There is that maketh himself rich, yet [hath]
nothing
Some persons make a great show of riches, and would be thought to
be rich; put on fine clothes, live at a high rate, and appear in
great pomp, and yet not worth a farthing; which they do to
gratify their pride and ambition, and to draw in others to trust
them with their substance. So in spirituals; some persons, as
hypocrites, would be thought to be rich in grace, and to be
possessed of all the graces of the Spirit, faith, hope, and love;
and yet have nothing of true grace, only what is counterfeit; the
root of the matter is not in them; no principle of life and
grace, only a name to live; nothing of the power, only the form,
of godliness; no oil of grace in the vessels of their hearts,
only the lamp of an outward profession: some, as the Pharisees,
would be thought to be rich in good works, when they have no good
thing in them, and do nothing that is spiritually good; either
what they do is not done according to the revealed will of God,
as many things done by the Pharisees formerly, and by the Papists
now, or they do not flow from love; nor i are they done in faith,
nor in the name and strength of Christ, nor to the glory of God
by him: some, as the same persons, would be thought to be rich in
righteousness, when they have no true righteousness at all; not
the righteousness of the law, which requires perfection of
obedience; not the righteousness of faith, which is the
righteousness of another; the righteousness of God is imputed,
and is without the works of men; they have no righteousness that
can justify them, or save them, or bring them to heaven: some, as
the Arminians, would be thought to be rich in spiritual strength,
and in the power of their free will, when they have neither will
nor power to do anything spiritually good; neither to regenerate
and convert themselves, nor to come to Christ, nor to do any good
work: some, as the Perfectionists, would be thought to be so rich
as to be free from sin, and perfect in grace, when they have none
at all, as says the apostle, ( 1 John 1:8 ) ; their
picture is drawn in Ephraim, and their language spoke by him, (
Hosea 12:8 ) .
The apostate church of Rome would be thought rich with the merits
of saints, and works of supererogation, when she has no merit at
all; nor is it possible for a creature to, merit anything at the
hands of God; compare with all this ( Revelation
3:17 ) ; [there is] that maketh himself poor, yet
[hath] great riches;
there are some, on the other hand, who greatly degrade
themselves; live in a very mean way, as though they were very
poor; either through covetousness, or because they would not draw
upon them the envy of their neighbours, or encourage their
friends to borrow of them, or invite thieves to steal from them,
or for some low end or another: the pope of Rome sometimes
affects to seem poor, though at other times, and in other
respects, he would be thought rich; at the Lateran procession the
newly elected pope scatters pieces of brass money among the
people, saying, as Peter, whose successor he pretends to be, did,
"Silver and gold have I none", ( Acts 3:6 ) ; yet comes
into great riches. These words may be applied spiritually, in a
good sense; there are some who are sensible of their spiritual
poverty, and own it; they ingenuously express the sense they have
of their own nothingness and unworthiness; they declare they have
nothing, and can do nothing; they renounce all their own works in
the business of salvation, and ascribe it wholly to the grace of
God; they have very mean thoughts, and speak very meanly of
themselves, as less than the least of saints, and the chief of
sinners: yea, some carry the matter too far in the expressions of
their poverty; will not be persuaded that they have the true
riches of grace, at least will not own it; but give way to their
doubts and fears about it, when they are possessed of much; to
whom some think these words are applicable. However, they are to
such who are "poor in spirit", ( Matthew 5:3 ) , as
before described; who have, notwithstanding, "great riches", the
riches of justifying grace, the riches of Christ's righteousness:
the riches of pardoning grace, a large share thereof, much being
forgiven them; the riches of sanctifying grace, faith, more
precious than that of gold that perisheth, with all other graces;
the riches of spiritual knowledge, preferable to gold and silver:
they have Christ, and all things along with him; they have God to
be their portion, and exceeding great reward; they have a large
estate, an incorruptible inheritance, in heaven; they have a
better and a more enduring substance there; "theirs is the
kingdom of heaven", ( Matthew 5:3 ) ; it is
prepared for them, and given to them; compare with this (
2
Corinthians 6:10 ) .