152 COMING TO GOD WITHOUT CHRIST. that is regulated in its exercises, by infinite wisdom and riglde., ousness, and the authority andjustice of a divine Governor, and these must have their proper exercises too : It is absolute good ness without a promise, without engagement ; goodness that has ten thousand ways to exercise itself besides in forgiving crimi, pals: It is a goodness that may forgive ten thousand sinner's, and not forgive you; and it is a goodness too, that you have so oftened dishonoured, whose favours you have so shame- fully forfeited and abused. Stand and wonder then that it is not turned into 'fury against you long ago without change and without hope. " Surely since I have a soul of immortal duration, I will strive to have better rest and support for it than this is, and never venture it here, since there is a stronger anda better hope. Ye holy and happy souls that have learned the new and living wayof coming to the Father, bless him, that he has not left you to seek all your salvation from absolute and unpromisedgoodness : Bless him that has bound his goodness by many a kind promise to you in his gospel, and sealed it with the bloodof his own Son. We proceed now to consider, III. " The third false or mistaken way of coming into the favour of God, and that is, by self-righteousness : For when we are made sensible that none is innocent, and the goodness of God in general is not sufficient ground enough to raise and support a solid and assured hope, then we are ready to offer something of our own to God, to engage this general goodness ofhis on our side, and make our righteousness the way to procure divine favour, expecting that God should ex- ercise and express his goodness towards us, in the blessings of pardon and salvation. This self-righteousness may be, divided into four sorts : I. Penances and mortifications, sorrow and regret of soul, with all our own fancied atonements for sin. -2. Works ofcharity to the poor.-3. Forms of religious worship.-4. Outward re- formation with vows and labour after better obedience. Let us examine eachof these briefly : 1. " Penances and mortifications, and our own remorse of conscience and regret of soul, together with manyfancied atone- ments for sin :" Thus the heathens, ancient and modern. What tortures have some of them inflicted on themselves for the expiation of their.own sins, or the sins of their country ? So great, and powerful bath been their sense of the guilt of sin, that large sacrifices, and dreadful ones too, have been proposed by some of them for this purpose ; Micah vi. 6, 7. Thousands of rams, and tern thousand rivers ofoil, and some of them have ac- tually offered theirfirst-bornfor their transgression, thefruit of their bodyfor the sin of their souls. The Gentiles, when they are a little considerate, one would think, must acknowledge
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