Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit
Or "in his own eyes" F2; as multitudes may be seen, by
looking round; man is a creature but of small knowledge in things
natural, civil, mechanical, philosophical, moral, or divine; yet
greatly conceited for the most part of his knowledge and wisdom.
As by a "fool" in this book is generally understood a wicked
profane man, so by a wise man is meant a good and righteous man,
and may be so understood here; and many there are who are good
and righteous only their own conceit and esteem, not truly so;
they place their righteousness in outward things, in the
observance of external duties; and though there may be some
little imperfection in them, yet they think, as they mean well,
God will accept the will for the deed: and some have imagined
they have arrived to perfection; and such are generally
conceited, proud, and haughty, and despise others; all which
flows from ignorance; for, though they fancy themselves to be
wise, they are very ignorant of themselves; of the plague of
their own hearts; of the law of God, and the spirituality of it,
and the extensiveness of its demands; of the strict justice and
righteousness of God, which will not admit of an imperfect
righteousness in the room of a perfect one; and also of the
righteousness of Jesus Christ, the nature and necessity of that
to justify: and this being their case, they are in very dangerous
circumstances; they are building on a sand; they are liable to
fall into a ditch; they cannot be justified nor saved by their
own works; they oppose themselves to God's way of justifying and
saving sinners; and he sets himself against them, he resisteth
the proud. Wherefore [there is] more hope of a fool than of
him;
of a profane sinner than of a self-righteous person; for Christ
came to save sinners, to call them to repentance, and he receives
them as such; but not self-righteous persons; and, humanly
speaking, there is a greater likelihood and greater hopes of
convincing sinners, and bringing them to repentance and to
forsake their sins, than there is of convincing a self-righteous
man of the insufficiency of his righteousness, and the folly of
trusting to it, and of bringing him to repent of such a
confidence, and to forsake it; for it is most natural to him; it
is his own, and the effect of great labour and pains; and
encourages vanity and boasting, which would be excluded should he
part with it; see ( Matthew
21:31 Matthew
21:32 ) .