Ignor. But I think of them and desire them.

Chr. So do many that are never like to come there. The soul of the sluggard desires, and hath nothing' (Prov. xiii. 4).

Ignor. But I think of them, and leave all for them.

Chr. That I doubt for leaving of all is a hard matter; yea, a harder matter than many are aware of. But why, or by what, art thou persuaded that thou hast left all for God and heaven?

Ignor. My heart tells me so.

Chr. The wise man says, 'He that trusts his own heart is a fool' (Prov. xxviii. 26). Ignor. This is spoken of an evil heart, but mine is a good one.

Chr. But how dost thou prove that?

Ignor. It conforts† me in hopes of heaven.

* Desire'-The desire of heavenly felicity, when the real nature of it is not understood, the proper means of obtaining it are neglected, other objects are preferred to it, or sloth and procrastination intervene, is no proof that a man will be saved. In like manner this expression, the desire of grace is grace,' must be owned to be very fallacious and ambiguous. Men may be notionally convinced that without grace they must perish, and mere selfishness my excite some feeble desires after it; though worldly affections predominate, and the real value of the spiritual good is not perceived. But to funger and thirst for God and his righteousness, his favour, image, and service, as the supreme good, so that no other objeet can satisfy the earnest desire of the heart, and every thing is renounced that interferes with the pursuit of it, is graco in leed, and shall be completed in glory.

+ Comforts'-It is exceedingly dangerous to make comfort a ground of confidence; unless the nature, source, concomi tants, and effect of that comfort be considered; for it may result entirely from ignorance and self-flattery, in a variety of ways.

Chr. That may be through its deceitfulness, for a man's heart may minister comfort to him, in the hopes of that thing for which he yet has no ground to hope.

Ignor. But my heart and life agree together; and therefore my hope is well grounded.

Chr. Who told thee that thy heart and life agree together?

Ignor. My heart tells me.

Chr. 'Ask my fellow if I be a thief? Thy heart tells thee so! except the word of God beareth witness in this matter, other testimony is no value.

Ignor. But is it not a good heart that has good thoughts? and is not that a good life that is according to God's commandments ?

Chr. Yes, that is a good heart that hath good thoughts, and that is a good life that is according to God's conunandments; but it is one thing indeed to have these, and another thing only to think so.

Ignor. Pray what count you good thoughts, and a life according to God's commandments?

Chr. There are good thoughts of divers kinds; some respecting ourselves, someGod, some--Christ, and some-other things

Ignor. What be good thoughts respecting ourselves?

Chr. Such as agree with the word of God Ignor. When do our thoughts of ourselves agree with the word of God ?

Chr. When we pass the same judgment
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upon ourselves which the word passes. To explain myself: the word of God saith of persons in a natural* condition. 'There is none righteous, there is none that doeth good.' It saith also, that every imagination of the heart of man is only evil, and that continually' (Gen vi. 5; Rom. iii.). And again, The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.' Now then, when we think thus of ourselves, having sense thereof then are our thoughts good ones, because according to the word of God.

Ignor. I will never believe that my heart is thus bad.

Chr. Therefore thou never hadst one good thought concerning thyself in thy life. But let me go on. As the word passeth a judg ment upon our heart, so it passeth a judgment upon our ways; and when the thoughts of our hearts and ways agree with the judgment which the word giveth of both, then are both good, because agreeing thereto.

Ignor. Make out your meaning.

Chr. Why, the word of God saith that man's ways are crooked ways, not good, but perverse it saith they are naturally out of the good way; that they have not known it (Ps. cxxv. 5; Prov. ii. 15). Now when a man

*Natural'-'That which is born of the flesh is flesh;' 'the carnal mind is enmity against God; is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be; so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God;' for they are by nature the children of wrath.'Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit:' 'for that which is born of the Spirit is spirit;' and to such persons the texts adduced do not apply.

thus thinketh of his ways, I say when he doth sensibly, and with heart humiliation, thus think, then hath he good thoughts of his own ways, because his thoughts now agree with the judgment of the word of God.

Ignor. What are good thoughts concerning God?

Chr. Even, as I have said concerning ourselves, when our thoughts of God do agree with what the word saith of him; and that is when we speak of his being and attributes as the word hath taught; of which I cannot now discourse at large. But to speak of him in reference to us; then we have right thoughts of God when we think that he knows us better than we know ourselves, and can see sin in us when and where we can see none in ourselves when we think he knows our inmost thoughts, and that our heart, with all its depths, is always open unto his eyes also when we think that all our righteousness stinks* in his nostrils, and that therefore he

'Stinks'-The external services performed by unregener ate persons from selfish motives, being scanty and partial, and made the ground of self-complacency, and the pride of self-righteousness, are abomination in the sight of God,' however highly esteemed among men for men look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh at the heart.' Even the obedience of a truc believer, though it springs from right principles, and has some spiritual excellency in it, is yet Bo defective and defiled by sin, that if it were not accepted as the fruit of the Spirit, through the mediation of Christ, it would be condemned by the holy law, and rejected with ab horrence by a God of infinite purity. Men may allow this in words, and yet not know what it is to come, as condemned sinners, for a free justification and salvation, by faith in Christ. The way of being justified by faith, for which

cannot abide to see us stand before him in any confidence, even in all our best perform

ances.

Ignor. Do you think that I am such a fool as to think God can see no farther than I ? or that I would come to God in the best of my performances?

Chr. Why, how dost thou think in this matter ?

Ignor. Why, to be short, I think I must believe in Christ for justification.

Chr. How! think thou must believe in Christ, when thou seest not thy need of him! Thou neither seest thy original nor actual infirmities; but hast such an opinion of thyself, and of what thou doest, as plainly renders thee to be one that did never see a necessity of Christ's personal righteousness to justify thee before God. How then dost thou say, I believe in Christ?

Ignor. I believe well enough for all that.
Chr. How dost thou believe?

Ignor. I believe that Christ died for sinners; and that I shall be justified before God from the curse, through his gracious acceptance of my obedience to his laws. Or thus, Christ makes my duties, that are religious, acceptable to his Father by virtue of his merits, and so shall I be justified.

Ignorance pleads, may well be called' fantastical, as well as false;' for it is nowhere laid down in Scripture: and it not only changes the way of acceptance, but it takes away the rule and standard of righteousness, and substitutes a vague notion, called sincerity, in its place, which never was, or cau be, defined with precision.