has from another a creature came out of nothing it is of it self and by it self nothing and in it self it tends to nothing This is the very notion of a creature if we understand what the nature of it is that it is all that it is from another Now a creature by pride magnifies it self and makes it self to be something yea makes it self to be all Take the creature abstract from its dependance upon God Toâ—um essi creature est essi dependeâ—s Aquinas and it is nothing The being of the creature is a dependant thing and the operations of the creature are dependant things So that take a creature and abstract it from God and it is nothing Now a creature that is indeed nothing of it self magnifies it self and makes it self all by pride The creature by pride lifts up it self and arrogates that to it self which is not its own but hath it all from another What an absurd thing is it that poor dust should lift up it self and give out it self as if it were some great excellent thing That man that is made of the dust of the earth should yet lift up himself against his Maker 2. Consider that no sin is so contrary to the glory of God as pride 1. It is the glory of God that he is the most excellent being he is therefore called the holy one of Israel The holy one that is the most excellent one the most incomparable one there is none like him there is none to be compared with him he is infinitely distinguished from the creatures He is the peerless matchless one Now a proud person lifts up himself and makes himself to be most excellent A proud person would seem to be the most excellent one Grace teaches us that it is fit that God only should be seen and admired and that the creature should be unseen and reduced to nothing Psal 57.5 Be thou exalted O God above the heavens let thy glory be above all the earth Now pride causeth a man to desire that he only may be seen and admired So that pride is such a sin as is most injurious to the Divine Majesty A proud person affects an equality to God we do not think of it but it is certainly so a proud man would seem to be that which God is 2. It is the glory of God to be the first cause 〈◊〉 all things are of him and by him In him we live and move and have our being It is the glory of God to communicate to the creature whatever the creature hath Now a proud person robs God of this glory a proud person attributes all to himself as if he were the cause of all why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it 1 Cor. 4.7 Daniel 4 30. Is not this great Babylon that I have built 3. It is the glory of God to be the last end to refer all things to himself hence is it said that he is Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end the first and the last The original of all creatures the last end of all creatures All things are of him and by him and to him Now a proud man makes himself his last end he refers all things to himself It is the property of pride for a man to affect a greatness to himself A proud person so he be great he cares not who is little Grace teaches us to pray that God may be great Hallowed be thy name what is the meaning of that petition In that petition we pray that the name of God may be sacred amongst men that his name may be great and admired amongst men Grace teaches us to pray that God may be great amongst men and pride makes a man desire that he himself may be great So that pride is injurious to God as he is the most excellent Majesty the first cause and the last end 3. To shew the evil of pride consider that as pride is a sin most contrary to God so God is most contrary to it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hence is that expression that God resists the proud sets himself in battle array against them 1 Pet. 5.5 God is a professed enemy to proud persons you can find very few instances of persons that have been eminent for pride but God hath made them examples of his Judgements Pharaoh Senacherib Nebuchadnezzar Herod are all monuments of Gods severity against Pride God is a professed enemy to proud persons Isa 2.11 12. The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up so vers 17. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down and the haughtiness of men shall be made low and the Lord alone shall be exalted A proud person would dethrone God and set himself in the place of God and therefore it is no wonder if God ruine him 4. Consider that pride was the first sin and the original of all sin The original of mans sin and the Angels first sin was that they would not be subject to God Iaitium omnis peccati seperbia c. Aug. Austin observes the beginning of all sin is pride and the beginning of pride was to apostatize from God for the creature to refuse to be subject to God 5. Pride is such a sin as makes men most like to the Devil Pride turned the Angels into Devils 1 Tim. 3.6 Not a novice lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil That clearly intimates that pride was the Devils first sin When we would set forth a proud person we are wont to say such a person is as proud as Lucifer as proud as the Devil Oh how black a sin is pride that carries the image of the Devil in it 6. The sixth Consideration and that which ought to be matter of trembling is Pride is such a sin as that it oft-times causeth God to suffer men to fall into other sins to heal and cure it Oh how great is the venom and poyson of pride that can be cured by nothing thing else but by poyson A wise Physician permits his patient to fall into a lesser infirmity to prevent a mortal disease The infinitely wise God when he seeth his children inclined to pride permits them to fall into other sins that so the shame of those sins may be a means to humble them and suppress their pride It is a speech of Austin Audeo dicer sâ—perbis essi utile cadâ—re in aliguod apertum manifestam peccatâ—m unde sibi displiceant qui jam sibi place do cecederant August I am bold to say That it is sometimes prositable and advantageous to proud persons to fall into some open and manifest sin that so they may be displeasing to themselves who had already fallen by too much pleasing of themselves I confess this speech may seem a little harsh unless it be qualified we must remember that no sin is Eligible
