that God should be glorified in his own way this is hard now let this and the other fal out I but yet saith a Lowly heart it is fit God should have his Glory which way he pleaseth and therefore he is not troubled Fifthly Humility brings a great deal of quiet because it freeth us from opposition or if it come it makes us yeild to the opposition it freeth us from opposition of men for so I told you in the opening of it an humble heart is afraid to give any offence and so it is not likely that others will offend him but if opposition do come a Lowly heart yeilds to it and when there is a yeilding in time of opposition when a blustring wind comes yet if there be a yeilding to it it doth no great hurt and so the heart that yeilds to opposition it hath quiet and Rest Sixthly Humility brings a great deal of quiet because it makes us rejoyce in the prosperity of others the great trouble and disquiet of the spirits of men in the world is that others are above them now an humble heart blesseth God that any are above it Seventhly An humble heart is under a great many of promises and there must needs be Rest and quiet to that Soul Eightly All crosses are smal to an humble Soul because he is smal in his own Eyes according to what proportion a man bears to his own Eye so his crosses are if his Crosses be great in his own eye then they are great crosses to him and therefore you account your afflictions great if you account your affliction in your own Eye I but now if you were smal in your own Eyes you would count your afflictions smaller But we cannot open the particulars of these except we go further in the opening of the Grace of humility and therefore as ever you would have Rest and quiet in these troublesome and restless times labor for humble and quiet spirits CHAP. CXXXI Exhortation to humility with five several means to get it 1. Labor to see the Excellency of it 2. Convince the Soul of its emptiness 3. Get the knowledg of God 4. Of Christ 5. Of our selves NOw then we come to the Use and Application some time might be spent in speaking about Examination to shew whether we are humble or not and then to shew the difference between being humble and humbled many are humbled by affliction brought low or by Terror Tormented but their hearts are not humble there is a great deal of difference between Humiliation and Humility but I shal refer that as a seasonable point to be handled at another time Certainly God hath made many people to be humbled and yet not humble in their Spirits And then another use may be to humble our Souls for the want of humility and indeed that is a good Humiliation to be humble for the want of humility to be humbled for our pride is an argument of the truth of humility as much as any thing whatsoever and certainly if I should go back and open the Particulars of the behavior of an humble Soul towards God its self and others Certainly never a Man and Woman but may lay his hand upon his Mouth and say Lord have mercy upon me how have I failed in the behavior of my spirit towards God my self and others Lord my heart hath not answered to that that hath been spoken in the word the truth is the best of us all have cause to be humbled before God because they are not humble as they ought To be proud of heart one compares it to an Onion that if you pill off one part of it there is another pil afterwards pill off that and there is another still and another and another til you come to the end so when there is some pride take off one and under that pride there lies more take off that and under it there lies more and take off that and under it lies more continually more and more pride there lies in the heart of Men and Women and that man and woman that thinks they have not proud hearts I dare challenge them in the Name of God that they have proud hearts As John saith 1 John 1. and last vers If we say we have not sin we Lie so if we say we have not pride it is an evident Argument we Lie and it is an evident Argument we have pride Pride is like the Garment the first that is put on and the last that is put off and it is that that the heart sticks more in then any thing else and therefore Christ saith of his Disciples that were humbled they denyed al for Christ and yet mark what Christ saith concerning them In Matth. 18. There they inquired who should be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus takes a little Child and sets him in the midst of them and saith Verily Verily I say unto you except ye be converted and become as little Children ye shal not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Now were not they become as little Children Had not they humility They were gracious and godly I but this is true of one that is gracious and humble he hath a great deal of pride stil and he had need be converted and become as little Children to be humbled more and more It is an excellent frame of Spirit that we read of in Hezekiah he had an humble Spirit and yet lifted up in Pride yet mark what the Text saith in 2 Chron. 32. 25. 26. Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the Pride of his heart it is said in ver 25. But Hezekiah rendred not according to the benefit done to him for his heart was lifted up Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the Pride of his heart It is true the best of all have Pride in their hearts But can you say I have humbled my self for the Pride of my heart that you are jealous of your own hearts You are afraid of the Pride of your hearts and you watch over your hearts that upon the first stirring of your heart you labor to keep it down that you find your heart humbled for your Pride if you have this you have that that an Hypocrite hath not the least of either to be jealous over his heart or to keep down his heart or to watch over his heart or to observe the stirrings of his heart An Hypocrite hath not the least of this Now if you find this perhaps you find temptation prevails with you to commit a great sin for that you are humble and to neglect your Duty for that you are humble I but are you humbled for the Pride of your own hearts when you can charge your Souls for the Pride of your hearts between God and your Soul when you can search your heart and find it out and go lament it in the bitterness of your heart this is a good sign Perhaps when the pride of your heart breaks out and shames you before
be upon a Soul they keep up their sailes stil it is just indeed that they should be drowned that will not pul down their Sails when the Lord causeth a grievous storm to come upon them how many that are in very low estate and yet have extreame stubborn hearts and stout Spirits as stout and stubborn as ever before they were they have envious Spirits at those that are above them because others are not as low as themselves and have sullen Spirits and sinking Spirits and froward Spirits in their low condition all these argues a great deal of pride that though their condition is low yet their hearts are not low the Devils themselves they are low enough they are cast down to Hell it self and yet the proudest creatures that are none so proude as the Devils are and their pride appears much in their discontentedness they are proude and discontented and the most discontented spirit is the proudest Spirit so that a man may be of a low condition and yet not lowly in Heart Learn of me for I am Lowly in Heart it is the Lowliness of Heart that Christ would have us Learn of him Secondly A man may be Lowly in words submissive in words and yet far from Lowliness in Heart in Isai 29. 4. There you may see what some afflictions may work to make us Lowly in words in expressions And thou shalt be brought down and shall speak out of the ground and thy speech shall be low out of the Dust and thy voice shal be as of one that hath a Familiar Spirit out of the ground and thy speech shall Whisper out of the dust I will bring thee down saith God Whereas in the time of mens prosperity they speak swelling words as the Apostle Jude 16. Speaks Great words high Words when they are in the ruffe of their pride and the height of their prosperitty but you shal have many of these brave spirits that have such swelling words when they are in their jollity and prosperity yet when God brings them down upon their sick Beds Oh then they Whisper and speak low as one out of the dust and then Oh! their words are very submissive and yeilding and will hearken to any thing that you say I but yet for al this their hearts are not brought down their Hearts remaine as stiff as before which appears by this that assoon as ever the hand of God is off from them they are as stout and stubborn as ever before So that there may be Lowliness in expressions where there is not Lowliness in heart And again many may be Low in Expressions of words in discommending themselves and yet be proud in heart either in accusing themselves of such things as they hope others will not beleeve them or denying such things as they hope others wil contradict them in you shal have many people that wil have a seeming kind of humility and be ready to speak very hard things of themselves and say they are very poor weak people and have but little strength in them and not fit for such and such imployments and it is fit that others should be chosen in those imployments rather than themselves and they have wretched and vile hearts and when they come amongst others they speak of their vile wretched heart and they