Luke 18:9-14
Christ now gives directions about another virtue, which is necessary
to acceptable prayer. Believers must not come into the presence of God
but with humility and abasement. No disease is more dangerous than arrogance;
and yet all have it so deeply fixed in the marrow of their bones, that
it can scarcely be removed or extirpated by any remedy. It is no doubt
strange that men should be so mad as to venture to raise their crests against
God, and to plead their own merits before him. Though men are carried away
by their ambition, yet when we come into the presence of God, all presumption
ought to be laid aside; and yet every man thinks that he has sufficiently
humbled himself, if he only presents a hypocritical prayer for forgiveness.
Hence we infer that this warning which our Lord gives was far from being
unnecessary.
There are two faults at which Christ glances, and which he intended
to condemn,—wicked confidence in ourselves, and the pride of despising
brethren, the one of which springs out of the other. It is impossible that
he who deceives himself with vain confidence should not lift himself up
above his brethren. Nor is it wonderful that it should be so; for how should
that man not despise his equals, who vaunts against God himself? Every
man that is puffed up with self-confidence carries on open war with God,
to whom we cannot be reconciled in any other way than by denial of ourselves;
that is, by laying aside all confidence in our own virtue and righteousness,
and relying on his mercy alone.
10. Two men went up. Christ makes a comparison between the two
men, both of whom, by going up to pray, seem to manifest the same ardor
of piety, while yet they are exceedingly unlike. The Pharisee, possessing
outward sanctity, approaches to God with a commendation which he pronounces
on his whole life, and as if he had an undoubted right to offer the sacrifice
of praise. The publican, on the other hand, as if he had been some outcast,
and knew that he was unworthy to approach, presents himself with trembling
and with humble confession. Christ affirms that the Pharisee was rejected,
and that the prayers of the publican were acceptable to God. The reasons
why the Pharisee was rejected are stated to be these two: he trusted in
himself that he was righteous, and despised others.
11. God, I thank thee. And yet he is not blamed for boasting
of the strength of his free-will, but for trusting that God was reconciled
to him by the merits of his works. For this thanksgiving, which is presented
exclusively in his own name, does not at all imply that he boasted of his
own virtue, as if he had obtained righteousness from himself, or merited
any thing by his own industry. On the contrary, he ascribes it to the grace
of God that he is righteous. Now though his thanksgiving to God implies
an acknowledgment, that all the good works which he possessed were purely
the gift of God, yet as he places reliance on works, and prefers himself
to others, himself and his prayer are alike rejected. Hence we infer that
men are not truly and properly humbled, though they are convinced that
they can do nothing, unless they likewise distrust the merits of works,
and learn to place their salvation in the undeserved goodness of God, so
as to rest upon it all their confidence.
This is a remarkable passage; for some think it enough if they take
from man the glory of good works, so far as they are the gifts of the Holy
Spirit; and accordingly they admit that we are justified freely, because
God finds in us no righteousness but what he bestowed. But Christ goes
farther, not only ascribing to the grace of the Spirit the power of acting
aright, but stripping us of all confidence in works; for the Pharisee is
not blamed on the ground of claiming for himself what belongs to God, but
because he trusts to his works, that God will be reconciled to him, because
he deserves it. Let us therefore know that, though a man may ascribe to
God the praise of works, yet if he imagines the righteousness of those
works to be the cause of his salvation, or rests upon it, he is condemned
for wicked arrogance. And observe, that he is not charged with the vainglorious
ambition of those who indulge in boasting before men, while they are inwardly
conscious of their own wickedness, but is charged with concealed hypocrisy;
for he is not said to have been the herald of his own praises, but to have
prayed silently within himself. Though he did not proclaim aloud the honor
of his own righteousness, his internal pride was abominable in the sight
of God. His boasting consists of two parts: first, he acquits himself of
that guilt in which all men are involved; and, secondly, he brings forward
his virtues. He asserts that he is not as other men, because he is not
chargeable with crimes which everywhere prevail in the world.
12. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
This is equivalent to saying that he performed more than the law required;
just as the Popish monks talk loftily of their works of supererogation,
as if they found no great difficulty in fulfilling the law of God. It must
be admitted that each of us, according to the measure of the virtues which
God has bestowed upon him, is the more strongly bound to thank the Author
of them; and that it is an exercise of holy meditation for each of us to
ponder on the benefits which he has received, so as not to bury in ingratitude
the kindness of God. But there are two things here that must be observed:
we must not swell with confidence, as if we had satisfied God; and, next,
we must not look down with disdainful contempt upon our brethren. In both
respects the Pharisee erred; for, by falsely claiming righteousness for
himself, he left nothing to the mercy of God; and, next, he despised all
others in comparison of himself. And, indeed, that thanksgiving would not
have been disapproved by Christ, if it had not labored under these two
defects; but as the proud hypocrite, by winking at his sins, met the justice
of God with a pretense of complete and perfect righteousness, his wicked
and detestable hardihood could not but make him fall. For the only hope
of the godly, so long as they labor under the weakness of the flesh, is,
after acknowledging what is good in them, to betake themselves to the mercy
of God alone, and to rest their salvation on prayer for forgiveness.
But it may be asked, how did this man, who was blinded by wicked pride,
maintain such sanctity of life; for such integrity proceeds only from the
Spirit of God, who, we are certain, does not reign in hypocrites? I reply:
he trusted only to outward appearance, as if the hidden and inward uncleanness
of the heart would not be taken into the account. Though he was full of
wicked desires within, yet as he looks only at the appearance, he boldly
maintains his innocence.
Our Lord does not, indeed, accuse him of vanity, in falsely claiming
for himself what he does not possess; but it ought to be believed that
no man is pure from extortion, injustice, uncleanness, and other vices,
unless he is governed by the Spirit of God.
The word Sabbath (sa>bbaton) denotes in this passage, as in many others,
a week. But God never enjoined in the Law that his servants should fast
every week; so that this fasting and the tithes were voluntary exercises
beyond the prescriptions of the Law.
13. The publican standing at a distance. Here Christ did not
intend to lay down a general rule, as if it were necessary, whenever we
pray, to cast down our eyes to the ground. He merely describes the tokens
of humility, which alone he recommends to his disciples. Now humility lies
in not refusing to acknowledge our sins, but condemning ourselves, and
thus anticipating the judgment of God; and, with the view of being reconciled
to God, in making an honest confession of guilt. Such, too, is the cause
of that shame which always accompanies repentance; for Christ insists chiefly
on this point, that the publican sincerely acknowledged himself to be miserable
and lost, and fled to the mercy of God. Though he is a sinner, he trusts
to a free pardon, and hopes that God will be gracious to him. In a word,
in order to obtain favor, he owns that he does not deserve it. And, certainly,
since it is the forgiveness of sins that alone reconciles God to us, we
must begin with this, if we desire that he would accept our prayers. He
who acknowledges that he is guilty and convicted, and then proceeds to
implore pardon, disavows all confidence in works; and Christ’s object was
to show that God will not be gracious to any but those who betake themselves
with trembling to his mercy alone.
14. This man went down justified. The comparison is not exact;
for Christ does not merely assign to the publican a certain degree of superiority,
as if righteousness had belonged alike to both, but means that the publican
was accepted by God, while the Pharisee was totally rejected. And this
passage shows plainly what is the strict meaning of the word justified:
it means, to stand before God as if we were righteous. For it is not said
that the publican was justified, because he suddenly acquired some new
quality, but that he obtained grace, because his guilt was blotted out,
and his sins were washed away. Hence it follows, that righteousness consists
in the forgiveness of sins. As the virtues of the Pharisee were defiled
and polluted by unfounded confidence, so that his integrity, which deserved
commendation before the world, was of no value in the sight of God; so
the publican, relying on no merits of works, obtained righteousness solely
by imploring pardon, because he had no other ground of hope than the pure
mercy of God.
But it may be thought absurd, that all should be reduced to the same
level, since the purity of saints is widely different from that of the
publican. I reply: whatever proficiency any man may have made in the worship
of God and in true holiness, yet if he consider how far he is still deficient,
there is no other form of prayer which he can properly use than to begin
with the acknowledgment of guilt; for though some are more, and others
less, yet all are universally guilty. We cannot doubt, therefore, that
Christ now lays down a rule for all to this effect, that God will not be
pacified towards us, unless we distrust works, and pray that we may be
freely reconciled. And, indeed, the Papists are compelled to acknowledge
this in part, but immediately afterwards they debase this doctrine by a
wicked invention. They admit that all need the remedy of forgiveness, because
no man is perfect; but they first intoxicate wretched men with reliance
on what they call imperfect righteousness, and next add satisfactions,
in order to blot out their guilt. But our faith needs no other support
than this, that God has accepted us, not because we deserved it, but because
he does not impute our sins.