that was in Christ Jesus He was in the form of God and yet took on him the form of a servant and humbled himself to the death even the death of the Cross It is Austins observation That humility whereby God was born of a woman and by such great indignity and contumelies was brought by men unto death is the highest medicine by which the tumor of pride is subdued and killed in us O consider it The most Glorious God the most humble man God is humble and shall a worm be proud Now Christ was God and man in one person and Christs condescension and humility was exceeding great if we consider him in either of these respects as God or as man 1. Consider him as God and so his condescension is exceeding great 1. What condescension was it in God to come into the nature of man to come into the nature of his own creature a nature so inferiour to his own He was in the form of God saith the Apostle and counted it no robbery to be equal with God and yet he was made in the likeness of men and he was found in fashion as a man Phil. 2.6 Creator at Dominus omnium reram unus voleui esse mortalium Proinde qui manens in formá Dei fâ—cit ho ninem idem in formâ servi factus est homo Leo. 7 8. One of the ancients expresseth it thus He that was the Creator and Lord of all things would become one of mortal men He who being in the form of God did make man by assuming the form of a servant he himself was made man O what condescension was this 2. The humility and condescension of Christ as God appears in this That he was content to vail and hide his glory in our nature assumed He was content to have the glory of his Divinity covered and eclipsed by the vail of his humanity and that is the meaning of that expression Phil. 2.7 He emptied himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taking upon him the form of a servant How did the son of God empty himself Not by divesting himself of his Divinity that was impossible he remained to be God still It was not possible for him to cease to be God But the meaning is He laid aside the manifestation of his glory He did not divest himself of his essential glory that was impossible But he laid aside his manifestative glory for a time He was content to have his glory unseen for a time Sometimes indeed he did emit and send forth the raies of his glory in his miracles But otherwise he did for the most part keep in the raies of his glory during the time of his humiliation He was lookt upon as the Carpenters son He was hungry weary exposed to the same infirmities as we are only without sin All this was his voluntary condescension The Son of God when he was in our nature might always have let forth the bright beams of his Divinity such as should have dazelled the eyes of the beholders But he was content to have his glory unseen Now consider it If he who was the Son of God and God was content to have his glory vailed and unseen dot it become us to desire to be seen and admired 3. But then the depth of his humility lay in this That he humbled himself even to the death of the cross so the Apostle expresseth it Phil. 2. Consider it The person who gave himself to suffer was God though in the nature of man For their sakes I sanctifie my self John 17.19 The person that sanctifies himself is God So again I lay down my life for the sheep John 10.18 No man taketh it from me I lay it down of my self I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again Certainly he that hath power to lay down his life and take it up again was more than man No man that is a meer man can say thus I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it up again therefore he that spake these words was more than man Now what condescension was it for that person who was God as well as man to lay down his life for man 1 John 3.16 Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us And we may say hereby do we perceive the great humility and condescension of God that he laid down his life for us O what a spectacle of hamility was it to the holy Angels think you to see him hanging on the Cross whom they knew to be the Son of God and God although cloathed with our nature and whom in his Divine nature they had been inured for so long a time to worship in Heaven Here was a spectacle of humility indeed It is Austins expression Remedi m elationis est contuitus Dominicae Crucis Aug. The best remedy against pride is the beholding the Lords Cross Let us every day take a turn at the Cross of Christ and let us by the eye of faith behold the Son of God and God in our nature suffering the greatest torments to make expiation for our pride What should humble us more than this thought that God must become man suffer and die for man to expiate mans pride If the death of that person who was God and who died on purpose to expiate our pride will not humble us I know not what will I may say whilst I was meditating on these things I found my heart in some measure affected with these considerations and if you steep your hearts deeply in these meditations you may possibly find your hearts affected also O consider the humility of God incarnate 2. Consider him as man Remedy 2. so his humility was very great Never so humble a man as the man Christ Jesus Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart As a sheep before his shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth Matth. 11. One great argument of humility is submission when a person submits to bear all that is laid upon him this is one great argument of humility Christ was most patient and submissive to bear all that which God and man laid upon him He opened not his mouth but as a meek Lamb bare all 1 Pet. 2. 〈◊〉 When he was reviled he reviled not again And then as his humility appeared in his submission so his humility appeared in this that he attributes and ascribes all to the Father The Father in me doth the works John 14.10 I can of my self do nothing as I hear I judge John 6.30 Now the greatness of Christs humility as he was man appears from these three or four Considerations briefly I pray you weigh them and consider them deeply 1. In that he knew that he had the fulness of all habitual grace that was possible for a created nature to be filled with The spirit of the Lord did rest upon him the spirit of wisdom