cannot do thus and thus and very large they will be in speaking very ill of themselves and deny that they have any excellency as others have and yet their hearts extreamly proud which appears in this because if any body else should be of their mind they would be extreamly discontented if any others should say O! God hath given you great Gifts this pleaseth them whereas if others that are in Company and hear them charge themselves to have such vile and wretched hearts and to say they cannot do thus thus Suppose they should be of the same mind and they should say I thinke it is so that you are a poor silly Creature an ignorant Creature and you have a very hard heart and a proud and stubborn heart now if any should be of their mind they would be angry with them and be displeased Doth not this argue a great deal of pride of heart I remember Bernard hath such an expression in his Books saith he if another should accuse me as I accuse my self I were not able to bear it he confessed this pride of his heart though he did accuse himself yet if another should say the same thing of him he were not able to bear it and I am confident it would be fo with abundance of people when they come in company and speak thus of themselves it is but to fetch out commendations from them that others might commend them and they would be mightily displeased if others should say of them that which they say of themselves in Prov. 17. 7. Excellent speech becometh not a Fool much less do lying lips a Prince Now the words that are thus read in your Books you may in another way read them they seem to carry another expression than is carried here the word signifies Dignity So Arius Montanus The lips of Dignity becomes not a Fool that is it is not fit for one that is a Fool to speak of excellent things as if he had any excellent things in him much less do lying lips a Prince it is here but the word doth not only signifie a Prince but an Ingenious Man a man that hath an excellency and worth so you may turn it as a Lip of Dignity becomes not a Fool so neither do lying Lips become one that hath an Excellency in him one that is of an ingenious spirit it is not for him to dissemble it is a very unseemly thing for one that God hath given an excellency unto to dissemble In Job 13. 7. It is said there What wil you lie for God wil you speak that which is false even for God himself will you speak wickedly for God and talk deceitfully for him We are not to walk deceitfully no not for God not for the Glory of God though we should think there might come the greatest good from it yet we must not do it and therefore certainly not for our own praise to fish out praise for our selves this is to be lowly in words but not in heart Somtimes we do not only discommend our selves in a feigned manner to others but even to God also How do we in prayer tel God how wretched vile we are and deserve to be cast into the nether most Hell and what a wonderfull mercy it is that we have the least crumb of bread and unworthy of the least crumb of bread and drop of water thus we speak very lowly before God and yet in the mean time have very proud and stubborn hearts this is not to be lowly in heart Learn of me not lowly words not lowly speeches so much but learn of me to be lowly in heart Thirdly There may be a lowly carriage
heart Eyes more then God Now the behavior of an humble heart towards God is especially in these Particulars 1. An Humble Heart doth acknowledg the infinite distance that there is between God and it self and from this infinite distance that he sees between God and himself he comes to be more and more vile no man or woman in the world is humble except they have a knowledg of God they cannot be vile in their own Eyes in a Christian way except God hath made himself known to them but when the Lord doth acquaint the Soul with himself and the Soul comes to see and acknowledg the infinite distance between God and it and upon that comes to have high thoughts of God and low thoughts of it self this is the first work of an humble Spirit in respect of God You know that in Job 42. 4 5. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the eare but now mine Eye seeth thee therefore do I abhor my self in dust and ashes Here was Jobs Humility Oh Lord I have a sight of thee I see an infinite distance between thee and me and it is this that makes me have such high thoughts of thee and low thoughts of my self and therefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes It may be many of you when you are put into an affliction perhaps God takes away your estate that makes you dejected God laies an affliction upon your body your Wife or Husband and that dejects you Oh but the right dejection of the Spirit is this I see an infinite distance between God and me and that is it that lowens my spirit more then any thing in the world I appeal unto you hath God beaten this upon your spirits the infinit distance between God and you and upon that you have layen low There is a notable Scripture in Prov. 30. and the beginning The words of Agur the Son of Jakeh even the Prophecy the man spake unto Ithiell even unto Ithiell and Ucal Surely I am more brutish then any man and have not the understanding of a man he spake to Ithiell even unto Ithiell and Ucal Now there is a great variety of interpretations of this place but I find the most carry it Ithiel and Vcal being two Names of Christ that Agur makes use of and so he speaks unto Christ as God for so Ithiel is God with me and it is suitable to that name of Christ that you have in the first of Matthew the 23. Christ is there called Emmanuel God with us and here his name is Ithiel God with me that is the difference between those two Names of Christ Ithiel and Emmanuel Immanuel is to signifie Christ being God and Man in generall for the good of mankind God with us but Ithiel is that name of Christ whereby a Beleever applies Christ to himself particularly not only is the Savior of the Elect the Savior of all Beleevers is God with all Beleevers but Ithiel he is God with me my Soul I apply him particularly to my own Soul he is God with me I look upon Christ as God to all Beleevers and to all Beleevers for their good but looking upon Christ as applying him to my own Soul So I look upon Christ as Ithiel God with me and therefore he repeats this twice The man spake unto Ithiel even unto Ithiel Oh! he loves to look upon Jesus Christ as God with him particularly with him And then Vcal Vcal signifies I shall be able to prevail and so it is the name of Christ noting that the confidence of a Gracious heart is to prevail in the strength of Christ against temptation against sin against corruption against all trouble whatsoever though I look upon my self as weak vile yet I look upon Christ as one in whom I shall prevail and so I call him Vcal I shall be able in him I shal prevail in him that is the meaning of these two words Ithiel and Vcal The man spake unto Ithiel even unto Ithiel and Vcal that is spake to Jesus Christ God in me and God in whom I shall prevail though I be weak in my self and now mark how he came to be low in his own eyes upon this Surely I am more brutish than any man and have not the understanding of a man in me I neither learned wisdom nor have the knowledg of the Holy and so he goes on he is hereupon very vile in his own eyes and yet mark before he doth express himself so vile he can look upon Christ as his Christ and he in whom he hath confidence to prevail so that Faith and Humility may go both together and the truth is one furthers the other the more faith and confidence we have in God the more we come to be vile in our own Eyes that is the first thing Secondly Upon this follows That an humble heart in behavior towards God hath a trembling heart walkes with God in a trembling way fears this great God that he hath such high thoughts of reverenceth before him In Isai 66. 4. There those two are put together The poor Contrite Spirit and one that trembles at his Word Herein the Soul shews it self to be a poor contrite low Spirit in that it trembles at any thing of God at any manifestation of God not in a slavish way but in a reverentiall way having this fear struck into him because of the greatness of that God that I see so infinitely above me and I see my self so low under this God and this makes me fear before him especially when he coâ—es into the presence of God this makes him fear before him throâ—gh the apprehension of his own meanness So Abraham when he speaks to God Gen. 16. 27 28. Dust and ashes hath begun to speak to thee O Lord This is the Reason of the reverentiall behavior of the Saints of God in the presence of God because of the fear of God Whereas a proud heart is bold before the Lord and presumptuous before the Lord and stands it out against God stands ouâ— against what is manifested in the Word that might make him tremble but the least word makes the humble heart to tremble As we go along we may examin our Humility whether your behavior be the behavior of an humble heart before God Do you find this That as heretofore your hearts were bold in the presence of God you could walk in a daring way before God now you can tremble at Gods word tremble in his peresence in a reverentiall way Thirdly An humble heart in the presence of God hath a relenting spirit humility of spirit manifests it self in walking towards God in this disposition that it relents and melts in Gods presence at any manifestation of Gods displeasure against him And this is likewise cleer in Scripture that Famous Example of Josiab in 2 Kings 22. 19. Because thine heart was tender or because it did Melt for so some Books hath it And thou didest humble thy self
