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A44537 The nature of true Christian righteousness in a sermon preached before the King and Queen at Whitehall, the 17th of November, 1689 / by Anthony Horneck ... Horneck, Anthony, 1641-1697. 1689 (1689) Wing H2846; ESTC R17538 13,747 37

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all this and You will undoubtedly exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees 3. In Humility not only in having a just Sense of our Errors and many Infirmities which render us unworthy to appear before God without the Assistance and Intercession of a Mediator not only in abhorring our selves for those many defects which cleave to our best Services not only in accusing our selves before the All-seeing Eye as Wretched Naked Poor Blind and Miserable from a Sense of his Infinite Majesty and Purity but also in having low and humble Thoughts of our Religious Performances acknowledging that by the Grace of God we are what we are and that by the Influence of that Grace those Performances are wrought and confessing from the Heart when we have done all that we are Commanded to do that we are unprofitable Servants and have done no more then what was our Duty to do This humble Temper the Scribes and Pharisees were very great strangers to who look'd upon their Religious Services as Things which God was obliged in Honour and Equity to look upon and Reward Pride Self-Conceitedness and Self-Admiration mingling with almost all they did and they did not would not know what a contrite and humble Heart meant and what it was to lie low before God with a deep Sense of their Un-worthiness and of the great Imperfection of their Services and though they Fasted often yet that was not so much to arrive to an humble Sense of their Corruptions and Infirmities as to increase their Merits and to do Things which might Challenge Gods kinder Inclinations and this was the Rock against which these Men stumbled And as they were unacquainted with true Humility toward God so they understood not what it was to condescend to Men of low Estate In Humility therefore we are to exceed them in Humility toward God and Man for as there is nothing that separates more betwixt the Creator and the Creature than Pride and Self-Conceitedness for which reason God is said to behold the Proud afar off so nothing unites Heaven and Earth God and the Soul more than Humility for thus saith the High and Lofty One who inhabiteth Eternity I dwell in the High and Holy Place with him also that is of a contrite and humble Spirit Es. lvii 15. 4. In Charity or a compassionate Temper toward all sorts of distressed Persons I say all sorts for that of the Pharisees was narrow and sneaking and confined to People of their own Sect. I need not tell you that Charity consists not only in giving Alms that 's but one part of it nay it may happen so that it may not be so much as a part of it according to the case St. Paul puts 1 Cor xiii 3. where he makes it possible for a Man to bestow all his Goods to Feed the Poor and yet to have no Charity Had Almsgiving been all the Charity that was necessary to Salvation the Scribes and Pharisees had been considerable Men for they were free and liberal enough of their Purses toward Men of their own Party but Charity is a larger and nobler Virtue if it be of the true Eagle-kind an unfeigned Love of God is the cause of it and the effect is ever answerable to the Beauty which produces it St. Paul hath given so genuine a Character of it 1 Cor. xiii that it 's impossible to mistake the Nature of it except Men be willfully Blind It extends its Arms not only to all sorts of Objects whether Friends or Foes whether Relations or Strangers but as far as its Ability reaches and opportunity offers it self to all sorts of Distresses It doth not only Feed and give Drink and Cloath and Visit but Admonish too and Reprove and Teach and Entreat and Counsel and Advise and help and assist and sometimes Correct and Punish It embraces Enemies and like the wounded Earth receives even those that cut and digg'd it into its Bosom and like the kind Balsom Tree heals those that made Incisions upon it It Judges favourably of Pious Heathens much more of Pious Christians though differing from it in Opinion it Damns none whom God hath not Damned in a word it works no Evil to its Neighbour but is ready unto every good Word and Work. And in this Charity we are to exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees 5. In Universality of Obedience or in making Conscience of the several Commands of the Gospel of one as well as of another Then we exceed them without any danger of being over much Righteous when at the same time that we are fervent for Circumstances in Gods Worship we are not forgetful of the substantial part of Religion when we do not let our Publick Devotion justle out our private nor the private the publick when we do not make the Practice of one Precept an argument to justifie our neglect of another nor excuse our not doing Good by our not committing of Evil but are impartial in our Obedience and cheerfully submit not only to the gentler but harder Injunctions of the Gospel not only to such as are agreeable but to those also which are contrary to our natural Temper and Inclination The Pious Christian will not easily get the better of the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees except his Obedience becomes larger and spreads more than theirs Had these Men carried on their Obedience to that Extent I speak of as St. Paul a Pharisee and the Son of a Pharisee afterward did there would not have been greater Men in the World then they and the Proverb which was unjustly made concerning them would not have been altogether Palse viz. If there were but two Men to be Saved the one would be a Scribe the other a Pharisee And these are the particulars in which our Righteousness is to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees If it doth not we shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven The Danger and the Last Part which will deserve our Examination IV. The Danger Except Your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees Ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven This Word one would think should rouze every Soul here present and put us all upon a serious Inquiry Whether our Righteousness doth actually exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees If it doth not we hear our Doom And can any Man think Christ was very serious in saying so without being concerned how to prevent and escape that fatal Exit All Ye that have any Care of your Salvation and beleive another World and know what the Terrors of the Lord mean and what it is not to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Awake awake why should you not when Your Great Redeemer calls and take this Threatning into serious Consideration Either it will be fulfilled or not If it will not be fulfilled where is Christ's Veracity If it be where is Your Security I say unto You