washed my hands in innocency saith that holy man When he was under the power of temptation he was ready to give off his obedience to give up the course of his walking with God he began to repent he had been religious and walked with God But now it is by the help of Divine grace that we are kept from fainting in the course of our obedience The Lord hath promised that he will put his fear in our hearts that we shall not depart from him Jer. 32.40 Did not God put his fear into our hearts we should be ready to depart from him He also leadeth us in the paths of righteousness for his names sake Psal 23.3 It is grace causeth us to persevere It is Austins observation That grace is necessary for the elect when they are converted first of all Sive cum convertâ—ntur sive cum praeliantur sive cum coroâ—antur It is necessary for them when they war and combat and it is necessary for them when they are crowned at last It is Divine grace that converts and turns our hearts to God first of all It is grace upholds us in the spiritual conflict and enables us to sight the good fight of faith otherwise we thould be weary and faint in our minds and we should be ready to give up the field And then it is grace that crowns us at last so that all is of grace And it is another memorable speech of Austin After mans fall God would have it appertain to nothing but his grace that man should come to him at first and it doth also appertain to the same grace only to keep him that he should not depart from him So that after mans fall it is Divine grace that first brings man back to God and it is the same grace that holds man close to him in the course of obedience so that he never depart from God again but goes on to persevere in the way of faith and obedience to the end 9. Partic. 9. The Excellency of Divine grace appears in this that it carries a man above the sears of death It is grace only that carries a man above the fears of death and makes him willing to lay down this life and cauâ—eth him sweetly and placidly to resign up his soul into Gods hands Father into thy hands saith Christ I commit my spirit Act. 7 59. Lord Jesus saith Stephen receive my spirit Nature abhors the thoughts of dissolution nature cannot indure to think of parting with this life Not that we would be uncloathed saith Paul but that mortality might be swallowed up of life 2 Cor. 5.4 Paul himself found in himself an abhorrence in nature as to dissolution O but then the power of Divine grace in him made him to speak otherwise I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Here we see the different language of nature and grace in the same person Nature makes him say not that I would be uncloathed but grace makes him say I desire to be dissolved so that grace overcomes nature When nature abhors nothing more than death and dissolution yet such is the power of Divine grace that it makes a man freely to lay down his life and to surrender up his soul sweetly into the hands of God Lastly Partic. 10. The last particular I shall mention to shew the excellency of Divine grace is this It is the happiness of Heaven to be always acted by Divine grace to think to love to desire to will to speak to act nothing but as Divine grace would teach and incline us to do this is the perfection of Heaven it self What is the perfection of Heaven but that we shall be full of grace and of the spirit of God The perfection of Heaven consists in this that grace and the spirit of God shall act us universally always and in all things The happiness of Heaven is described by this that God shall be all in all 1 Cor. 15. And one way by which God is all in all is this that in Heaven we shall be full of the spirit of God and that we shall be purely and perfectly and eternally acted by the spirit of God Here nature and self sway us very much but the perfection of Heaven is this that we shall be purely and solely acted by the spirit of God and flesh and nature shall no more have the sway in us but we shall do every thing as the spirit of God acts us How excellent is a Saint here on earth What a beauty and majesty doth there appear in him here on earth so far as he is acted by the spirit of God and by Divine grace That which makes any thing uncomely in a Christian is that nature and corruption and self appears in him But so far as grace and the spirit of God acts him there is nothing but beauty loveliness and comeliness that appears in him How excellent I say is a Saint so far as he is acted by the grace of God here on earth Oh but there are many mixtures of corruption and imperfections in the best of the Saints here on earth there is none of the Saints so perfectly acted by Divine grace but something of self and corruption interposeth O but in Heaven he shall be purely and perfectly and eternally acted by the spirit of God nothing shall come from him then but what savours of the spirit of God Now if the perfection of grace be the perfection of Heaven it self how excellent then is Divine grace that brings us near to the life of Heaven Thus have I shewn the excellency of Divine grace in several particulars And what should all that that we have heard concerning the Doctrine of grace and the excellency of it teach us 1. It should cause us to love Divine grace to prize it and long after it more to covet it and pray for it more than we do for temporal things Had we spiritual eyes to see the beauty and excellency of Divine grace we should not be so fond of other things and neglect grace our main desires would run out after grace 2. We should make this Use from what we have heard of the Doctrine of Divine grace we should pray that we may feel the operations and effects of Divine grace put forth in our souls We have heard how that grace causeth a man to deny his own wisdom will affections inclinations and to resign himself wholly to Gods will We have heard how grace causeth a man to be satisfied in God and with God in the want of other things We have heard how grace elevates the soul to the desire of the Heavenly Country how it causeth a man to persevere in faith and obedience to the end to lay down this life when God calls him thereunto Now we should pray to seel and find that presence of Divine grace in our souls that we may be carried forth to all these things then and never till then shall we know the
