as a little sum multiplied is great that they cloud the face of God wound conscience grieve the spirit rejoyce Satan and make work for Repentance c. An humble soule knows that little sins suppose them so are very dangerous a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump a little staffe may kill one a little poyson may poyson one a little leak in a ship sinkes it a little Flye in the box of Ointment spoyles it a little flaw in a good cause marres it So a little sin may at once barre the door of Heaven and open the gates of Hell and therefore an humble soule smites and strikes it selfe for the least as well as the greatest Though a head of Garlike be little yet it will poyson the Leopard though he be great Though a Mouse is but little yet it will kill an Elephant if he gets up into his Trunk Though the Scorpion be little yet it will sting a Lyon to death and so will the least sin if not pardoned by the death of Christ A proud heart counts great sins small and small sins no sins and so disarmes Conscience for a time of its whipping and wounding power but at death or in Hell conscience will take up an iron rod with which it will lash the sinner for ever and then though too late the sinner shall acknowledge his little sins to be very great and his great sins to be exceeding grievous and odious c. The tenth Property of an humble soule is this It will quietly 10 Property Psal 39. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from Alam which signifies to be mute or tongue-tied Lev. 10. 1 2 3 Vaiidem from Clam am which signifies the quietnesse of the mind the troubled affections being allayed 1 Sam. 3. 11-19 2 Sam. 16. 5-14 Gallesius observes upon Exod. 22. 28. the exceeding patience of those three Emperours Theodosius Honorius and Arcadius towards those that spoke evill of them bear burdens and patiently take blowes and knocks and make no noise An humble soule sees God through man he sees God through all the actions and carriages of men I was dumb saith the Prophet I opened not my mouth because thou didst it An humble soule looks through secondary causes and sees the hand of God and then layes his owne hand upon his mouth An humble soule is a mute soule a tongue-tied soule when he looks through secondary causes to the supream cause So Aaron when he saw his Sons suddenly surprised by a dreadfull and dolefull death he held his peace he bridled his passions he sits silent under a terrible stroke of Divine Justice because the fire that devoured them went out from the Lord. So when Samuel had told Eli that God would judge his house for ever and that he had sworn that the iniquity of his house should not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever c. It is the Lord sayes Eli let him doe what seemeth him good Eli humbly and patiently layes his neck upon the block it is the Lord let him strike let him kill c. sayes Eli. So David when Shimei manifested his desperate fury and folly malice and madnesse in raving and raging at him in cursing and reproaching of him sayes he Let him alone and let him curse for the Lord hath bidden him God sayes he will by his wise providence turne his cursing into blessing I see the Justice of God in his cursing therefore let him alone let him curse sayes David Cassianus reports that when a certaine Christian was held Captive by the Infidels and tormented by divers paines and ignominious taunts being demanded by way of scorne and reproach Tell us what Christ has done for you answered He Acts Mon. fol. 811. hath done what you see that I am not moved at all the cruelties and contumelies you cast upon me So that blessed Martyr Gyles of Brussells when the Fryers By long soo thingour own wills we have forsaken as Cassian saith the very shadow of patience sent to reduce him did at any time miscall him he ever held his peace insomuch that those wretches would say abroad that he had a dumb Devil in him Full Vessels will bear many a knock many a stroke and yet make no noise So Christians that are full of Christ that are full of the Spirit will bare many a knock many a stroke and yet make no noise An humble soule may groan under afflictions but he will not grumble in calmes Proud hearts discourse of patience but in stormes humble hearts exercise patience Philosophers have much commended it but in the houre of darknesse 't is onely the humble Christian that acts it I am afflicted sayes the humble soule but 't is mercy I am not destroyed I am fallen into the pit 't is free-grace I am not fallen into Hell God is too just to wrong me and too gratious to harme me and therefore I will be still and quiet let him doe what he will Isa 58. 1 2 3. with me sayes the humble soule But proud soules resist when they are resisted they strike when they are stricken Who is Non sic deos coluimus aut sic viximus ut ille nos vinceret said the Emperour An onius Philosophus the Lord sayes lofty Pharoah that I should obey him and Cain cryes out My punishment is greater then I am able to beare Well remember this though it be not easie in afflictions and tribulations to hold our peace yet 't is very advantagious which the Heathens seemed to intimate in placing the Image of Angeronia with the mouth bound upon the Altar of Volupia to shew that those that doe prudently and humbly conceale their sorrowes and anxieties by patience shall attaine comfort and refreshment The eleventh Property of an humble soule is this In all 11 Property John 14. 