where there is not a lowly heart many that have very proud and haughty spirits yet will in their carriages seem to be very affable and courteous and very sweet and very submissive and very yeilding so that those that are of weak spirits they conclude Oh surely this man is a very humble man he must needs be a very lowly man mighty lowly how sweet and affable and courteous and submissive is his carriage It is true for to have lowliness in words and carriage is good and where there is a lowly heart there will be these in some measure or other but yet these may be much without a lowly heart there may seem to be an excellency in these and yet no lowliness in heart there may be a complementing to the ground a man may be ready to put his hands upon your feet and yet have a very haughty spirit I will give you these Sriptures for it In 2 Sam. 15. It is the example there of Absolom Absolom we know was a most desperate proud spirited man and he aspired to the Kingdom and was so set upon pride that he did plot the very death of his own Father of David that he might get up to the Kingdom and yet mark this Absolom at verse 5. And it was so saith the Text that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him any man the meanest man that came nigh to him to do him obeysance he would put forth his hand and take him and kiss him so at verse 6. So Absolom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel A man by his deceitfulness this way may steal away the hearts of simple people Certainly the men of Israel thought Absolom a very humble and lowly man and thought O! might we but have this man Absolom to be our King how happy should we be and yet at this very time the very heart of a Devill in him for pride And another Scripture is that in Psalm 10. 10. He croucheth and humbleth himself that the poor may fall by his strong ones Who is that He mark it is the same that is spake of in verse 2. The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor And again at verse 4. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God And yeâ— at ver 10. He croucheth and humbleth himself He wil seek for his own Glory and that his own ends may be brought about he will crouch so low as you will have him submit to any thing though never so base and vile rhat he may accomplish his own ends And therefore all those that will submit to very low things you must not think presently they aâ—e lowly in heart a man may seem to be very lowly in words and submit to very low things for his own ends but then he will be proud enough when once he hath got into the saddle he will rule you then he will tell you he will do any thing in the wâ—rld you would have him to do till once he gets power over you and then is the time for the manifestation of the pride of his heart But there may be lowly carriage and not lowliness in heart Now those that carry themselves courteoussy and lowly in carriage and yet have proud hearts you may judg of them First Their lowly carriage is to them that are at some distance from them such as they have nâ—t very much to do withall you shall have many that when they come abroad and come into company with such as they have not very much to deal withall they will be very lowly in their carriage to them but may be in their Family they will be dogged enough perverse enough haughty enough sullen and surly enough though very courteous and yeildable to any thing and very sweet unto others that are at a distance from them Secondly They are lowly to Servants or to those that have not had any occasion to cross them Oh! how sweet is their carriage there to people that never crost them But now come to any that cross them you shall find them as haughty surly and proud towards them as any man whatsoever if once they be crost try but such as seem to be many times so sweet in their carriage to you I do not mean to cross them wilfully but observe them when they are crost and see what a difference there is between the affableness and sweetness of carriage that is in them when all things please them and when they come to be crossed Thirdly Their carriage is to those that they may accomplish their own ends by somthing or other that they would accomplish but if they have to deal with such as no way can further any ends of theirs they shall have no such carriage from them this is but to shew the distemper of the heart there may be lowliness in carriage and not in heart But do not think that I seem in the least manner to discommend lowliness in carriage it is comely in Christians to be gentle one towards another Fourthly There may be lowliness in habit and yet not in heart some will please themselves in this in going very meanly clad and in all their outward Garb are very mean and they think they will not be so proud as others are so high and brave as others It is true there is a great deal of pride to be seen in outward habits but also there may be a great deal of pride seen in lowliness of habit as well as in brave habits As there is a great deal of pride in following every vain fashion so certainly there may be much pride in a sullen resolution that they will never wear any thing but thus and thus in a fantastical singularity from other kind of people of their own rank though never so holy yet they will have a singular Garb of their own this is out of fullenness as no question there is in many a â—ullenness of resolution or a fantasticall singularity a ridiculous conceitedness and stubbornness of spirit that they will not alter their minds that others must do as they do and if every one do not wear the same Garb as they do then they are proud and themselves only are humble Now there may be in the fullenness of others an extream vanity of spirit and pride and many of these think to honor Christianity whereas they doâ—hshonor it hereby if thou beest so weak as thou dost not know what liberty thou hast in the use of the Creature Wilt thou judg others that do know You must take heed of Pride and singularity in those things which you think to deny your selves It was a speech that Socrates had concerning Antisthenes saith he I see the arrogancy of Antisthenes through the holes of his Coat he would go ragged and with holes in his Coat but saith he I see the very arrogancy and pride of Antisthenes through the holes
of his Coat And so when Diogenes came to Plato and he had a rich Bed and Diogenes in his Cinickness and pride tramples upon Platoes rich Bed saying I tread and trample upon the pride of Plato I saith Plato but it is with thy pride it is pride that tramples upon this pride it was the pride of his heart that did so disdain that another should have that he had not himself There may be much vanity and pride and height of spirit in lowliness of Garb and outward habit But yet stil we shall come further to open the nature of Humility and the evil of pride that is contrary to it and we shall come to discover the pride in Habits and speech and the like but only now to make way to what we shall come to now to get in a little into the point that we may not mistake what Christ would have us learn of him when he saith he would have us learn to be lowly in heart Fifthly There may be a kind of lowliness of spirit which Christ disavows and which Christ would not have us learn of him not only a lowliness of words habit but a lowliness of heart that they must take heed of a base fordid spirit that is as uncomely for a Christian as any thing in the world A Christian though he must have the lowliness of the heart of Christ yet there is the lowliness of a base fordid spirit that is infinitly unbecoming the excellency of a Christian What is that base drossy low spirit of many people First thus It is a base fordid spirit to imploy themselves in things beneath their Condition in which God hath set them As for instance suppose a Magistrate or a Minister should fill a Dung-cart and he should plead thus it is true others are so proud they will not do it but I am content to do the meanest thing Is this a lowly heart No it is a base fordid heart for men that are of any quality to mingle themselves with poor mean things to be in the Ditches in places that are beneath them to imploy themselves in things that are beneath the condition that God hath set them in this is not Humility but fordid and base spiritedness And then when men likewise shall seek low and mean things and bless themselves in things that are very low and mean and allow themselves in them as if so be they were enough to make them happy when they shall feed upon others as the Scripture speaks of that Idolatry And so wicked men when they shall feed upon ashes this is a base thing for a man to have his belly cleave to the earth to seek to scrape for a little of the world and bless himself in this and think himself a happy man if he can get a little money and if he have a little applause in the world this is that he placeth his happiness in and seeks after no higher good and this he would be content should be his portion if he can get a little money together and have House and Lands this is a low spirit for one that professeth himself a Child of God for him to seek after the things of the world and satisfie himselfe in them