Nay, I say again, hath not thy thus doing charged God with being ignorant of knowing, what rules there needed to be imposed on his creatures to make their obedience complete? And doth not this apish madness of thine intimate, moreover, that if thou hadst not stept in with the bundle of thy traditions, righteousness had been imperfect, not through man's weakness, but through impediment in God, or in his ministering rules of righteousness unto us.

Now, when thou hast thought on these things fairly, answer thyself in these few questions: Is not this arrogancy? Is not this blasphemy? Is not this to condemn God, that thou mightest be righteous? And dost thou think, this is, indeed, the way to be righteous?

But again, what means thy preferring of thine own rules, laws, statues, ordinances and appointments, before the rules, laws, statutes and appointments of God? Thinkest thou this to be right? Whither will thy zeal, thy pride, and thy folly carry thee? Is there more reason, more equity, more holiness in thy traditions, than in the holy, and just, and good commandments of God? (Rom 7:12) Why then, I say, dost thou reject the commandment of God, to keep thine own tradition? Yea, Why dost thou rage, and rail, and cry out when men keep not thy law, or the rule of thine order, and tradition of thine elders; and yet shut thine eyes, or wink with them, when thou thyself shalt live in the breach of the law of God? Yea, why wilt thou condemn men, when they keep not thy law, but study for an excuse, yea, plead for them that live in the breach of God's (Mark 7:10-13) Will this go for righteousness in the day of God Almighty? Nay rather, will not this, like a millstone about thy neck, drown thee in the deeps of hell? Oh, the blindness, the madness, the pride, and spite, that dwells in the hearts of these pretended righteous men.

Again, What kind of righteousness of thine, is this, that standeth in a misplacing, and so consequently in a misesteeming of God's commands? Some thou settest too high, and some too low; as in the text, thou hast set a ceremony above faith, above love, and above hope in the mercy of God: When, as it is evident, the things last mentioned, are the things of the first rate, the weightier matters. (Matt 23:23)

Again, Thou hast preferred the gold above the temple that sanctifieth the gold, and the gift upon the altar, above the altar that sanctifies the gift. (Matt 23:17)

I say again, What kind of righteousness shall this be called? What back will such a suit of apparel fit, that is set together just cross and thwart to what it should be? Just as if the sleeves should be sewed upon the pocket-holes, and the pockets set on where the sleeves should stand. Nor can other righteousness proceed where a wrong judgment precedeth it.

This misplacing of God's laws cannot, I say, but produce misshaped and misplaced obedience. It indeed produceth a monster, an ill-shapened thing, a mole, a mouse, a pig, all which are things unclean, and an abomination to the Lord. For see, saith he, if thou wilt be making, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Set faith, where faith should stand, a moral, where a moral should stand; and a ceremony, where a ceremony should stand; for this turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: And wilt thou call this thy righteousness; yea, wilt thou stand in this, plead for this, and venture an eternal concern in such a piece of linsey-woolsey as this? O fools, and blind!

But further, let us come a little closer to the point. O blind Pharisee. Thou standest to thy righteousness, what dost thou mean? Wouldest thou have MERCY for thy righteousness, or JUSTICE for thy righteousness?

[FIRST MERCY.] If mercy, what mercy? Temporal things God giveth to the unthankful and unholy; nor doth he use to SELL the world to man for righteousness. The earth hath he GIVEN to the children of men. But this is not the thing; thou wouldest have eternal mercy for thy righteousness; thou wouldest have God think upon what an holy, what a good, what a righteous man thou art, and hast been. But Christ died not for the good and righteous, nor did he come to call such to the banquet, that grace hath prepared for the world. "I came not," I am not come, saith Christ, "to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2:27, Rom 5) Yet this is thy plea; Lord God, I am a righteous man, therefore grant me mercy, and a share in thy heavenly kingdom. What else dost thou mean, when thou sayest, "God I thank thee, that I am not as other men are?" Why dost thou rejoice, why art thou glad that thou art more righteous, if indeed thou art, than thy neighbour, if it is not because thou thinkest, that thou hast got the start of, the better of thy neighbour, with reference to mercy; and that by thy righteousness thou hast insinuated thyself into God's affections, and procured an interest in his eternal favour. But,

What, What hast thou done by thy righteousness? I say, What hast thou given to God thereby? And what hath he received of thy hand? Perhaps thou wilt say, righteousness pleaseth God: But I answer no, not thine, with respect to justification from the curse of the law, unless it be as perfect, as the justice it is yielded to, and as the law that doth command it. But thine is not such a righteousness: no, thine is speckled, thine is spotted, thine makes thee to look like a speckled bird in his eye-sight.

