the power of every man to be his tormentor: If a poor man, a Mordecai, deny but his, cap or his knee, it makes Haman ftark fick and half mad1. All his honour and glory, and favour, went for nothing, fo long as Mordecai fat in the gate, and did him no reverence. Any small neglect or affront, any crofs in expectation, any little inconfiderable difappointment in what he fets his mind upon, diforders him even to distraction.

The other extreme is, bafenefs and fordidness of mind, which though it carries the fhadow of Humility, yet it is indeed quite another thing. And though fometimes, as in pride, fo in this of baseness of mind, the complexion and temperament may have an influence, yet it is moft commonly upon another account; namely, when a man is forlornly given over to the love of wealth or honour, or of bodily pleasures or lufts, this doth make him prostitute himself to any bafe fordid means, or compliances, to compafs and attain thofe ends: There is nothing fo bafe or unworthy, that fuch a man will not undertake or do, to the attainment of what he thus defigns; fuch are the base flattery of men in power, ugly compliance with their humours, though moft naufeous and unfavory; creeping and cringing even almost to adoration of them; making pitiful addresses to their meaneft dependants, even as low as pages and footboys, performing the most unwarrantable offices for them; and many times an external difguife; a fhape of lowlinefs and humility in gefture, fhape, habits and deportment, till they can attain their ends; like the monk, that was always looking upon the earth in a fhape of humility, till he was chofen abbot, and then changed his figure, and being queftioned for his fudden change by one of his convent, answered, in his former posture he was only looking for the keys of the abbey, but now he had found them he needed not the former posture.

And this bafenefs of mind is many times also the

VOL. I.

I Esth. v. 13.

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effect of the fear of men, which many times works fo much upon the mind, that it carries men to base and unworthy compliances.

But true Humility is a virtue and temper of mind of another nature, and arifing from better principles. It is a lowly frame and habit of fpirit arifing from the due fense of the glorious excellency of the Almighty God, and our own frailty and infirmities, and our infinite dependence upon his bounty, goodness, mercy, whereby we are under a conftant, firm and found conviction, that all that is in us, or that is enjoyed, or can be expected by us, is from the free undeserved liberality of that glorious God.

And

So that although, poffibly, the help of complexion, and conftitution, and education, may be contributory to the more eafy acqueft and exercise of this virtue, yet it is in itself the effect of a mind truly and foundly principled. The fpirit of a found mind 2. this Humility of the mind is not barely in the external habit or counterfeited deportment; many times a cynical, intollerable pride is cloathed with the mantle of humility: but principally it is rooted in the very mind itself, and for the moft evidenceth its being there by these enfuing particulars.

1. A moft awful and fincere reverence of the great and glorious God; an habitual proftration of our fouls always before him, as the great and glorious Sovereign of heaven and earth, in whofe prefence we always are, and to whom we owe an infinite fubjection and dependence.

2. A moft high and conftant gratitude and thankfulness of heart and foul to him, for all the good we have in us, or that is or can be enjoyed by us; recognizing him, as the giver of our being, of our faculties, our abilities, and ftrength of mind and body, our wealth, our honour, our comforts, our hopes and expectations; that he is not only the giver ' acquisition.

22 Tim. i. 7.

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of them, but the Sovereign Lord of them, and may resume them when he pleaseth.

3. And confequently upon this, that we owe to that great and Sovereign Lord a due employment of all, that he hath thus given us, to his glory and fervice; and that we must therefore be accountable for them, to him who is our great Lord, Proprietor, and Mafter.

4. A conftant vigilance and attention of mind upon all our thoughts, words and actions; but efpecially left we forget that habitude of mind that we thus owe to Almighty God, and left pride, arrogancy, vanity, vain-glory fteal in upon us; checking and plucking up the first ebullitions and rifings, the firft buds and motions thereof.

5. Which is but the confequence of the former, a fober opinion concerning ourselves, and all we do, and fay; not thinking of ourselves above what we ought to think and fince felf-love fo naturally adheres to us, to be very jealous of ourfelves; efpecially in those actions that are good, or that meet with fome applaufe in the world; left we either value them too high, or overvalue ourselves by reafon of them; or left we are fhort in giving to Almighty God that honour that is due to him, and to him only, for them.