13. Ch. 15. 16. 16. 23 26. The name of Jesus hath a thousandtreasures of joy comfort in it saith Chrysostome And is therefore us'd by Paul five hundred times as some have reckoned Religious duties and services he trades with God upon the credit of Christ Lord sayes the humble soule I need power against such and such sins give it me upon the credit of Christs blood I need strength to such and such services give it me upon the credit of Christs word I need such and such mercies for the cheering refreshing quickening and strengthening of me give them into my bosome upon the credit of Christs intercession As a poore man lives and deales upon the credites of others so does an humble soule live and deale with God for the strengthening of every grace and for the supply of every mercy upon the credit of the Lord Jesus An humble soul knows that since he broke with God in Innocency God will trust him no more he will take his word no more and therefore when he goes to God for mercy he brings his Benjamin his Jesus in his armes and pleads for mercy upon
my selfe to differ to wit by the improvement of Nature This Age is full of such proud Monsters But an humble soule sees free grace to be the Spring and Fountaine of all his mercies and comforts he writes free Grace upon all his temporalls and upon all his spiritualls c. The Seventh Direction is Meditate much upon these two 7 Direction things First The great mischiefe that sinne hath done in the World It cast Angels out of Heaven and Adam out of Paradice it hath layen the first corner-stone in Hell and ushered in all the evils and miseries that be in the world It hath threw downe Abraham the best Believer in the world and Noah the most Righteous man in the world and Job the Uprightest man in the world and Moses the Meekest man in the world and Paul the greatest Apostle in the world Oh the Diseases the crosses the losses the miseries the deaths the hells that sin hath brought upon the world Bazill wept when he saw the Rose because it brought to to his mind the first sin from whence it had the prickles which it had not while man continued in Innocency as he thought Oh when he saw the prickles his soule wept So when we see heare or read of the blood misery warres and ruines that sin ha's brought upon us ler us weep and lye humble before the Lord. Secondly Mediate much on this That many wicked men Mat. 23. 15. take more paines to damne their soules and goe to Hell then thou doest to save thy soule and to get to Heaven Oh what paines doe wicked men take to damne their souls and goe to Hell Lanctantius saith of Lucian that he spared Such a mad Devil was Catalin neither God nor man He took paines to make himselfe twice told a Child of wrath It is said of Marcellus the Roman Generall That hee could not be quiet Nec victor nec victus neither Conquered nor Conquerour Such restlesse wretches are wicked men The Drunkard rises up in the morning and continues till Isa 5. 11. mid-night till wine inflame him The unclean person wasts his time and strength and estate and all to ruine his owne soule Theotimus being told by his Physitian that if he did not leave his lewd courses he would loose his sight answered Vale lumen amicum Then farewell sweet light What a deale of paines does the Worldling take He rises up early and goes to Bed late and leaves no stone unturn'd and all to make himselfe but the more miserable in the close Pambus in the Ecclesiasticall History wept when he saw a Harlot drest with much care and cost partly to see one Socrates Eccl. Hist l. 4. c. 28. take so much paines to goe to Hell and partly because he had not been so carefull to please God as shee had been to please a wanton lover Oh Sirs what reason have you to spend your dayes in weeping when you look abroad and see what paines most men take to damne their soules and goe to Hell and then consider what little paines you take to escape Hell to save your soules and goe to Heaven Eighthly Get more internall and experimentall knowledge 8 Direction and acquaintance with God If ever you would keep humble no knowledge humbles and abases like that which is inward and experimentall We live in dayes wherein there is abundance of notionall light many Professors know much of God notionally but know nothing of God experimentally They know God in the History but know nothing of God in the Mystery They know 'T is a sad thing to be often eating of the Tree of Knowledg but never to tast of the Tree of Life much of God in the letter but little or nothing of God in the spirit and therefore 't is that they are so proud and high in their owne conceits when as he that experimentally knowes the Lord is a Worme and no man in his owne eyes As the Sun is necessary to the world the eye to the body the Pilate to the Ship the Generall