it is as if a Prince should leave the Throne of his Father and go and scrape in the Kennels Wil you say it is the Humility of a Prince Were it the Humility of a Prince to leave the Court and all the Glory there and those excellent imployments about State affairs and scrape in the Kennels Were this the lowliness of a Prince No it were a base spirit As I have heard of some great Heirs when they have been yong and stolen by Beggars afterwards when they have been taken away from Beggars and put into good Cloaths yet they have got such a base spirit that they would leave off all to put on Rags again and go a begging Thus the greatest men that seem to be lofty in their aims and designs they have low spirits for they do but scrape Kennels in this world and with the Prodigall feed upon Husks and Swil whereas the People of God though they are to be lowly in heart yet do aim at high things to seek after eternity of Glory to seek after a Crown after Heaven to seek after God himself to live for ever with God in Glory and though they are to acknowledg themselves unworthy of the least crumb of Bread yet they are not to be satisfied with all the world for their portion they are to have such high Spirits as not to satisfie themselves with all the world for their portion You will say here is a high Spirit indeed thus it is nothing will satisfie him except he have the infinite God to be his portion Your proud men that are esteemed to be the highest spirited they will be satisfied with a little Muck in the world but the Child of God hath such a generous Spirit that if God should offer him the possession of Heaven and Earth for his portion he wouâ—d count a little pittance and he would say Lord there are higher things that I look for to be my portion and God is very well pleased that his people should have such high Spirits in that sence to seek after a Kingdome to seek after Glory and to think themselves too good for a Lust for sin to rule over them to think themselves in a higher Condition than that these poor mean things should be enough to be their portion and their happiness Thus I have only shewed you the Negative what it is that Christ doth not mean when he saith Learn of me for I am Meek and lowly in heart he means none of these five things CHAP. CXX Lowliness of heart what it is positively and what it is in Christ in six particulars 1. He became Mediator 2. Man 3. Born of a poor Virgin 4. A Servant 5. A Curse Yea Sin 6. He was lowly in his carriage to men QUEST YOU will say What is the lowliness of heart that Christ would have us learn of him Answ It is to be considered two waies The first is this That disposition of spirit whereby one that is in a high and excellent condition yet is content to become low for God and for the good of his Brethren though he be in an excellent estate yet is content to be in a Lovv condition so it be for God and the good of others and this is that Lovvliness that belongs only to Christ himself he vvas thus Lovvly And also God the Father is lovvly that God is of a Lovvly Spirit thus to be content to be lovv for his ovvn Glory and for the good of others Ye have it in Psalm 113. 5. and 6. Who is like unto thee Lord our God who dwelleth on high who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in Heaven and in the Earth God is on high and yet God humbleth himself to behold to have regard
much evil And so that other place in Job that I named about the Souls behavior before God when he saw the Glory of God In Job 42. 5. I have hâ—ard of thee by the hearing of the Ear but now mine Eyes see thee wherefore I abhor my self in dust and ashes this is the work of an humble heart to loath and abhor it self before the Lord. 6. The behavior of a Lowly heart in respect of it self it is to judg it selfe judgeth it self First Unworthy of any imployment unworthy of any service that ever God should imploy him in So you have it in that of Gideon in Judges 6. 15. when the Lord had revealed to Gideon what imployment he would use him in Who am I saith he or my Fathers House He judgeth himself unworthy of any such imployment one lowly in Heart doth think it a great mercy of God to be imployed in any work it judgeth it self unworthy of suâ—h a mercy as this May be you may think that God should be beholding to you to imploy you in any work or service for him but if your heart were Lowly you would judg your selves unworthy to be imployed in any work of God Secondly It judgeth it self unworthy of the least of the Creatures of God I am less then the least of all thy mercies saith Jacob unworthy of the to bread that it Eates and the Air that it breathes in it doth not think much that it hath not what others have but judgeth it self before God unworthy of what it hath acknowledging that it hath forfeited all the comforts that God hath vouchsafed to it Yea Thirdly It is ready to charge it self with any evil even that which comes in somtimes by temptation an humble heart is ready charge it self to be the only cause of it as other men Hipocrites they are ready to charge temptation with what comes from their own corruption So an humble heart rather chargeth its own corruption with what comes from temptation You shal have vaine and carnal Spirits think to excuse the evil that comes from them with this the Devil tempted them this was a temptation the strength and violence of a temptation and they were led to it by the Devil and so judg the Devil for it and not themselves whereas the truth is it was not thy temptation so much as thy corruption the heart that is lowly and humble chargeth himself with all this is my corruption this is my wretched and wicked heart it is true the Devil might tempt me but were it not for my corruption the Devil could never prevaile Yea Lastly It judgeth it self worthy to be destroyed So that place in Ezek. 36 31. Whereas some Books have it You shall loath your selves The old Translation hath it And shall judg your selves worthy to be destroyed A Lowly heart is willing to pass sentence upon it self to accuse it self before the Lord and therefore passeth the sentence of eternal death upon it self so as to justifie God God is clear when he judgeth whatever the judgment of God is against the sin that I have committed I joyn with it I close with the judgment and I judg my self as God doth judg in his word it takes the sentence of Gods word and laies it to it self and judgeth it self If you judg your selves you shall not be judged saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 11. 32. This is the work of a Lowly Spirit it judgeth it self before the Lord. That is the Sixth Seventhly An Humble Spirit denies it self First It denies its own Reason if the truth of God be revealed in his word he wil not set his own Reason against the evidence of the truth but though I cannot see a Reason of what is in the word it is fit that I should yeild to what the Lord reveales in his wodr it is willing to deny his Reason in matters of Faith and there is a great deal in this and a special ground why the Lord batters the Heart of sinners many times it is to bring them down to deny their own reason So I remember Luther hath a speech concerning Reason in matters of Faith Reason it is a most bitter enemy to God and of Faith he means unsanctified Reason now an humble heart can deny its own Reason Yea Secondly He is much in denyal of his own will though my will be set strong to have such and such a thing yet what great matter is it saith a Lowly heart for the will of such a wretched Creature as I am to be crossed What if my will be crossed and that for ever I that have been guilty of crossing God so much an humble heart never thinks much to have its will to be crossed whereas there is nothing more todious and grievous to a proud Spirit then to have its will crossed but now when we can get that power over our selves as to be willing to deny our own wils then our hearts are indeed broken and we are brought to be lowly in heart before the Lord the heart of a sinner is never broken and humble til it can deny its own will many of you would know when you are humble enough if you find this that whereas before you thought it very much to have your wils crossed you find now that it is a very little matter to you to have your wills crossed this is a sign that your heart is humble And Thirdly An Humble spirit can deny his own ends whatever my ends were wont to be what plottings contrivings what designes I was wont to aime at now I find I can deny them I can renounce mine own ends and am not for my self an humble Spirit is not a selfish Spirit not aiming at his own ends Yea Further An humble heart can deny its own lawful contentments for God even those things that are in themselves lawful contentments that it might have much liberty in yet if I see that God may have more honor by my being abridged of such lawful contentments and my Brethren may have more good I am willing to deny my self in them to let them go it is not fit I should look after my self such a wretched Creature as I am that might have been in Hell long ago it is not so much for me to look at my self but if God may have any Glory and my Brethren any good I am willing to deny my own lawfull contentments so that an humble Spirit denies not only its sinful self but its lawful self denies all its own excellencies whatever they be willing that they should be buried denies his own honor cares not for his own disgrace I have been perhaps of such an opinion and if I should alter I should be dishonored and disgraced but if the truth of God may come up let my honor lie in the dust let the truth of God be advanced he is willing to deny himself This is the behavior of a lowly Spirit in regard of it self it doth deny it self and that is