6. A diligent, and impartial, and frequent confideration and examination, and animadverfion of, and upon our defects and failings; for these, and these only are truly and properly our own. There are a fort of artificial pictures, that if a man look upon them one way, they reprefent fome beautiful comely perfon; but if we look upon them another way, they reprefent fome deformed or mishapen monster; our own partiality to ourselves prompts us to look upon the picture of our lives and actions, in tnat position or posture that renders nothing but beautiful and virtuous; and we have feldom the patience to look upon it, in that pofition that may render our deformities and vices: and thereupon we give ourselves the denomination accordingly of good and virtuous, and either do not observe,

or do not confider our own failings and defects. If we did as well confider our fins which we commit, as the duties which we perform: and if in the confideration of our duties, we did but confider how much more of our duties, we omit than we perform; and in the duties we perform, if we did confider how much deadness, formality, hypocrify, vain-glory, self-seeking, and other unhandfome ingredients were mingled with them; and should lay our fins, our omiffions, our defects in one scale, and that which were really and truly duty and good, and worthy in another scale, the best of mankind would foon find that which was truly good, in the whole course of his life, were a pitiful, flender fcantlet, and would be infinitely outweighed by his fins, omiffions and defects; and the due comparison and profpect of this, would quickly give him a lecture of humility; the good we do, would indeed make us thankful, but the good we omit, the evil we commit, and the deficiencies of our duties, would make us humble.

7. Charitable opinions of the perfons of others, as far as poffibly may be. It is true, that neither religion, nor charity, commands, or allows any man to fay or think that that which is in itself a fin, is not fo; as that drunkenness, or whoredom, or pride, or vain-glory, are not fins; the law of God, and the law of nature tell us they are fins. But an humble man fenfible of his own fins and failings, will not prefently be over cenforious of perfons, or pronounce them reprobates, or men wholly deftitute of the hope of falvation; but will pity their failings and backflidings; but yet not exterminate them from heaven: And therein there , must be duly confidered the difference between a private perfon and a public perfon, whether minifter or magif trate; the former, namely, a private person, humility muft teach him compaffion, charitablenefs, gentleness; but the latter, being intrufted in a public miniftration or office, doth alterius vices agere, his perfonal humi

transact the business of another.

lity, as a private perfon, must teach him to be charitable, but yet not to be remifs or unfaithful in the exercife of his office.

The farther confideration of the principles and companions of Humility will appear in the confideration of the fruits, and advantages and benefits of true Humility.

And these I fhall reduce to thefe three relations; 1. In relation to Almighty God; 2. In relation to the humble person himself; 3. In relation to others. It is true that all virtues, if they be true and real, have a connexion one with another; they are never fingle; for the fame principle that begetteth one, begetteth all the reft, and habituates, and influenceth the foul in all its motions; but especially this virtue of humility, when it is genuine and true, is ever accompanied with all thofe excellent habits and graces, that perfect the foul; as the fear and love of God; obedience to him; dependence on him; beneficence and charity to mankind, and the like. But yet in the purfuit of the fruits and advantages of humility, I fhall apply myself to fuch as do moft naturally, and with a kind of fpecial reason and approbation belong to, or flow from this virtue as fuch, and as do especially belong to its nature in a kind of abstract confideration.

I. Therefore, in relation to Almighty God, the humble man hath in a special manner thefe two great advantages. 1. He receives grace, or favour, or honour from God. 2. He receives direction, guidance and counsel from God. Both which are fingularly promised, and by a kind of suitablenefs and congruity, conferred by Almighty God upon an humble foul.

Firft, favour, bonour, and grace from God, is a fpecial portion of the humble man. The wife man tells us here, He gives grace to the humble. And although grace is a comprehenfive word, and includes in itself, not only favour and acceptance with God; but alfo thofe other acceffions of the gifts of his bounty and goodness, which come from this great giver of every perfect gift, as wisdom, peace, righteouf

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