to the Army So is experimentall knowledge to the humbling of the soule Who more experimentall in their knowledge then David Job Isaiah and Paul And who more humble then these Worthies Seneca observed of the Philosophers That when they grew more learned they were lesse morall So a growth in notions will bring a great decay in humility and zeale as it 's too evident in these dayes Well remember this a drop of experimentall knowledge will more humble a man then a sea of notionall knowledge Ninthly Looke up to a crucified Christ for speciall power 9 Direction and strength against the pride of your hearts 'T is sad in these knowing times to think how few there are that know the right way of bringing under the power of any sin Most men scarce look so high as a crucified Christ for power against their powerfull sins One soule sits downe and complaines Such a Psal 10. 4. It was the the blood of the Sacrifice and the Oyle that cleansed the Leper in the Law and that by them was meant the blood of Christ and the grace of his Spirit is agreed by all lust haunts me I 'le pray it downe Another saith such a sin followes me and I 'le hear it downe or watch it downe or resolve it downe and so a crucified Christ is not in all their thoughts Not but that you are to hear pray watch and resolve against your sins but above all you should look to the acting of Faith upon a crucified Christ As he said of the sword of Goliah None like to that So I say none like to this for the bringing under the pride of mens hearts The weaker the House of Saul grew the stronger the House of David grew The weakning of your pride will be the increase and strengthening of your Humility and therefore what the King of Syria said unto his fifty Captaines Fight neither with small nor great but with the King of Israel So say I if you woulk keep humble if you would lye low draw forth your Artillery place your greatest strength against the pride of your soules The death of Pride will be the resurrection of Humility And that this may stick upon you I shall lay downe severall Propositions concerning Pride and I am so much the more willing to fall upon this work and to make it the subject of our discourse at this time because this horrid sin doth appeare so boldly and impudently and that not onely among prophane persons but Professors also There are ten Propositions that I shall lay downe concerning Pride And the first is this Of all sinnes Pride is most dangerous to the soules of Men. Pride is a sin that will put the soule upon the worst of sinnes Pride is a gilded misery a secret poyson a hidden plague 'T is the Ingeneere of deceipt the Mother of hypocrisie the Parent of envy the Moth of holinesse the
a treasure of rare abilities in them would as soon part with their hearts as their conceptions I think they are rather Monsters then reall Christians that are of such a spirit The third and last thing to which you are to improve your gifts and graces is To the benefit and profit of your own soules The good of the soule is specially to be minded 1 Because 't is the most Noble part of man 2 Because the Image of God is most fairly stampt upon it 3 Because it is first converted 4 Because it shall be first glorified Not to improve them to your owne internall and eternall good is with a high hand to crosse the maine end of Gods conferring them upon you Ah Christians you must improve them to the strengthening of you against temptations to the supporting of you under afflictions to the keeping under of strong corruptions to the sweetning of all mutations and to the preparing and fitting of you for the dayes of your dissolution I shall content my selfe with giving you this hint because I have before spoken more fully to this head And thus we have done with the Doctrinall part We shall come now to make some Use and Application of this Point to our selves If this be so That 't is the Duty of Christians to improve and exercise the gifts and graces that the Lord hath given them Then in the first place this looks very sowrely and wishly upon all lazie idle negligent Christians that doe not stir up themselves to lay hold on God that doe not stir up the grace of the Lord in them 'T is sad to consider how many Christians Cupid complained He could never â—asten upon the Muses because he could never find them idle No Christians so fâ—ee from Satans assaults as active Christians are nor none so tempâ—ed as idle Christians can stir up themselves to lay hold on all opportunities to make themselves great and rich in the world and yet suffer their golden gifts and graces even to grow rustie for want of exercise 'T is sad to see how busie many men are to exercise and improve a Talent of riches who yet bind up their Talents of gifts and grace in a Napkin By these God looses much honour and praise and themselves loose much comfort and content and others loose much profit and benefit and the Gospel looses much credit and glory But the maine Use that I shall make of this Point shall be To exhort and stir you all up to make a blessed improvement of your graces And indeed it is a Point of most singular