little as he leaves such a one I should be as vile as such a one and it may be viler so that though the Saints of God must not wrong the grace of God must not if they see one live in notorious wickedness think that his condition is better then mine but yet he may be better then I considering my self meerly in my self I have no cause to lift up my self above him if I be better it is no thanks to me it is not because I am better in my self for I have that evil in my self that if God should take off his hand and leave me to my self as he leaves such and such I should be as bad as they you are to look upon your selves that there is not any vile wretch in the Town or Family where you live though they be the worst of men that are more vile and wretched then you are Yea And for ought you know viler that is if you should be left to your self you may be viler then they are and so an humble heart is willing thus to judg of others better then it self Object I But you will say For those that are notoriously prophane and ungodly for us to judg them better then our selves how can we do this without being false And doth not the Scripture say The Righteouss is better then his Neighbor Answ I Answer Yet we are to look upon others better then our selves in these respects First They had not such education as you had they had not such droppings in of God as I had when I was young they lived in a wicked Family and had wicked Parents but I had Godly Parents had they had such Godly Parents and good education as I they might have been better and done better it may be they have been cast among those that have given them wicked examples to provoke to sin but I have had Gracious examples it may be they never lived under such means as I have had such precious truths such heart melting truths been presented before others as hath been presented before me they might have wrought upon the heart of the vilest in the world more than they have upon my heart it may be they have not had the awakings of Conscience God never darted that light into their Consciences as into mine they never had the terrors in their Spirits as I have had God never made them know what sin meant as he hath done me had God inlightened them as he hath done me and awakened their Consciences and terrified them as he hath done me Surely there would not have remained such evil in them as is in me they never had such drawings of Gods spirit it may be as I have had O! the allurements of Gods Spirit that I have had to have drawn me away from sin and to have drawn me to that that is good and yet how did I keep back Do I wonder to see them drawn by vain and wicked Company What great wonder is it when they have nothing else to draw them back But had they the drawings of the Holy Ghost and those words of love and those stirrings of the Spirit of God in them as I have had and as I have daily how would they be as ready to be drawn to good as they are to evil I wonder that they are not moved more by the word I but my heart is not moved by the drawings of Gods Spirit had they but tasted how sweet God is they never tasted the sweetness of the word nor the sweetness that there is in the waies of God as I have done had they tasted what I have tasted and felt what I have felt it would have been better with them than it is with me And so many such Considerations being put into the ballance though others be very vile and wicked yet we have good reason to look upon others better than our selves at least to look upon our selves as vile as any in the world yea viler because I say we cannot know what helps others have had nor what inward good is in others as we may of our selves Secondly And further We have cause to judg of others better than our selves though prophane and wicked for their siâ—s do not do so much hurt as our sins do though theâ— be wicked outwardly yet all the sins of all the prophane people in a Town do not do a quarter so much hurt as the sins of a few professors of Religion thy Lightness thy Wantonness thy Pride and Covetousness doth more hurt than the open sins of others the Covetousness of a Profesior of Religion doth more hurt than the theft of another if another should rob steal it doth not dishonor God and pollute Gods name so much as the Covetousness of a Professor of Religion the Swearings of other men do not dishonor God so much as thy passion doth You think those notorious wretches that take Gods name in vain and swear but I say thou pollutest Gods name more by thy Passion and it may be puttest off many from Religion more by thy froward carriage than Swearing doth in another man for it is true they sin against God but what hurt dâ—th it do there is nothing expected from them but this thing is expected from thee it may be thou maist be a means to convert thy Husband or Wife and thou hardenest them by this means now what reason hast thou to judg others worse than thy self when thou dost God as much dishonor as others Now such considerations and many others that might be named shews ground enough why we should judg of others better than our selves And by the way therefore let this Consideration teach those that are wicked let it inform them likewise in a mistake of theirs They think those that profess religion do judg of others worse than themselves now by this that you hear you may know that it is quite otherwise had you but a Window opened into their bosome into their heart you would find that they look upon none living so vile as themselves Object I but you wil say They think others are wicked and that others shall go to Hell and that they shall go to Heaven Answ This must be granted indeed and this would wrong the Grace of God if they should not think their condition better than others if they should think that they were in as dangerous a condition as the wicked and ungodly No they bless God for the condition that they are in that God hath opened their Eyes and shewed them the evilness of their hearts and lives and they would not for a thousand worlds venture their condition with theirs Certainly one that knows the difference between a converted estate and an unconverted would not for a thousand worlds venture for a quarter of an hour to be in their condition yet this doth not hinder but that they look upon themselves as in themselves as vile and as wretched as any for one time that thou dost
so long under the Spirit of bondage because God would be weakening the pride of their hearts You think that a poor Soul that hath horror and trouble of conscience hath little pride in him one that is ready to despair and to conclude of it self that it shall go to Hell is that Soul proude Certainly there is a great deal of pride in it then you will say how will that appear that it is pride Because it would fain find somwhat in it self to present unto God for its mercy though it do not think to merit yet it would present somthing to God for its mercy and here is pride the heart hath not denied it self thus as to venture it self upon Christ though it have nothing to present to God it is not brought to this to go to Jesus Christ as a meer beggar that hath nothing to live upon now because the Soul is not brought to this therefore it is that the Soul is many months and years without comfort the Lord hath not humbled and emptied the Soul yet but now when the Lord comes to empty the Soul perhaps by the work of his Spirit though not by Gods Sanctifying Grace though there is not a Sanctifying principle put into the Soul yet it is that that is very like it and it is that whereby the Soul doth act by as it doth when a principle of Sanctification is put into it but this Grace is very useful for that is one special aime that God hath in the Covenant of grace though he wil glorifie his creature yet he wil debase it in such a way that the Creature shal have nothing to boast of what should we Boast of Saith Paul if it were of works then we might boast but because it is of Faith we have nothing to boast of Thus much for the Excellency of the grace of Humility CHAP. CXXX Humility brings Rest unto the Soul in Eight Particulars 1. It ventures upon nothing before it sees Gods call 2. The Head of such is lower then their condition 3. He is never disappointed in the World 4. He would have God have his Glory 5. It freeth from opposition oâ— maketh the Heart yeild to it 6. It makes the Heart rejoyce in the property of others 7. It is under many promises 8. All Crosses are smal to an Humble Heart BUt now we come to open the promise and then we will apply altogether the promise here made to those that are lowly in Heart I will give you Rest Now I shal not need to open the Rest that a Christians heart hath that comes to Christ that hath been done at large in the former verse Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy Laden and I will give you Rest Therefore here I shall only shew how Humility and Lowliness of heart gives Rest unto the Soul There is I confess a great correspondency between those two Graces and therefore I shal speak the less now of the Rest of the Soul in humility because there is a great affinity between this and Meekness now one that is