THE PILGRIMS stop, and IGNORANCE COMES UP. 225

CHAPTER XIX.

THE PILGRIMS HAVE ANOTHER CONFERENCE WITH
IGNORANCE.

I SAW then in my dream, that Hopeful looked back and saw Ignorance, whom they had left behind, coming after: Look, said he to Christian, how far yonder youngster loitereth behind.

CHR. Ay, ay, I see him: he careth not for our company.

HOPE. But I trow it would not have hurt him, had he kept pace with us hitherto.

CHR. That is true; but I'll warrant you he thinketh otherwise.

HOPE. That I think he doth: but, however let us tarry for him. So they did.

Then Christian said to him, Come away, man; why do you stay so behind?

IGNOR. I take my pleasure in walking alone; even more a great deal than in company; unless I like it better.

Then said Christian to Hopeful (but softly,) Did not I tell you he cared not for our company? But, however, said he, come up, and let us talk away the time in this solitary place. Then, directing his speech to Ignorance, he said, Come, how do you? how stands it between God and your soul now?

IGNOR. I hope well; for I am always full of good motions, that come into my mind to comfort me as I walk.*

Many sincere souls are often put to a stand, while they find and feel the workings of corruption in their nature; and when they hear others talk so highly of themselves, without any complainings of the plague of their hearts But all this is from the ignorance of their own hearts; and pride and self-righteousness harden them against feeling its desperate wicked ess. But divine teaching causes a Christian to see, know, and feel the worst of

226 IGNORANCE'S HOPE, HEART, AND THOUGHTS.

CHR. What good motions?

pray

tell us.

IGNOR. Why, I think of God and heaven.
CHR. So do the devils and damned souls.

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."(a)

IGNOR. But I think of them, and leave all for them. CHR. That I doubt: for leaving of all is an 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."(b)

IGNOR. This is spoken of an evil heart; but mine is a good one.

CR. But how dost thou prove that?

IGNOR. It comforts me in hopes of heaven.

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 has yet 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 of no value.

himself, that he may glory of nothing in or of himself, but that all his glorying should be of what precious Christ is to him, and what he is in Christ. See the contrary of all this exemplified in Ignorance, in whom we behold, as in a mirror, many professors who are strangers to their own hearts; hence are deceived into vain self-confidence.

(a) Prov. xiii. 4.

(b) Prov. xxviii. 26.

WHAT ARE GOOD THOUGHTS.

227

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 commandments; 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, some-God, someChrist, and some other things.

IGNOR. What be good thoughts respecting our

selves?

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 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 a man is only evil, and that continually."(a) 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.*

As

CHR. Therefore thou never hadst one good thought concerning thyself in thy life.-But let me go on. the word passeth a judgment upon our heart, so it

No; no man naturally can. But this is a sure sign that the light from heaven hath not yet shined into the heart, and made it manifest, how superlatively wicked the heart is, and consequently, how it deceives ignorant professors with a notion of being good in themselves, and keeps them from wholly relying upon Christ's atonement for pardon, and justification unto life.

(a) Gen. vi. 5. Rom. iii.

228

IGNORANCE'S FAITH; CHRISTIAN

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.(a) Now when a man thus thinketh of his ways; I say, when he doth sensibly, and with hearthumiliation, 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 think 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 cannot abide to see us stand before him in any confidence, even in all our best performances.

IGNOR. Do you think that I am such a fool as to think God can see no further 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

(n) Ps. cxxv. 5. Prov. ii. 15:

CONTRASTS IT WITH JUSTIFICATION.

229

séest 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.†

CHR. Let us give an answer to this confession of thy faith.

1. Thou believest with a fantastical faith; for this faith is no where described in the word.

2. Thou believest with a false faith; because thou takest justification from the personal righteousness of Christ, and appliest it to thy own.

3. This faith maketh not Christ a justifier of thy person, but of thy actions; and of thy person for thy actions' sake, which is false.

4 Therefore this faith is deceitful, even such as will leave thee under wrath in the day of God Almighty : for true justifying faith puts the soul, as sensible of its lost condition by the law upon fleeing for refuge unto Christ's righteousness; (which righteousness of his is not an act of grace, by which he maketh for justification, thy obedience accepted of God, but his personal

* Here we see how naturally the notion of man's righteousness blinds his eyes to, and keeps his heart from believing, that Christ alone justifies a sinner in the sight of God; and yet such talk of believing, but their faith is only fancy. They do not believe unto righteousness, but imagine they have now, or shall get a righteousness of their own, some how or other. Awful delusion!

Here is the very essence of that delusion which works by a lie, and so much prevails, and keeps up an unscriptural hope in the hearts of so many professors. Do, Reader, study this point well; for here seems to be a show of scriptural truth, while the rankest poison lies concealed in it. For it is utterly subversive of, and contrary to the faith and hope of the gospel.