use to us all our The Jewish Rabbins report That he same night that Israel de parted out of Aegypt towards Canaan all the Idols Idolatrou Temples in Aegypt by lightning and earth quakes were broken downe So when grace holinesse is set up in the heart all the Idols of Satan which are meâ—slust are throwne downe dayes a truth that is every day of very great concernment to our soules Now there are seven Considerations that I shall propound by way of Motive to stir up your soules to make a blessed improvement of the grace and gifts you have received And the first is this Seriously consider that the exercise and improvement of grace in your soules will be more and more the death and ruine of sin in your soules Take it from experience There is not a choycer way then this for a man to bring under the power of his sin then to keep up the exercise of his grace Sin and Grace are like two Buckets at a Well when one is up the other is downe They are like the two Lawrels at Rome when one flourishes the other withers Certainly the readiest and the surest way to bring under the power of sin is to be much in the exercise of grace Rom. 8. 10. And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousnesse The life and activity of Christ and grace in the soule is the death and destruction of sin in the soule The more grace acts in the soule the more sin withers and dyes in the soule the stronger the house of David grew 2 Sam. 3. the weaker the house of Saul grew As the house of David grew every day stronger and stronger so the house of Saul every day grew weaker and weaker So the activity of the new Mat. 21. 12 13 14. man is the death of the old man When Christ began to bestir himselfe in the Temple the money-changers quickly fled out So when grace is active and stirring in the soule corruption quickly flyes A man may find out many wayes to hide his sin but he will never find out any way to subdue his sin but by the exercise of grace Of all Christians none so mortified as those in whom grace is most exercised Sin is a Viper that must be kill'd or 't will kill you for ever and there is no way to kill it but by the exercise of grace Secondly Consider this by way of motive to provoke you Mat. 5. 16. The exercise of virtue will draw I ve from a mans very enemies Tilligny for his â—are virtues was reserved from death by his greatest enemies at the Mâ—ssacre of Paris as you may see in the French History in the life of Charls the Ninth to exercise and improve your Graces The exercise and improvement of your Graces will provoke others to blesse and admire the God of Grace Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your Father which is in heaven The light of your Conversation and the light of your graces Oh! how many thousand soules be there now triumphing in heaven whose gifts and graces shin'd gloriously when they were on earth and ah how many thousands are there now on earth that blesse and admire the Lord for the shine of their graces who are now in heaven That blesse the Lord for the Faith of Abraham and the Zeale of David and the Meeknesse of Moses and the Patience of Job and the Courage of Joshua c. Ah Christians as you would stirre up others to exalt the God of grace look to the exercise and improvement of your graces When poor servants shall live in a family and see the faith of a Master and the love of a Master and the wisedome of a Master and the patience of a Master and the humility of a Master c. shining like so many stars of heaven oh how doth it draw forth their hearts to blesse the Lord that ever they came into such a family 'T is not a profession of Religion but the exercise and improvement of grace that contributes so much to the lifting up of the glory of the Lord and to the greatning of his praise in the world Many Saints have had their hearts warmed and heated by siting by other Saints fire by eying and dwelling upon other Saints
stark naught lâ—ke the Monk in the Fable did his excellent spirit appear in that he was holy and humble in heart though high in place and worth c. Dan. 6. 3-7 Daniel keeps humble and holy when he is lifted high yea made the second man in the Kingdome Malice it selfe could not find any thing against him but in the matter of his God 'T is much to be very gracious when a man is very great and to be high in holinesse when advanc'd to high places usually mens blood rises with their outward good Certainly they are worthy ones and shall walk with Christ Rev. 3. 4. in white whose Garments are not defiled with greatnesse or riches c. Secondly They that have highly improved their graces will comply with those commands of God that crosse nature that are contrary to nature And doubtlesse that man ha's improv'd his graces to a very high rate whose heart complies with those Commands of God that are crosse and contrary to nature As for a man to love them that loath him Mat. 5. 44. They use to say If any man would have Mr. Fox doe him a good turne let him doe him an injury c. to blesse them that curse him to pray for them that persecute him c. 