in the Scale of Causes to the Original and Fountain of its Being which is that which we use to call by the name of God in which as being the first the most eminent and most transcendent Cause it discerns so much Excellence so vast unbounded and unlimited Perfection that though there be enough and to spare of other things that may be sufficient to abase and humble wise Men as the narrowness of our knowledge when it is the most improved the dulness and inactivity of our Minds when they are the most attentive and erect the scantiness of our Memories when they are the most comprehensive the shortness of our Lives at the utmost extremity of that which we call Old Age the craziness of those Bodies which we carry about us when they are at the strongest the Diseases and casualties to which they are exposed the uncertainty of our Fortunes when they are at the highest the satiating nature and quality of our Enjoyments when they continue firm and constant to us as we before experiment would have wish'd and pray'd they might be the fickleness of Friendship the mutability of Interest the decays of Youth and Beauty the dependency and obnoxiousness of all Earthly Things yet these are but small diminutions of our selves they create but a low degree of Humility and Abhorrence in us in comparison of what unavoidably results from the consideration of God and his infinite Perfection his immense Power his incomprehensible Wisdom his never failing Goodness his impartial and unbiass'd Justice his manifest and yet mysterious Omnipresence then we loath and abhor our selves in Dust and Ashes we are fill'd with a fastidious Aversion and Dislike we vanish away in Smoak we shrink and shrivel into nothing we are not so much as a drop to the Atlantique as an Atome to the Body of the Sun or to the whole circumference of liquid aether in which he performs his daily and yearly Motion we are metamorphos'd out of Men to Worms and out of Worms we are transform'd to Insects and when we consider the Heavens the work of his Fingers the Moon and the Stars which he hath ordained it is natural for us to cry out with the Royal Poet who in this was not guilty of Poetique Licence Lord what is Man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of Man that thou hast regard unto him We may consider this Universe under the notion of an inverted Pyramid of which the humble Man is the terminating Point and the divine Perfections are the inverted Basis and the Lines that are drawn between these two from the bottom to the top grow still more wide and distant from each other as they ascend higher in their Progress to the top so that the humble Mans Contemplations begin at himself and from himself they ascend upward thorough all the several Orders of created Beings till he comes to the great Source and Original of all things wherein all their several Beauties and Perfections are transcendently contained and still the higher he goes the more humble he is because he discerns the more upon a just comparison the littleness of himself but in the divine Nature he is swallowed up with astonishment and wonder there is so vast and infinite a Prospect before him he is like a small crany to a vast Circumference though the one may be seen and observed through the other and he discovers the divine Attributes full of excellence and brightness and is ravisht with the Sense and Contemplation of them though he cannot see God as he is in himself in his true Latitude and just Extent like the Image of some large and spacious Object contracted into Miniature in which all the Parts and Lineaments appear but not in their natural and true dimensions And still the more he Contemplates the Wiser he grows and the more he Despiseth himself in comparison of that Excellence he converses with the nigher he approaches in perfection to it But with the Proud Man it is clean otherwise it is true he begins with himself as well as the other but then he ends in himself too his prospect is not upwards towards Heaven but downwards towards the Earth and he sits at the top of that short inverted Pyramid of which himself is the Basis and the broadest part so that he converses with nothing but what is either less than himself or what he imagins to be so for no Man certainly can be Proud of the Comparison when he thinks himself Conversant with a Nobler Object so that it is exactly true of the Proud Haughty and Assuming Man what David saith in general of the Wicked that he hath not God in all his thoughts and that though Pride and Ignorance be not convertible terms for a Man may be Ignorant that is not Proud yet Pride is certainly nothing else but an effect of Ignorance of want of Consideration want of Skill and Judgment in the true Rate and Value of things Again It is not only true that this admirable Grace and Vertue of Humility hath its firmest Root and it 's most powerful Cause in the contemplation of the Divine Nature which is the most excellent Object we can converse with but the Psalmist tells us expresly speaking of God himself that he Humbleth