it ought, and as the laws of nature still do their duty, that he has no caufe to complain against them.

If disappointed of riches-he knows the providence of God is not his debtor; that though he has received lefs than others, yet as he thinks himself less than the least, he has reason to be thankful.

If the world goes untoward with the humble man, in other refpects,-he knows a truth which the proud man does never acknowlege, and that is, that the world was not made for him; and therefor how little fhare foever he has of its advantages, he fees an argument of content, in reflecting how little it is, that a compound of fin, of ignorance and frailty, has grounds to expect.

A foul, thus turned and refigned, is carried smoothly down the stream of providence; no temptations in his paffage difquiet him with defire, no dangers alarm him with fear: though open to all the changes and chances of others,-yet by feeing the justice of what hap pens, and humbly giving way to the blow,

though he is fmitten, he is not fmitten like other men, or feels the smart which they do. Thus much for the doctrine of Humility; let us now look towards the example of it.

It is obferved by fome one, that as pride was the paffion through which fin and mifery entered into the world, and gave our enemy the triumph of ruining our nature, that therefor the Son of God who came to feek and to fave that which was loft, when he entered upon the work of our restoration, he began at the very point where he knew we had failed; and this he did by endeavouring to bring the foul of man back to it's original temper of Humility; fo that his first public addrefs from the Mount began with a declaration of bleffedness to the poor in fpirit,and almost his last exhortation in the text, was to copy the fair original he had fet them of this virtue, and to learn of him to be meek and lowly in heart.

It is the most unanswerable appeal that can be made to the heart of man,-and fo perfuafive and accommodated to all Christians, that as much pride as there is still in the world, it is not credible but that every believer must receive

fome tincture of the character or bias towards it from the example of so great and yet so humble a Mafter, whose whole courfe of life was a particular lecture to this one virtue; and in every inftance of it fhewed, that he came not to fhare the pride and glories of life, or swell the hopes of ambitious followers, but to caft a damp upon them for ever, by appearing himself rather as a fervant than a master,-coming as he continually declared, not to be ministered unto, but to minifter; and as the Prophet had foretold in that mournful description of him,-to have no form, or comeliness, nor any beauty that they fhould defire him. The voluntary meanness of his birth, the poverty of his life, the low offices in which it was engaged, in preaching the gospel to the poor,-the incon. veniences which attended the execution of it, in having no where to lay his head,-all spoke the fame language; that the God of truth fhould fubmit to the fufpicion of an imposture: -his humble deportmeut under that, and a thoufand provocations of a thankless people, ftill raises his character higher; and what exalts it to its highest pitch,-the tender and pathec

proof he gave of the fame difpofition at the conclufion and great catastrophe of his fuffering,

-when a life full of fo many inftances of humility was crowned with the most endearing one of humbling himself even to the death of the cross;—the death of a slave,—a malefactor,— dragged to Calvary without oppofition,--infulted without complaint.

-Bleffed Jesus! how can the man who calls upon thy name, but learn of thee to be meek and lowly in heart?how can he but profit when fuch a leffon was feconded by fuch an example!

If humility fhines fo bright in the character of Chrift, fo does it in that of his religion; the true fpirit of which tends all the fame way.Chriftianity, when rightly explained. and practifed, is all meeknefs and candour, and love and courtefy; and there is no one paffion our Saviour rebukes so often, with so much sharpness, as that one, which is fubverfive of these kind effects,-and that is pride, which in proportion as it governs us, neceffarily leads us on to a discourteous opinion

or

and treatment of others.- -I fay neceffarily,because it is a natural confequence, and the pro. grefs from the one to the other is unavoidable. This our Saviour often remarks in the cha racter of the Pharifees: they trufted in themselves, it was no wonder then they de fpifed others.

This, I believe, might principally relate to fpiritual pride, which by the way is the worst of all prides; and as it is a very bad species of a very bad paffion, I cannot do better than con. clude the difcourfe with fome remarks upon it,

In most conceits of a religious fuperiority, there has ufually gone hand in hand with it, another fancy, which,-I fuppofe has fed it;

and that is, a persuasion of fome more than ordinary aids and illuminations from above.Let us examine this matter.

That the influence and affiftance of God's Spirit in a way imperceptible to us, does enable us to render him an acceptable fervice, we learn from scripture :--in what particular manner this is effected, fo that the act shall ftill be imput ed ours- the fcripture fays not: we know only the account is fo; but as for any fenfible