Thy righteousness has added iniquity, to thy iniquity, because it has kept thee from a belief of thy need of repentance, and because it has emboldened thee to thrust thyself audaciously into the presence of God, and made thee there, even before his holy eyes, which are so pure, that they cannot look on iniquity (Hab 1:13), to vaunt, boast, and brag of thyself, and of thy tottering, ragged, stinking uncleanness; for all our righteousnesses are as menstruous rags, because they flow from a thing, a heart, a man that is unclean. But,

Again, Wouldest thou have mercy for thy righteousness? For who wouldest thou have it; for another, or for thyself? If for another, and it is most proper, that a righteous man should intercede for another by his righteousness, rather than for himself, then thou thrusteth Christ out of his place and office, and makest thyself to be a saviour in his stead; for a mediator there is already, even a mediator between God and man, and he is the man Christ Jesus. There is therefore no need of thine interceding by thy righteousness for the acceptation of any unto justification from the curse.

But dost thou plead by thy righteousness, for mercy for thyself? Why, in so doing thou impliest,

First, That thy righteousness can prevail with God, more than can thy sins. I say, that thy righteousness can prevail with God, to preserve thee from death, more than thy sins can prevail with him to condemn thee to it. And if so, what follows? but that thy righteousness is more, and has been done in a fuller spirit than ever were thy sins: but thus to insinuate is to insinuate a lie; for there is no man, but while he is a sinner, sinneth with a more full spirit, than any good man can act righteousness withal.

A sinner when he sinneth, he doth it with all his heart, and with all his mind, and with all his soul, and with all his strength; nor hath he in his ordinary course any thing that bindeth. But with a good man it is not so; all, and every whit of himself, neither is, nor can be, in every good duty that he doth. For when he would do good evil is present with him. And again, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Gal 5:17)

Now if a good man cannot do good things with that wholeness and oneness of soul, with that oneness and universalness of mind, as a wicked man doth sin with, then is his sin heavier to weigh him down to hell, than is his righteousness to buoy him up to the heavens.

And again, I say, if the righteousness of a good man comes short of his sin, both in number, weight and measure, as it doth, for a good man shrinks and quakes at the thoughts of God's entering into judgment with him (Psa 143:2), then is his iniquity more than his righteousness. And I say again, if the sin of one that is truly gracious, and so of one that hath the best of principles, is heavier and mightier to destroy him, than is his righteousness to save him, how can it be, that the Pharisee, that is not gracious, but a mere carnal man, somewhat reformed and painted over with a few, lean, and lousy formalities, should with his empty, partial, hypocritical righteousness, counterpoise his great, mighty, and weighty sins, that have cleaved to him in every state and condition of his, to make him odious in the sight of God?

Second. Dost thou plead by thy righteousness for mercy for thyself? Why in so doing thou impliest, that mercy thou deservedst; and that is next door to, or almost as much as to say, God oweth me what I ask for.14 The best that can be put upon it, is, thou seekest security from the direful curse of God, as it were by the works of the law, and to be sure betwixt Christ and the law, thou wilt drop into hell. (Rom 9:31-33) For he that seeks for mercy, as it were, and but as it were, by the works of the law, doth not altogether trust thereto. Nor doth he that seeks for that righteousness, that should save him, as it were, by the works of the law, seek it only, wholly and solely at the hands of mercy. So then, to seek for that that should save thee, neither at the hands of the law, nor at the hands of mercy, is, to be sure, to seek it where it is not to be found; for there is no medium betwixt the righteousness of the law, and the mercy of God. Thou must have it either at the door of the law, or at the door of grace. But sayest thou, I am for having of it at the hands of both. I will trust solely to neither. I love to have two strings to my bow. If one of them, as you think, can help me by itself, my reason tells me, that both can help me better. Therefore will I be righteous, and good, and will seek by my goodness to be commended to the mercy of God: for surely, he that hath something of his own to ingratiate himself into the favour of his prince withal, shall sooner obtain his mercy and favour, than one that comes to him as stript of all good.

I answer, But there are not two ways to heaven, not two living ways; there is one new and living way, which Christ hath consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; and besides that one, there is no more. (Heb 10:19-24) Why then dost thou talk of two strings to thy bow? What became of him that had, and would have, two stools to sit on? Yea, the text says plainly, that therefore they obtained not righteousness, because they sought it not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law. See here, they are disowned by the gospel, because they sought it not by faith; that is, by faith only. Again, the law, and the righteousness thereof, flies from them, nor could they attain it, though they followed after it, because they sought it not by faith.

Mercy then is to be found alone in Jesus Christ! Again, the