himself to behold the things that are in Heaven and Earth From the rising of the Sun saith he unto the going down of the same the Lords Name is to be Praised the Lord is high above all Nations and his Glory above the Heavens who is like unto the Lord our God who dwelleth on High and yet Humbleth himself to behold the things that are in Heaven and Earth Not that God who is the First mover and the only Supream and Self-existent Nature can in propriety be said to be an Humble or an Abject being but that he is invested in a most eminent manner with all those gentle inclinations to Pity and Compassion which are the Natural consequents of Humility among Men he is kind and gracious slow to anger and easie to be entreated and his Mercy is over all his works his Power is allay'd and tempered by his Goodness and his Justice is blended by his Mercy and his great Mind is thoughtful with the Cares of the Universe which is his perpetual Charge and a Charge which cannot be managed by an Affected and Proud which is a disturbance to it self and would hinder the due administration of so vast a Government but by a Sedate Quiet and Serene Mind which is not more requisite to the Government of the World than to the happyness of the Governor himself who in order to his being infinitely perfect as he certainly is as being the cause of all things and containing all Created Perfection within himself must in the First place be supposed to be necessarily Existent for Existence is the root of all other Perfections and in the next to be infinitely Happy and perfectly at Ease for where there is no Happyness
THE PRAISE OF HUMILITY A SERMON PREACHED Upon the 20th of March 1687. BEING Palm-Sunday AT The Guild-Hall-Chappel London By JOHN TVRNER Hospitaller of St. Thomas Southwark LONDON Printed and are to be Sold by Randal Taylor near Stationers-Hall 1687. To the Right Honorable and my singular Good Lord George Lord Jeffries Baron of Wem Lord High Chancellor of England and one of His Majesties most Honorable Privy Council c. My Lord THis Sermon which for the great seasonableness of the Subject of it I think it my Duty to Publish at this time it being Preached as it fell out but just the day before His Majesty was pleased to signifie His Gracious Resolution to allow Liberty of Conscience to all his loving Subjects of what Denomination soever I do humbly beseech your Lordship to Accept and Patronize as you do the Author and give me leave at once to pay a very small and inconsiderable Acknowledgment for many the most signal and obliging Favors and to shelter so lovel y so useful and so excellent a Vertue under the shady Patronage of so great a Person whose Name and Authority will at the same time render it more Charming to its Friends and make it appear so formidable to its Enemies that it will constrain and force them into its own resemblance and cause them to Abase and Humble themselves before it But besides the plain suitableness of the Discourse to the Juncture Humility and Charity being the only expedients that can make Liberty safe or Toleration a tolerable thing by preventing those Quarrels and Animosities that arise from different sentiments in Religious matters Besides my own particular and personal Obligations which I cannot think of without shame when I consider how little I deserve them there is also a Congruity in the Subject of my Sermon to your Lordships Person which seems to me to challenge and single you out for a Patron without asking any leave but from the Nature of things I mean those Natural effects of this incomparable Vertue which I have recommended which flow so easily so unaffectedly from you with so much Beauty and Brightness with so much Strength and Vigor and with so constant and uninterrupted a Stream in the sweetness and affability of your Conversation even among your Inferiors and Dependants in the easiness of Access in the midst of so much Greatness the Quickness the Justice the Sagacity of dispatch in so importunate a crowd of Business all which would be certain and infallible Indications at once of a Generous and Composed Mind a Great and Lofty and yet an Humble Spirit though they were not as they are attended with a peculiar proneness to Forgive the most implacable and mortal Enemies of which your Lordship hath given such convincing Proofts that this alone might be sufficient with out that universal Merit which even Envy and Detraction cannot help allowing you to recommend you Powerfully to the Favor of a Prince in whom Mercy is Hereditary and Majesty is by Nature temper'd with Pity and Compassion to render it more easie and familiar to his People But there is likewise the Justice and Integrity the Constancy and Courage the Diligence and Assiduity the Wisdom and the Conduâ—t of your Actions that have concurr'd and club'd with a kind and obliging Temper to render you truly Great and make you an Object worthy the Esteem of two the most Judicious and Discerning Kings that ever sat upon the English Throne And my Lord it is another genuine Effect of that admirable