he is a God of infinite wifdom, and placeth his best benefits where they will be belt received and used. 2. It seems to hold congruity and proportion with the very courfe and nature of things natural: the divine benignity is much inore diffufive than the light, the air, the most communicable element in the world, and filleth every thing according to its meature and capacity of reception: 'tis that which communicateth itself to vegetables in life and vegetation, but not in fenfe, because not receptive of it; te animals in life and sense, but not in reafon or understanding, because not receptive of it; to men in life, sense, and understanding, that is common to the whole fpecies; and if they have but room in them for it, and do not wilfully thrust it from them, in grace alfo, and favour, and acceptation in the bettering and improving of their fouls in the influences of his love, direction, and guidance: and fuch a veffel is the humble foul, empty of pride, selfattribution, vain-glory; one that is glad of fuch guests, as the grace, and favour, and acceptance of God, hath room for them in his heart, and so becomes a fit tabernacle for the influence of that God, that revives the spirits of the humble, Ifa. lvii. 15.

And here, by the benignity and favour of God, I do not mean the heaping of temporal honours, or wealth upon men; these are but small inconfiderable things, fuch as are common to the proud, and many times denied to the humble. But they have a better exchange; namely, peace with God, inward testimonies of his favour, fecret indications of his love, directions and instructions by the fecret whispers and intimations of his Spirit, quietness and tranquility of mind, and pledges of immortality and happiness, those

-Animi bona, fanctofque receffus

Mentis, & incoctum generofo pectus bonefto.

And these are things of a far greater value than external wealth and honour; and as far before them, as the mind and foul itself is. But of this more in the next.

2. The fecond great advantage of the humble foul is, that he shall be fure of direction and guidance, and counfel, from the best of Counsellors, the glorious God of wifdom, Pfal. xxv. 9. "The meek will he guide in judg

"ment;

"ment; the meek will he teach his way." Meekness and humility are but the fame thing under different names.

And this guidance and direction of almighty God is of two kinds, in relation to a double end. 1. Guidance and direction in relation to his everlasting end, the falvation and happiness of the foul; namely, what he is to believe, and know, and do, in order to that greatest and molt important end. And therefore it is obfervable, that although the mystery of the gospel of Christ Jefus, the common instrument of the falvation of mankind, is the most wife and profound defign and mystery, and of the greateft importance that ever the world was acquainted with; yet the most wife and most glorious God, did veil and drefs that great and glorious mystery quite contrary to the wisdom and grandeur of the world; infomuch that to the most knowing people of the world, and that were full of their own knowlege, the Jews, it became a ftumbling block; and to the Greeks, the most learned and wife people in the world, and that were full of the fenfe of their own wisdom and learning, it was accounted foolishness, 1 Cor. i. 21. "After that, by wifdom the world knew "not God, it pleased him by the foolishness of preach"ing;" namely, of the things preached, Christ crucified," to fave them that believe." And according ly in the primitive times it fucceeded accordingly, the wife rabbies of the Jews, and the learned philosophers of the Gentiles, for the most part derided or rejected it. Not many wife, not many mighty entertained it; for the wifdom of God ordered the wisdom and mystery of the gofpel, quite counter to that wisdom that was in vogue in the world. And we now fee the reason why it was fitly and wifely fo defigned, for it was defigned to thwart, and crofs, and confound that corrupt wisdom of the world, which had before corrupted it; the world by wisdom knew not God. But on the contrary, the meek and humble, and lowly minds, and fuch were fome learned, as well as unlearned, these received the gospel: "The poor receiv"ed the gofpel; the poor in fpirit, lowly, meek," Mark x. 15. "He that receiveth not the kingdom of God as a • little child, fhall in no wise enter into it.” It was fitted, and ordered, and modelled in fuch a dress, and fuch

a me

a method, that it was fuitable to the reception of fuck fouls, and none but fuch were receptive of it.

Again, 2. Humility difpofeth the glorious God to give, and the humble mind to receive direction and guidance in all the walk and concern of this life. A proud heart ordinarily disdaineth and undervalueth all other wisdom but his own, and all other counfel but fuch as fuits with his own wisdom: and therefore the glorious God most commonly croffeth or difappointeth him, or leaves him to the headiness and mifery of his own counfels, and to eat the bitter fruit of his own rafhnefs or folly. For, what ever the blind men of the world think, the actions of men and their fucceffes are under the regiment of the divine will and providence; and it is no wonder if he, that invifibly governs the events of the world, takes the wife in their own craftinefs, and mingles giddinefs and disappointment in their counfels, and breaks the thread of all their contrivances; for he hath a thousand ways with ease and facility to do it. We may every day fee, what small intervention quité fhatters, and disorders, and overturns the most politick, fubtle, fecret, and well-laid defign's in the world; fo that in one moment, a pitiful fmall unexpected occurrence wholly breaks in pieces a defign of men laid together with long deliberation and forecast; with huge profpect and precaution of difficulties; with great referves and preparations against all imaginable obftacles; with all the advantages of fecrecy, power, combination of parties, connexion and contignation of fubfidiary aids; and yet one poor unthought of accident cracks in funder, and breaks all to shivers, the whole elaborate machine; so that in a moment the shivers thereof lye all broken and disjointed like a potsherd dafh'd against a wall; or the whole contrivance disappears like the fabulous enchanted caftles.

