Secondly, Meditate much on this, that many vAched men take raore ixdns to damn their souls and go to hell, than thou dost to save thy soul and to get to heaven, Mat. xxii. 15.
Oh, what pains do wicked men take to damn their souls and go to hell ! Lactantius saith of Lucian, that he spared neither God nor man. He took pains to make himself twice told a child of wrath.'
It is said of Marcellus, the Roman general, that he could not be quiet, nee victor, nee victus, neither conquered nor conqueror. Such restless wretches are wicked men. The drunkard rises up in the morning, and continues till midnight, till wine inflame him, Isa. v. 11. The unclean person Avastes his time, and strength, and estate, and all to ruin his own soul.
Theotimus, being told by his physician, that if he did not leave his lewd courses, he would lose his sight, answered. Vale lumen amicwm, then farewell, sweet light.^ What a deal of pains does the worldling take ! He rises up early, and goes to bed late, and leaves no stone unturned, and all to make himself but the more miserable in the close.
Pambus, in the Ecclesiastical History, wept when he saw a harlot dressed with much care and cost, partly to see one take so much pains to go to hell, and partly because he had not been so careful to please God as she had been to please a wanton lover.^ Oh, sirs ! what reason have you to spend your days in weeping ? When you look abroad, see what pains most men take to damn their souls and go to hell, and then consider what little pains you take to escape hell, to save your souls, and go to heaven.
[8.] Eighthly, Get more internal and experimental knowledge and acquaintance with God.
If ever you would keep humble, no knowledges humbles and abases like that which is inward and experimental. We live in da3-s wherein there is abundance of notional light. Many professors know much of God notionally, but know nothing of God experimentally ; they know God in the history, but know nothing of God in the mystery. They know much of God in the letter, but little or nothing of God in the Spirit ; and therefore it is that they are so proud and higl) in their own con- ceits, wlienas he that experimentally knows the Lord is a worm and no man in his own eyes. As the sun is necessary to the world, the eye to the body, the pilot to the ship, the general to the army, so is experi- mental knowledge to the humbling of a soul. Who more experimental in their knowledge than David, Job, Isaiah, and Paul? And who are more humble than these worthies ?*
* Such a mad dovil was Catiline. * Ambrose, as before. — O.
* Socrates, Eccl. Hist., lib iv. cap. 28.
* It is a sail tiling to be often eating of tlio tree of knowledge, but never to taste of the tree of life. [Tiio 'History' and ' My.stery' is a favourite distinction of tlio Puritan divines, and is elaborately carried out by lioherts in bis extraordinary an<l exceedingly rare folio, entitled, ' The Mystery and Marrow of the liiblo,' (1(357) ; and also by Ness in
EpH. III. 8.] RICHES OF CHRIST. 41
Seneca observed of the philosophers, that when they grew more learned, they were less moral,* so a growth in notions will bring a great decay in humility and zeal, as it is too evident in these days. Well, remember this, a drop of experimental knowledge will more humble a man than a sea of notional knowledge.
[9.] Ninthl}^, Look up to a cimcifled Christ for special power and stiength against the pride of your hearts. It is sad in these knowing times to think how few there are that know the right way of bringing under the power of any sin. Most men scarce look so high as a cruci- fied Ciirist for power against their powerful sins. One soul sits down and complains, Such a lust haunts me, I will pray it down ; another saith, Such a sin follows me, and I will hear it down, or watch it down, or resolve it down : and so a crucified Christ is not in all their thoughts. Not but that you are to hear, pray, watch, and resolve against your sins ; but above all, you should look to the acting of faith upon a cruci- fied Christ.^ As he said of the sword of Goliath, ' None like to that,' so I say. None like to this for the bringing under the pride of men's hearts. The weaker the house of Saul grew, the stronger the house of David grew. The weakening of your pride will be the increase and strengthening of your humility, and therefore what the kiug of Syria said unto his fifty captains, 'Fight neither with small nor great, but with the king of Israel,' so say I, If you would keep humble, if you will lie low, draw forth your artillery, place your greatest strength against the pride of your souls. The death of pride will be the resurrection of humility. And that this may stick upon you, I shall lay down several proposi- tions concerning pride ; and I am so much the more willing to fall upon this work, and to make it the subject of our discourse at this time, because this horrid sin doth appear so boldly and impudently, and that not only among profane persons, but professors also. There are ten pro- positions that I shall lay down conceruing pride.
[1.] And the first is thi.s. Of all sins pride is most dangerous to the souls of men.
Pride is a sin that will put the soul upon the worst of sins. Pride is a gilded misery, a secret poison, a hidden plague. It is the engineer of deceit, the mother of hypocrisy, the parent of envy, the moth of holiness, the blinder of hearts, the turner of medicines into maladies, and remedies into diseases. It is the original and root of most of those notorious vices that be to be found among the children of men. It was pride that put Herod upon seeking the blood of Christ. It was pride that put the Pharisees upon the persecuting of Christ. It was pride that made Athaliah destroy all the seed-royal of the house of Judah, that he might reign, 2 Chron. xxi. 10. It was pride that put Joab upon murdering perfidiously, under colour of friendship, Abner, 2 Sam. iii. 27, and Amasa, 2 Sam. xx. 9, 10. Zimri, out of ambition to reign, murdered Elah his lord, 1 Kings xvi. 8-10. Omiri, out of pride and ambition to reign, rose up against Zimri, and enforced him to burn
bis not less remarkable and equally rare work, ' History and Mystery' of tbe Bible, 4 vols, folio, 1696.— G.]
• De Constantia i::^apientis et Epistolce. — G.
* Ps. X. 4. It was the blood of the sacrifice and the oil that cleansed the leper in the law, and that by them was meant the blood of Christ and the grace of his Spirit, is agreed by all.
42 THE UNSEARCHABLE [EPH. III. 8.
himself in the king's palace, 1 Kings xvi. 18. It is pride that hath ushered in all the contentions that be in towns, cities, countries, families, and pulpits throughout the world. It was pride and ambition to reign that put Absalom upon pursuing his father's life, from whom he had received life.^