Vertue which is the Glorious Theme of the ensuing Papers that it makes its way to Greatness as your Lordship hath done not by Popularity and mischievous Intrigues to the Danger if not Ruin of the publick Peace but only by just Actions and honorable Designs and like your Great Master whom Providence had a mind to shew how much it loved by the Protection of a weakly Bark when the Royal Oak was unable to defend Him you Ventured Suffered and Escaped a Shipwreck and made a costly Sacrifice of your Hopes and Fortunes to the publick Good before your entrance upon that Scene of Honor in which you now shine with so much the greater Brightness for having first suffered so Glorious an Eclipse by this means shewing at once the difference betwixt your Enemies and you and verifying our Saviours never failing Promise to all his Faithful Followers and Disciples that whosoever Exalteth himself by Base Dishonorable and Vnworthy Means the same shall be Abased and he that Humbleth himself shall be Exalted For Humility my Lord is the true way to Greatness it is not a Poltron and a sneaking Disposition as its Name may seem unjustly to Insinuate but it implies Magnanimity and Courage at the same time by looking backward upon God and inwards upon it Self and forwards upon the Hope and Expectation of a future Life it acquires an habitual Sense and Sympathy of Human Frailty a Pity and Compassion for Human want and necessity an universal Candor Integrity and Ingenuity in all its Words and Actions and Designes a warm inclination to promote the good of its Country and the happiness of Mankind an admiration of God and a desire to be like him and a scorn of every thing that is unhandsome or unjust It cannot revenge its own wrongs upon the Public it cannot embarrass or embroil the World upon a principle of Private Interest it cannot climb to Greatness upon the ruins of Justice though it would never so fain but it still meets with something that pulls it strongly back and rewards all Ambition with regret and pain but what is noble and useful and serviceable to the World and is an Instinct of the Divinity in Human Nature to prompt it when fair Opportunities present themselves to great Atchievements and generous Vndertakings it Ascends by the Steps of Chancery into the Temple of Honor and from the Pinacle of that lofty Structure it Surveys the whole Extent and Circumference of things and will not fall down to Worship a mean design to Purchase all the Prospect that it Views But my Lord I grow troublesome with too much length and therefore if what I have said may not be allow'd to be Apology sufficient for the hardiness of this Address I shall only beg that what I cannot Justifie you would please to Pardon and with my Prayers to God for your Lordships Health and Happiness and encrease of Honor I am may it it please your Lordship Your Lordships most Humble Grateful and Obedient Servant John Turner The Collect for Palm-Sunday ALmighty and Everlasting God who of thy tender Love towards Mankind hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our Flesh and to suffer Death upon the Cross that all Mankind should follow the Example of his great Humility Mercifully grant that we may both follow the Example of his Patience and also be made partakers of his Resurrection through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Matth. 5. 3.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven IN this and the two following Chapters which contain our Saviours admirable Sermon upon the Mount to his Disciples there is drawn as it were in little the lively Portraiture of a Christian Man in all his Conversation so that if we could once prevail upon our selves frail and disobedient Creatures as we are to live up to the height and perfection of those Rules which are here prescribed and laid down there could be nothing wanting to make us absolutely and compleatly happy both in Body and Soul. For if we Survey this whole Discourse tho but with a careless and superficial Eye yet it will be easie to perceive at first sight that it is exactly Calculated for the happiness of Mankind to render us the most pleasant and contented within our selves the most secure from any fear and danger from without and to procure us the mutual Favor and Assistance of each other in all our honest designs and undertakings To demonstrate this in all the several instances so plainly and so particularly as it might and as it ought to be done the more effectually to shew the manifest usefulness and tendency of them all to ennoble and improve our Natures and to make us as Wise as Healthful and as Happy as we are severally capable of being is not the business of a single Sermon but of a large Elaborate and Comprehensive Volume wherein Religion and Philosophy may have room enough to stretch themselves at length and appear in their full Magnitude and Just Proportion therefore I shall content my self at present without launching out into so large a Field where every new Fruit and Flower will afford us a plentiful Entertainment by it self to confine my self within a much narrower compass by devoting my whole Discourse to the consideration of one Subject and laying the single Charms of Humility before you Humility that Vertue which we so much want Humility the Queen of Heaven and Earth the fair and Majestick Sovereign of all Christian Graces to which the first Beatitude was deservedly vouchsafed to which as being the Corner-stone of Wisdom the Bottom and Foundation of all other Virtuous and Goodly dispositions of Mind the promise of both Worlds is annex't as it's reward Blessed are the Poor in Spirit saith our Saviour for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven and then again v. 5. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth That is Humility is such a disposition of Mind as is naturally fitted to give us the truest enjoyment of this Life and to prepare us the most effectually for that which is to come It consists in having a sober and modest Opinion of our selves and in this it is opposed to that Arrogant and Swelling Humor which is a manifest detraction from all those Vertues or Excellencies whatsoever they be which it pretends to vaunt it self upon It is likewise accompanied with such a kind and charitable Opinion of others as hath a natural tendency to make all the World our Friends and it hath this peculiar Excellency in it that it throws a Veil which no Man will be forward or desirous to uncover over all the Frailties Infirmities or Imperfections of Men and to all their Accomplishments Endowments and Perfections it gives an additional Brightness and Lustre it makes them appear more Shining and more Charming more Beautiful and Lovely more Inviteing and Attracting more worthy of Praise because they do not affect it more apt to be discovered and laid open with advantage to the publick View and to the light of the World because they do not offer and obtrude themselves upon it with a prostitute Sollicitation but with a Virgin Modesty and Shame they strive to withdraw and to conceal themselves and thus it is true likewise in the course of Nature as well as in that of Providence that God resisteth the Proud but giveth Grace to the Humble that is that Pride is a natural Obstruction to it self but Humility hath natural Charms to recommend it It does with respect to our selves what Love and Charity are said to do with reference to others it covers a multitude of Frailties and Offences and if there be any thing Excellent or Praiseworthy in us it sets it off with a new accession of Beauty and Advantage Humility is such a disposition of Mind whose very Nature consists in a certain pleasant Calmness and Serenity of Spirit which is the best fitted to enjoy it felf without which no Moral Vertue or Christian Grace can have it's perfect work in our Hearts but it will be ruffled and discomposed by the disorder of Passions and the uneasie turbulence of immoderate desires It is the proper temper and constitution of a Wise Man who being still and quiet and sedate within himself is the better enabled to make a true judgment and a right advantage of all other things and persons round about him It is such a Vertue that as it is the best way to advance us and to bring us to a Flourishing and Prosperous condition so it makes that Prosperity safe and unenvy'd it carries along with it the good Wishes and Prayers of all we converse with and all that have any knowledge of us that it may continue and if any affliction or calamity happen to overtake us it will be sure to supply us with Pity and Relief from without and within it will furnish us with Patience and Submission to the Will of God which are a comparative Remedy to the worst of Evils It is the most certain and unquestionable expedient of the utmost happiness in this Life and it is not only a condition of but also a necessary preparation to the Enjoyment and Glory of the other But on the contrary if instead of this instead of enjoying Meekness and Poverty of Spirit which is indeed the only true Greatness and Magnanimity of it our Saviour had taught his Disciples after another manner be ye Insolent and Proud be ye Haughty and Assuming Arrogant and Overweening Vaunters of your selves and Despisers of others I need not say what Horrid what Dismal what Deplorable Effects the universal practice of such a Doctrin as this would have brought upon the World it would have Unhinged the whole Frame and Order of things and turned the World again into a Chaos more confused than that out of which by the kind and harmonious disposition of the Divine Nature it was at first produced and if to so Destructive so Baneful so Pernicious a Temper he had annexed the same promise which he hath done to Meekness for they that are thus affected shall Inherit the Earth it would have been a plain sign he did not understand the natural consequence of his own Doctrin which can have no other possible issue or result where it is universally practiced but only to bring the World into confusion to chafe it with perpetual Strife Animosity and Contention to involve it in Blood and