No holiness below that matchless, peerle.ss, spotless, perfect holiness that saints shall have in the glorious day of Christ's appearing, will satisfy the humble soul. An humble heart is an aspiring heart ; he cannot be contented to get up some rounds in Jacob's ladder, but he must get to the very top of the ladder, to the very top of holiness. An humble heart cannot be satisfied with so much grace as will bring him to glory, with so much of heaven as will keep him from dropping into hell; he is still crying out, Give, Lord, give ; give me more of thyself, more of thy Sou, more of thy Spirit; give me more light, more life, more love, &c. Cffisar in warlike matters minded more what was to conquer than what was conquered ; what was to gain than what was gained. So does an humble soul mind more what he should be than what he is, what is to be done than what is done. Verily heaven is for that man, and that man is for heaven, that sets up for his mark the perfection of holiness. Poor men are full of desires ; they are often a-sighing it out. Oh that we had bread to strengthen us, drink to refresh us, clothes to cover us, friends to vi.sit us, and houses to shelter us, &c. ; so souls that are spi- ritually poor they are often a-sighing it out, Oh that we had more of Christ to strengthen us, more of Christ to refresh us, more of Christ to be a covering and shelter to us, &c. I had rather, says the humble soul, be a poor man and a rich Christian, than a rich man and a poor Christian. Lord, says the humble soul, I had rather do anything, I had rather bear anything, I had rather be anything, than to be a dwarf in grace, Rev. iii. 17, Isa. Ixv. 5, Luke xviii. 11, 12. The light and glory of humble Christians rises by degrees: Cant. vi. 1, (1.) Looking forth as the morning, with a little light ; (2.) Fair as the moon, more light ; (3.) Clear as the sun, i.e. come up to a higher degree of spiritual light, life, and glory. Lord, says the humble sou), give me much grace, and then a little gold will serve my turn; give me much of heaven, and little of earth will content me ; give me much of the springs above, and a little of the springs below will satisfy me, &c.
[9.] The ninth property of an humble soul is this. It ivill smite and strike for small sins as vjell as for great, for those the world count no sin, as ivell as for those that they count gross sins.
When David had but cut off the lap of Saul's garment, his heart smote him as if he had cut off his head. The Hebrew word signifies to smite, wound, or chastise.^ Ah I his heart struck him, his heart chastised him, his heart wounded him for cutting off Saul's skirt, though he did it upon noble grounds, viz., to convince Saul of his false jealousies, and to evidence his own innocency and integrity : and
' tTDcrntifitvo; ; it signifies tlie straining of the whole body, a stretching out bead and hands, as runners in a race do to lay hold on the mark or prize proposed, Ps. x. 17. De- sires, laavath, from Avah, that signifies so to desire and long after a thing as to have one's teeth water at it ; so in Micah vii. 1. But proud hearts sit down and pride themselves, and bless themselves, as if they had attained to much, when they have attained to nothing that can raise them above the lowest step of misery.
'■' 1 Sam. xxiv. 5, 1^1. A good man's heart, when kindly awakened, may smite him for those actions that at first he judged very prudent and politic. How great a pain, not to be borne, comes from the prick of this small thorn ! Little sins have put several to their wits' ends, when they have been set home upon their consciences. VOL. IIL B
18 THE UNSEAKCHABLE [EPH. III. 8.
SO, at another time, his heart smote him for numbering the people, as if he had nnirdered the people: 2 Sam. xxiv. 10, * And David's heart smote him, after that he had numbered the people; and David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done : and now I be- seech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly.' An humble soul knows that little sins, if I may so call any, cost Christ his blood, and that they make way for greater; and that little sins multiplied become great, as a little sum multiplied is great; that they cloud the face of God, wound conscience, grieve the Spirit, rejoice Satan, and make work for repentance, &c. An humble soul knows that little sins, suppose them so, are very dangerous ; a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump; a little staff may kill one; a little poison may poison one; a little leak in a ship sinks it; a little fly in the box of ointment spoils it; a little flaw in a good Cause mars it; so a little sin may at once bar the door of heaven and open the gates of hell ; and therefore an humble soul smites and strikes itself for the least as well as the greatest. Though a head of garlic be little, yet it will poison 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 lion 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 disarms 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 wdll lash the sinner for ever; and then, though 1?oo late, tlie sinner shall acknowledge his little sins to be very great, and his great sins to be exceeding grievous and odious, &c.
[10.] The tenth property of an humble soul is this, It will quietly hear burdens, and -patiently take bloics and knocks, and make no noise. An humble soul sees God through man; he sees God through all the actions and carriages of men : ' 1 was dumb,' saith the prophet, ' I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.' ' An humble soul looks through secondary causes, and sees the hand of God, and then lays his own hand upon his mouth. An humble soul is a mute soul, a tongue-tied soul, when he looks through secondary causes to the supreme cause. So Aaron, when he saw his sons suddenly surprised by a dread- ful and doleful death, he held his peace, he bridled his passions; he sits silent under a terrible stroke of divine justice, because the Hre 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 oftering for ever, i:c., ' It is the Lord,' says Eli, * let him do what seemoth him good.' Eli humbly and patiently lays his neck upon the block ; it is the Lord; let him strike, let him kill, &c., says Eh, 1 Sam. iii. 11, 13.