" [Gen. 6:5]
And again, "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth."
[Rom. 8:21] 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 judgment
upon our heart, so it passeth a judgment upon our ways; and when
OUR thoughts of our hearts and ways agree with the judgment which
the Word giveth of both, then are both good, because agreeing
thereto.
{359} IGNOR. Make out your meaning.
CHR. Why, the Word of God saith that man's ways are crooked ways;
not good, but perverse. [Ps. 125:5, Prov. 2:15] It saith they
are naturally out of the good way, that they have not known it.
[Rom. 3] Now, when a man 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.
{360} 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 with
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.
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