Lowly in heart must needs live at Rest First Because such a one dares not venture upon any thing before he sees Gods cal a bold spirit will venture upon any thing when he hath not Gods cal and there he meets with trouble but now a Lowly Spirit thinks thus is this Gods way Have I a word for it And a cal for it If I have Let me go on whatever comes of it if he meet with trouble in such a business if he can say I undertook it thus I had Gods cal what abundance of Rest hath he What is the Reason that men are disquieted in the world and troubled It is because they rush upon things without Gods cal When the Soul can appeal to God Lord I would not undertake such a thing nor such a thing though I say there might be some preferment by it and somewhat got by it yet Lord thou seest the uprightness of my heart that I would not venture upon it without thy cal and then when I saw that I ventured upon it such a Soul must needs have a great deal of quiet Secondly One that is humble hath Rest because he can never be in so low a condition but his heart is lower then his condition This is an excellent frame of Spirit though my Estate is low yet my heart is lower if you be able to say so you that have low Estates your care is how you can raise your Estates if I could raise my Estate as high as others Then I should have a great deal of Peace and comfort No thy way must be to lowen thy Heart that is the way to raise thy Estate If a mans affliction be above his Heart and his heart beneath the affliction if the fire he under the fewel then the fire quickly catcheth the fewel but now if the Fire be above the fewel it will not so soon kinkle it so I say in a mans affliction if a mans heart be above his affliction I mean in a sinful way he hath lifted up his heart and he would have higher things then these things are and these things are beneath his spirit he hath a higher design and plot and aimes at greater things and these things are beneath what he would have Oh! Then the affliction troubles the Spirit but when a mans spirit is beneath his afflictions then a man hath a great deal of Rest and quiet he is lower then his afflictions and therefore he is quiet Thirdly Another thing in the Lowliness of heart that doth bring quietness and hath affinity with it is this One that is Lowly in heart hath never any disappointments in the world nothing is more troublesome and disquieting to a mans spirit then disappointment now one that is Lowly in Heart he expects no great matters in this world and therefore he cannot be much disappointed in any thing that befals and so he is quiet you that have great plots and designes in your heads and make account of great things in the world there will follow many Crosses that wil disappoint you and how do they disquiet you you may account of such a voyage and when it is lost how unquiet are you Whereas one that is Lowly in heart he is quiet and goes on in obedience to God and that is that he looks to most to go on in his calling in obedience to God and leaves the issue to God and therefore if there be any thing coming in he receives it thankfully because he is most unworthy if he be crossed he is not much disappointed because he looks for no high things Fourthly An humble heart must needs bring Rest because this is the guise and frame of it it would have God to have his glory his own way and this one principle Oh What abundance of quiet and Rest would it bring to a mans spirit That God should have his Glory we all yeild to that I but
men for that you are humbled but when you can be humbled for the first stirring of your heart towards pride here is a sign of Humility But this I shall not stand upon because I will take occasion to handle this sin and shew the foulness of this sin more largely and therefore all I wil now do shall be to work this upon your hearts that you may become the Schollars of Christ to be lowly as Christ was It is a Use of Exhortation That we would all labor for Lowliness of heart Know it is that that is necessary for us all that we do else is nothing except we come to learn this of Christ we learn nothing of him you cannot be said to be a Christian whatever your profession is all your brave Duties and performances are nothing I remember Chrisostome hath such an expression saith he If a man be able to raise the dead cure the Lame cleanse the Leaper yet if he be not humble he is the most filthy thing in the world this is the Grace that we have constant need of upon every occasion in what state soever Doth God afflict you then you have a great deal of need of this Grace to bear your affliction patiently if you be lifted up then you have need of this Grace to carry your self so as you be not raised up against God Oh! that you would have care of that when you find God coming in most upon you that is the time to keep your heart down most As we read of the Devill to Christ in Matth. 3. After Christ had that Testimony from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and the Spirit of God came upon him like a Dove the next words in the beginning of Chap. 4. is Then was Jesus led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil just then thus it is with Christians as it was with Christ somtimes in Duties in Prayer they are mightily enlarged and have mighty comforts and God comes in abundantly unto them and doth even as it were say this is my beloved Son and my beloved Daughter I have chosen you to life but expect the very next thing will be the Devill wil take and set thee upon a Pinacle of the Temple to tempt thee and tempt thee especially to Pride If God imploy you in any great service then you have need of Humility it was the beginning of Christs publick work of his Ministry that the Devill came to tempt him then the Devill fell upon him So if God imploy a man in publick service Oh! then the Devil will fall upon him and tempt him most of all then I remember Luther when God began to work upon him and he appeared to stand up in witnessing for God it was one special Prayer of his Oh that God would deliver me from Pride and those that God imploies in publick works had need to pray for this If God take a man off from any service he had need have much humility then and so I might instance in al kinds of things that Humility must have an ingredient in them I remember Bernard hath such an expression That except it doth come before and accompany and follow Pride doth extort all out of our hands and spoil all Humility is to come before any thing you do to accompany any thing you do and it is to follow any thing you do or else all is spoiled And in this Exhortation consider that you cannot come all of you to be eminent do what you can you that are weak do all what you can you shall never come to have any great parts you cannot have great Estates do what you can but it is possible for you to come to be humble You would think it a great matter you that are weak if one could shew you how you should come to have excellent parts gifts memory the like you that are poor to be rich eminent in the place where you live to be above others Now God will not grant you these things but here I can shew you how you can come to be as humble as any man and that is as much as if God gave you Ships and they brought home to you the Riches of the Indies you may come all to be humble though you cannot come all to be eminent in the world Quest You wil say How shal we come to get an humble heart Answ First Labor to set the excellency of this Grace before your Souls set this Grace in the excellency of it much before you and meditate on the beauty and excellency of this Grace of Humility so as to account your excellency to be in Humility that which a man accounts his excellency to be in he is in a good forwardness to get it especially in morals Look upon Humility as your excellency as a glorious beautifull Grace and set it before your Soul as that that hath a great deal of beauty and excellency in it to be in love with this Grace As sin prevails in the heart by meditation a corrupt heart by meditating and plotting about a corruption or sinfull distemper comes to defile it self with that corruption So a gracious heart by meditation of the sweetness and excellency of a Grace comes to be adornd with that Grace How comes it that men fall into wickedness and sin but at first this is the beginning of it they by meditation suck out the sweetness of sin into their Souls and look upon it as that which they may get so much good by now by delighting in the thoughts of a sin they come to fall into a sin therefore take heed of delighting in the thoughts of sin it is the way to come to fal into a sin So by delighting of our selves in the meditation of the excellency of Grace we may come to have that Grace Secondly Labor to convince thy Soul of the emptiness and vanity of all those outward excellencies that are the usuall things that puff up the heart it is nothing but wind that puffs up any mans heart if they had what is truly excellent their hearts would not be puffed up but that that puffs up the heart is wind Now consider all things in the world under these three Notions 1. They are things beneath the true excellency of an immortall Soul the way to cure sinful pride is to have a holy gracious pride Now a Holy pride is to know what is the end of a rational Creature what he is capable of to enjoy communion with Father Son and Holy Ghost the knowledge of this will take off the heart from all things below look upon these things as Dogs meat if you could but take off your heart from al these things it would keep your hearts Low 2. Another Notion is this Consider That al these outward Excellencies make no great difference between man and man it may be you have more parts than another you have more Estate
