2. There must be some measure of humiliation. Under this conviction the
man is bowed down, and made mute before God; no more boasting of his
goodness and of his happy condition; no high or great thoughts of his
righteousness; for all are looked on now as "filthy rags," Isa. lxv. 6.
"What things were as gain before to the soul, must now be counted loss,
yea, and as dung," Philip, iii. 7, 8. The man must be cast down in
himself, and far from high and conceity thoughts of himself, or of any
thing he ever did or can do. "For the Lord resisteth the proud, but
giveth grace to the humble," James iv. 6; 1 Pet. v. 5. "He reviveth the
spirit of the humble," Isa. lvii. 15. "He that humbleth himself shall be
exalted," Matt. xviii. 4, and xxiii. 12; Luke xiv. 11, and xviii. 14.

3. There must be a despairing of getting help or relief out of this
condition, by ourselves, or any thing we can do; a conviction of the
unprofitableness of all things under the sun for our relief. No
expectation of help from our supposed good heart, good purposes, good
deeds, works of charity, many prayers, commendations of others, sober
and harmless walking, or anything else within us or without us that is
not Christ. For, so long as we have the least hope or expectation of
doing our own business without Christ, we will not come to him. Our
heart hangeth so after the old way of salvation through works, that we
cannot endure to hear of any other, nor can we yield to any other. Could
we but have heaven by the way of works, we would spare no pains, no
cost, no labour, no expenses; nay, we would put ourselves to much pain
and torment by whippings, cuttings, fastings, watchings, and the like;
we would spare our first-born; nay, we would dig our graves in a rock
with our nails, and cut our own days, could we but get heaven by this
means; such is our antipathy at the way of salvation through a crucified
Christ, that we would choose any way but that, cost what it would;