But on the other fide, an humble man leans not to his own understanding; he is fenfible of the deficiency of his own power and wifdom, and trufts not in it; he is alfo fenfible of the all fufficient power, wisdom, and goodness of almighty God, and commits himself to him for counfel, guidance, direction, and ftrength. It is natural for any man or thing, that is fenfible of his own deficiency, to feek out after that which may be a fupport and ftrength to him; and as almighty God is effentially good and per

fect,

fect, fo he is (if I may use the expreffion) most naturally communicative of it, to any that feek unto him for it in humility and fincerity.

*

The air doth not more naturally yield to our attraction in refpiration, or to infinuate itself into those spaces that are receptive of it, than the divine assistance, guidance, and beneficence, doth to the defire and exigencies and wants of an humble foul, fenfible of its own emptinefs and deficiency, and imploring the direction, guidance, and bleffing of the most wife and bountiful God. I can call my own experience to witnefs, that even in the external actions, occurrences, and incidencies of my whole life, I was never disappointed of the best guidance and direction, when in humility and fenfe of my own deficiency and diffidence of my own ability to direct myself, or to grapple with the difficulties of my life, I have, with humility and fincerity, implored the fecret direction and guidance of the divine wisdom and providence: and I dare therein appeal to the vigilant and strict observation of any man's experience, whether he hath not found the fame experience, in relation to himself, and his own actions and fucceffes, and whether thofe counfels and purposes which have been taken up after an humble invocation of the divine direction, have not been always most successful in the end.

IH. And as humility is of admirable use, in relation to the glorious God, and the effluxes of his bleffing and direction; fo it is of fingular advantage, in relation to the humble man himself, as may appear in these enfuing confiderations.

1. Humility keeps the foul in great evennefs and tranquillity. The truth is, that the ftorms and tempefts and diforders of the foul do not fo much, if at all, arife from the things without us, as from the paffions and distempers of the foul itfelf, efpecially that of pride and haughtinefs, which, as the wife man fays, Prov. xiii. 10. "is "the mother of contention, " and that within the very foul itself; as, without, it is that which blows VOL. I.

B b

up

the

paflions

V. Antonin. lib. viii. fect. 45. Haud minus vis intellectrix ubique circumfufa eft, & omni qui trahere poteft fe ingerit, quam communis hic aer omni fpirare volenti.

paffions of anger, and revenge, and envy, and hatred, and impatience, and ambition, and vain-glory; and from hence it is, that the paffions do rage, and fwell, and roul one upon another like the fea troubled with a storm. What is it, that upon any difgrace, or difrepute, or affront put upon a man, makes him vex himself, even to death, that he hath not leifure fcarce for one quiet or composed thought? What is it that makes him jealous of another man's advancement; that makes him hate and envy another that hath attained greater dignity than himfelf; that makes his thoughts and endeavours reflefs, till he get to be greater or richer than others; and yet when he hath attained, not refting in it, but ftill afpiring higher; that fills him with fears, and torturing cares, left he fhould either mifs what he aims at, or lose what he hath attained; that fills him with revenge against all that oppose him, or ftand in his way; with impatience under any crofs or disappointment, many times almost to the extremity of madness and frenzy; that makes him unquiet and difcontented with his present condition, and raiseth a thoufand fuch diforders and difcompofures in the minds of men? All these are most plainly refolvable into this curfed diftemper of pride and haughtiness of mind, as might moft evidenly be made out to any that will but trace back thefe diforders unto their root and original; and certainly therefore, the ftate of fuch a man's mind muft needs be marvellous diforderly, and unhappy.

But humility cures this disease, this fever of the mind; keeps the paffions cool and calm, and quiet, and low, and keeps them under hourly discipline, throws cold water upon them. Have I received an affront, a disgrace with great men, contempt from my equal or inferior, reproach and fcandal, difappointment in my expectation of fome external advantage? Am I like to be turned out of office, to be made poor, or the like? I have two confideations, that keep me fill in an equal temper, and that filence all thofe paffions which presently in a proud man would be all on fire, and in a hurly burly. I. " I know "that those things come not without the divine commif"fion, or at leaft permiffion; and fhall I not quietly fub"mit to the will of my great fovereign Lord, to whom

Lowe myself, and whofe will I pray daily may be done?"