going backward he is declining Now a Christian ought to run that is he ought to make a farther progress Add to your Faith vertue and to your vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance Pet. 2.15 and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity So likewise Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before Phil. 3.13 Nothing hinders our spiritual growth more than a vain conceit in us that we know as much already as need to be known and that we have attained already as much as we need to attain unto Paul was of another temper when he saies Not as if I had already attained either were already perfect but I press towards the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Phil. 3.12 14. To run therefore is to make a progress not to take up with any measures of grace already received but to press forwards to that which we have not attained unto 3. Running notes diligence and activity in the waies of God 1 Cor. 9.24 So run that ye may obtain that is run with care and diligence put forth your utmost vigour and activity in the waies of God Psal 119.32 I will run the waies of thy Commandments when thou shalt inlarge my heart that is I shall be diligent and active in thy waies when I have derived grace from thee 4. Running notes strength and courage in him that runs Dan. 8.6 The He-goat is said to run to the Ram in the fury of his power Running therefore notes strength and courage so the Saints running in the waies of God notes their strength and courage in the waies of God Isa 40.31 They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint 5. And lastly Running notes perseverance in our Christian course to the end Heb. 12.1 Let us run with patience the race that is set before us The second thing to be spoken to is this How it is that the Saints have their hearts carryed out after God The end why they desire divine grace is That they may run in a spiritual manner and that their hearts may be carryed after God Now how is it that the Saints have their hearts carryed out after God 1. The Saints have their hearts carryed out after God by desires and longings after him Psal 63.1 My soul thirsteth after thee my flesh longeth for thee Isa 26.8 9. The desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee and in the next Verse With my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early Whilest other men do mainly and principally thirst and cover after the creature holy souls do mainly and principally thirst after God himself Psal 42.1 As the Hart panteth after the water brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God The Hart is a thirsty creature by nature and when it is hunted its thirst is greater such is the thirst of holy souls after God But it may be said What is that thirst that holy souls have after God It lies eminently in two things and it will be good for us to observe them because we may know much what the measure of our grace is by these two things Holy souls thirst after Gods gracious presence here on earth and they thirst after Gods glorious presence in Heaven 1. Holy souls thirst after Gods gracious presence here on earth Psal 42.2 My soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God When shall I come and appear before God that is when shall I see the face of God in his Ordinances Psal 101.2 When wilt thou come unto me Nothing more proper to grace than this to carry out the soul in longings after communion with God If you feel nothing of this in your selves if you do not find ardent strong breathings and longings in your souls after God you have reason to suspect your selves that all is not well with you Unless the soul be under Temptation or under the prevalency of some corruption at the present or under the withdrawings of the influences of the Spirit of God in some time of Desertion I say unless it be in such cases as these the pulse of the soul will beat this way viz. in ardent breathings after God and communion with him and if we do not find it to be thus with us we have reason to fear the state of our own souls for thus it will be if grace act like it self in our hearts 2. The Saints have great longings after the sight of God and the glorious presence of God in Heaven Come come is the language of the Church in general The Spirit and the Bride say come Revel 22.17 Being confident and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Come Lord Jesus come quickly is the language of particular Saints Certainly the pulse of grace if I may so express it beats mainly these two waies In longing after a sense of Gods presence in our souls here on earth and in longing after the perfect injoyment of God in Heaven 2. The Saints have their hearts carryed out to God by Love Love is the motion of the soul to the thing beloved The soul naturally moves towards that it loves Love is the weight or ballance of the soul Amor meus est pondus meum eò feror quò amo the soul is carryed where it loves Now the souls of the Saints are carryed towards God by Love Psal 73.25 Whom have I in Heaven but thee And I will love thee O Lord my strength Psal 18.1 God himself is the great thing in the eye of holy souls though friends be dear relations dear yet God himself is most dear O Lord saith Austin thou art not only dearer to me than this earth and all things that are in it but thou art more acceptable to me than Heaven it self and all the things that are in it Hence is that of David in Psal 43.4 I will go to God my exceeding joy The joy of my joy Laetitia â—etitiarum that is the top of my joy Though other things may be amiable to a godly man in their place yet God himself is most amiable to an holy soul 3. The Saints have their hearts carryed out to God by Admiration that which we call admiration is the fixing or staying of the mind upon some excellent object the minds fixing or staying it self with delight upon some object which it is pleased with Admiration takes in a double act of the soul 1. It takes in an act of the mind or understanding what we admire the mind fixeth and dwells upon admiration detains and holds the mind fixt in the contemplation of a thing what we