perform holy Duties and keep their sins both together and this now they find very easie There is nothing in holy Duties that is against their sin yea there is somthing in holy Duties that makes for their sins I do not say holy Duties in their own natures makes for their sins but their performing of them makes for their sins makes them the more quiet in their sins As thus It makes more for their sins and they have more quiet in them upon two Peasons As first by this means sometimes their corruption and sin is hidden as you that have many Servants that are naught and vile they will be very forward in good things and go to Sermons and Prayer and the like that they might hide much of their sin that they might not be uspected to be such and such therefore they perform Duties of Religion and now these Duties must needs be very easie to them And so it is with many Hypocrites that go beyond civill men and the Duties of Religion that that they perform are more than civill men do they will not only come to Church but seem to be affected not only be exâ—ercised in the ordinary Duties but in extraordinary Fasting and Prayer not only come to hear the word but repeat it in their Families afterwards not only pray here but pray in their Families and Closets yet so as to cover their corruption to cover their very filthiness now these Duties are very easie Or Secondly which is a amore close way Because it satisfies their Consciences their Consciences would not be at quiet except they did somthing a Man and Woman that walks in a carnall way that hath a vile Spirit a sensuall spirit in his constant way and course if such a one should not do some good thing having some enlightening of mind his Conscience being somwhat awakened and stirred he could not be at quiet if he did not now and then pray and now and then come to hear the word and desire Sacraments his Conscience would fly in his face and would not be at quiet now having many secret corruptions that he is loth to part with he is content to do somthing to take a Book and read a Chapter and go into his Closet and pray in his Family and will not neglect the word but come to hear the word all the Lords day come twice and thrice to hear the word now all these things are very good and they are to be encouraged in them but now examin I beseech you whether all the good and comfort that you find is not only this that by these things your Consciences are quieted and so you go on more easie in some sinfull way because of this you can with the more ease let out your heart unto the world you can with more ease take liberty to some haunt of evil that you are conscious of some secret sin you can take the more liberty because you have been exercised in holy Duties at another time I beseech you examin your heart in this there is a great deal of secret corruption in this it is not very rare not an extraordinary thing that I am speaking of but I fear it is an ordinary thing that I am speaking of that many people take the more liberty in some secret haunt of evil because they have been exercised in holy Duties at other times they have been at fasting and prayer and perhaps their hearts have been stirred in Fasting Prayer but now what use make they of this it is that they may be more sluggish at other times this is a cursed ease an ease that may stand not only with your corruptions but an ease to your corruptions make you to go on in the way of sin more quietly What a horrid sin is this for a Man Woman to make no other use of the Ordinances of Jesus Christ than this to this end that he may go on more quietly in the waies of sin now this is an abhorring thing to a gracious heart a gracious heart finds ease in the way of Duty but it is more easie because it strikes at their corruptions and mortifies their corruptions Oh! blessed be God for his Ordinances for before I came to be exercised in them and had power and life in the use of them I had ease in my sin but since the time I set my self to follow God indeed in his Ordinances and have had communion with God in his Ordinances I thank God I can have no ease in my sin that though my corruptions sometimes overcome me yet by the performance of holy Duties I find it makes my corruptions more burdensome to me and God that knows my heart knows this it is my desire that I may never find ease in any sinfull way and I love all the waies of God better because they will not let me be at quiet in the waies of sin And this is the reason that you that come to the word of God many times you hear many things that you like well and you love them wel but because they disquiet your corruptions and you cannot have quiet in your sinfull way therefore you sit at home and you wil not come to hear the word Oh many men they would love Sermons and love to hear such a man but only for this one thing that they wil not let them be at quiet they cannot go on fo quietly in some sinfull way which their hearts hanker after and therefore those Sermons that do not disquiet them in this kind Oh they love them exceedingly it is that I have observed you shall have many Women ignorant People and others when they come to hear a Sermon that hath a great deal of Latin and quaint expressions in it Oh how they commend this and what an excellent Sermon was this and what an excellent Man was this It may be said of those Sermons as Bradford said of the Mass The Mass doth not bite therefore you love it and so men used to love the common Prayer alas it did not bite they would come and stand and hear a man read out of a Book a while this did not bite whereas a Prayer that comes from the heart and fearcheth into mens hearts that stirs their corruptions and therefore they do not love it And so it is in regard of the word let the word come to search the heart and come neer to divide between the marrow and the bones to come into the secret of the hearts of men and women then for the soul to love the word so much the more and to say Oh! this is the word of God that gives ease to my soul I find more ease by such a ministry then I find by any ministry this is the ease of a Gracious heart but a corrupt heart wil have ease only in that way that is most subservant to his own lusts That is the third difference Fourthly Another difference is this The ease that a corrupt heart hath
Christ himself to look upon you as having a fulness of all strength in him and for Christ to come and assist you As now a man that hath a weak Child he may come with his hand and enable the Child to do that which he could not do but the strength that I speak of now is as when one that was a Child before is made a strong man and hath Marrow put into his Bones and Blood into his Veins so this strength is such a strength that is the Riches of his Glory according to the inward man Mark First Here is strength Secondly Here is strength in the inward man strength in the outward man is not so much as the inward man Thirdly Here is strengthened with might Fourthly This strength is by the Spirit now the Scripture useth that word Spirit to express strength by Their Horses are not Spirit but Flesh And then again It is by the Spirit of God And then it is according to the Riches of the Spirit of God such strength and such might and the Spirit of God in the inward man such as shall shew forth the riches of Gods Spirit and then Lastly The riches of his Glory So that the Saints may come to have in them such strength in the inward man with such might by the Spirit of God and according to the riches of God and the riches of his Glory you must not satisfie your selves til you find such a work of Gods grace in you as may manifest the riches of the glory of Gods power Now Christians Do you work so as by your strength in the waies of Religion you do manifest the riches of the Glory of Gods power If you do then certainly the waies of Religion wil be easie to you And then another Scripture which is to shew you that there is a great deal of strength to be had to enable you to go on is that in the 1. of the Collossians and ver 11. Strengthened with all might through his glorious power unto al patience and long-suffering with joyfulness here is strengthened with might strengthened with all might and this according to Gods power and according to his glorious power and unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness mark when we come to have strength from God that is when we come to the hardest things to exercise patience then we have patience and all patience and and joyfulness and giving thanks to the Father and nothing but thankfulness and joyfulness though our condition be such as needs patience Now these rules being put together they may make the way of Christ easy you may run the waies of Gods commandements and go leaping to Heaven and certainly the more easy and the more sweet they be unto you the more sweet will they be to others and you will bring a better report upon the waies of religion and make the waies of God amiable and lovely unto others Wel consider what hath been sayed in this text Many truths you cannot but acknowledg that they nearly concerne you now know that God will require