is worfe then all our unrighteoufneffe, for this over throwes the whole defigne of the Gofpell, which is (a Cor. I.29.)
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