'T is nothing to love them that love us and to speak well of them that speak well of us and to doe well and carry it well towards them that carry it well towards us Oh! but for a man to love those that hate him to be courteous to them that are currish to him to be sweet to them that are bitter to him c. this strongly demonstrates a high improvement of grace Certainly that man is very very good who ha's learned that holy Lesson of overcoming evill with good Such a one was Stephen Acts 7. 55 ult Rom. 12. ult He was a man full of the holy Ghost That is of the Gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost he was much in the exercise of Grace he can pray and sigh for them yea even weepe teares of blood for them who rejoyced to shed his blood So did Christ weep over Jerusalem so did Titus so did Marcellus over Syracuse so did Scipio over Carthage but they shed teares for them whose blood they were to shed but Christ shed teares for them who were to shed his blood So Abraham being strong in faith gave glory to God How Rom. 4. why by complying with those commands of God that were very contrary to flesh and blood as the offering up of his Son his onely Son his beloved Son his Son of the Promise and by leaving his owne Countrey and his near and dear relations upon a word of Command The Commands of God so change the whole man and make him new that you can hardly know him to be the same man saith one Well Sirs Lactant. defalsa sapient lib. 3. cap. â—7 remember this 't is a dangerous thing to neglect one of his Commands though it be never so crosse to flesh and blood who by another is able to command you into nothing or into hell Let Luther hate me and in his wrath call me a thousand times Devill yet I will love him and acknowledge him to be a most precious servant of God saith Calvin c. Thirdly consider this Such soules will follow the Lord fully that have made an improvement of their graces Oh! this was the glorious commendations of Caleb and Joshua in Numb 14. 24. that They followed the Lord fully in the face of all difficulties and discouragements They had another spirit in them sayes the Text they would goe up and possesse the Land though the Walls were as high as Heaven and Veni vidi vici I came I saw I overcame said that Emperour the Sons of Anak were there they made no more of it then to goe see and conquer They followed the Lord fully In the Hebrew it is They fullfilled after me The Hebrew word is a metaphor taken from a Ship under saile that 's carried with a strong wind as fearing neither Sands nor Rocks nor Shelves c. Such have little if any thing of Christ within who follow him by halves or haltingly I remember Cyprian brings in the Devil triumphing over Christ thus As for my followers I never dyed for them as Christ did for his I never promised them so great reward as Christ hath done to his and yet I have more followers then he and they doe more for me then his doe for him O where is that spirit in these dayes that was upon those Worthies Psal 44. All this is come upon us yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsely in thy Covenant our heart is not turned backe neither have our steps declined from thy way though thou hast sore broken us in the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of death Fourthly Such soules that have improved their Graces to a considerable height will blesse God as well when he frowns as when he smiles As well when he takes as when he gives when he strikes as when he strokes as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margent together When the Lord had stript Job of all and had set him naked upon the dunghill why then Job 1. â—1 Levit. 10. 3. 2 Sam. 15. 25 26. Isa 63. 14 15. sayes Job The Lord gives and the Lord taketh away and blessed be the name of the Lord. Where Grace is improved to a considerable height it will work a soule to sit downe satisfied with the naked injoyment of God without other things John 14. 8. Shew us the father and it sufficieth us The sight Christus est mihi pro omnibus sayes a Christian as he said Plato est mihi pro omnibus of the father without honours the sight of the father without riches the sight of the father without mens favour will suffice the soule As Jacob said It is enough that Joseph is alive so sayes the soule that 's high in Grace 't is enough that Jesus is alive c. Fifthly Soules that have improved their Graces to a considerable height will be good in bad times and in bad places Such soules will bear up against the stream of evill examples in the worst of times and in the worst of places Abraham Though the Fishes live in the salt sea yet they are fresh So though soules eminently gracious live among the wicked yet they retaine their spiritualnesse freshnesse and liâ—e was righteous in Chaldea Lot was just in Sodome Daniel holy in Babylon Job upright and fearing God in the Land of Vz which was a prophane and most abominable superstitious place Nehemiah zealous in Damasco Oh take me a man that hath improved his grace and the worser the times are the better that man will be he will bear up bravely against the stream of evill examples he will be very good when times and all round