this text at our hands this invitation of Christ come to me al ye that are weary heavy laden I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden light The truth is the same and the very marrow of the Gospel is in this invitation of Christ and therefore I have laboured to shew you as fully as I could what the spirit of God doth intend in this invitation and to lay before you all those truths that are here and have laboured to work them upon your hearts hoping that the impression of divers things that have been delivered from this scripture in the invitation of Christ are upon your spirits and shall remaine in many of your souls even to the day of Christ so that Jesus Christ when he shall come again with another invitation and say come come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you I say Christ will look upon you having the impression of this invitation upon your hearts And certainly Christ when he shal come to judgment when poor souls shall bring this impression upon their hearts he wil entertain them with a great deal of cheerfulness and he wil give them another invitation Christ saith now come come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden take my yoke upon you and learn of me for my yoke is easy and my burden light doth this invitation prevaile hath these arguments prevailed with your spirits and do you keep the impression of these upon your spirits can you if Jesus Christ were to come to judgment shew the impressions of these invitations upon your hearts and say Lord thou hast invited us and many arguments hath been used to draw us unto thee and our spirits are come to thee and behold now the impressions of those truths upon our hearts Oh! if you shal be able at the day of judgment to shew the impressions of these truths upon your hearts you will be happy and then you shal have the other invitation come ye blessed of my father that will come fully upon you the remembrance of the work of this invitation upon you Oh! how sweet will it be to you And for others that shall live wickedly when they shall come to that day when Christ shall invite others unto him come ye blessed of my father when they shall remember that there was a time when we heard a blessed sweet invitation of Christ opened to us in the Ministry of the word we heard Christ calling Come come and professing that his yoke was easy and his burden light and yet we followed after our lusts and wicked sinful lusts and wicked sinful waies and now we heare that the Saints that did come upon his invitation that they shal be blessed for ever but Christ will not cal us to him we would not have his yoke upon us then and therefore now we must be cast off and have the iron yoke of the wrath and vengeance and curse of eternal displeasure upon us Now the Lord perswade you to take those easy yokes of Christ upon you for the present rather then Gods eternal wrath and displeasure should come to be your portion hereafter FINIS
the Lesson that Christ would have us indeed learn Come if you would be my Disciples you must deny your self and take up my Cross The word in the Greek is more than deny your selves you must throughly deny your self deny your self to purpose indeed if you will be the Disciples of Christ and indeed this Humility is the proper Christian Humility Your Heathens they were altogether for men to know their own excellencies and to seek themselves altogether but for such a Lesson as this to deny themselves you never read of any such thing in Heathen Authors never such a Lesson that they would teach them that they would deny themselves 8. An humble heart keeps down it self that is he would be no higher except he be worthier one that hath a vain proud Spirit stil would fain be higher and higher and is not so solicitous to be worthier of a higher place but one that is humble thinks thus I am unworthy of what place I am in and I would not be higher except I be worthier I would not be in a higher condition except God give me a heart to improve that condition that he shall put me into and though God keep me in a low condition in respect of outwards yet the truth is I have as much as I have Grace to manage and therefore when there is any rising thoughts within it about a higher condition an humble heart is willing to beat down it self and is ready to speak to it self as Jeremy to Baruch in Jerem. 45. Dost thou seek great things for thy self Seek them not So saith an humble Spirit to it self What! art thou rising in thy Spirit and seekest great things for thy self Seek them not it is well thou hast thy life for a prey it is well thy Soul may be saved in the day of Jesus Christ And so David it is said of him in Psal 131. As a weaned Child he quieted himself and behaved himself restraining himself and keeping down himself whereas his Spirit would have been froward against God he did keep down his Spirit that was ready even to rise against God One that hath a lowly heart yet whilst it remains in this world hath much to do to keep dovvn it self 9. An humble lovvly Spirit hides it self is vvilling to hide it self and doth much hide it self it doth therefore good in secret more than in publique though such a one vvhen God cals him to publique service is vvilling to serve God publiquely yet especially is vvilling to do good in secret vvhere none knows vvhat it doth and vvhere none is conscious to it self but it self and God The ful ears of Corn hang down vvhereas the blasted ears vvil stand bolt upright So it is vvith a heart that is humble the more excellency it hath the more it hangs dovvn it self and is lovv vvhereas the blasted Spirits of Men and women that have a little in them they stand bolt upright Or rather as the Violet the Violet doth hide it self with its own Leaves So the Fig Tree and the Violet grows low in the ground you can hardly perceive it but only it discovers it self by its sweet smel you may many times smel it before you can see it it grows so low and the discovery of it is from the sweet savor of it and so it is with an humble heart the discovery of the excellency that is in an humble heart is from the sweet savor it hath rather than from any comendations of it self by speaking of it self No it is that which is abhorred by a lowly humble heart to be speaking high things of it self and it doth not love to hear others commending of it and doth not deny them in a modesty because they would have them to confirm it the more strongly as many others will do but unfeignedly is willing to have them hidden any futher than God is pleased to draw them forth It doth a great deal of good when no body can know it as it was the similitude of an Antient saith he An humble heart in this is like to the Lightening that may work strong effects on a suddain and goes away and no body takes notice of it somtimes it may be melts the Sword in the Scabbard and is gone and no body knows who did it So it is with an humble heart it wil not make a noise in what it doth whereas a proud heart wil be brought to no good exercise except every one take notice of what it doth an humble Spirit is willing to hide it self when God may nay have Glory by an action though I may have disgrace yet I am content 10. An humble Spirit goes out of it self being conscious of its own weakness I say it goes out of it self for a principle to act by and for strength for assistance for help it goes out of it self and empties it self we may put both together it is unbottomed of it self is one that is willing to live upon Alms upon Gods Alms continually upon a continued influence of the Grace of God being sensible of its own weakness iâ— goes out to catch hold of strength without it self Like the Vine though a fruitful Creature yet a weak Creature therefore God in nature hath made it ful of little strings to catch hold of any thing that is next it to support it self So it is with an humble Spirit though very fruitfull yet weak and therefore is catching hold of strength without it self supports it self upon God and therefore it dares not go forth in its own strength â—n any business that God sets it about but is unbotomed of it self depends upon a strength beyond its self and looks for assistance in all actions that it doth from another it lives upon a principle that is without it self continually whereas a proud heart lives altogether upon its own principles But there is nothing more discovers our humilty than this than to live upon nothing in our selves but to go out to strength without our selves 11 This is the true behavior of an humble Spirit in respect of it self a lowly and humble Spirit is often bemoaning it self alone for its own wretchedness and vileness in Jerem. 31. 13. I have heard of Ephraim bemoaning himself before the Lord I have heard him bemoaning himself Is not Ephraim my dear Child saith God Oh! how frequently doth the Lord hear lowly hearts bemoaning of themselves before the Lord. It may be it doth not pine so much before others in complaints but gets into the presence of the Lord and there it is often bemoaning it self and pouring forth it self before the Lord. 12. The last is this an humble heart doth afflict it self is willing to afflict it self you know that the Lord requires in the day of a Fast especially that there should be an afflicting of our selves In Levit. 23. 26. The Text saith That every Soul should afflict it self and that Soul that doth not afflict it self in the day of a fast shouldbe cut