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put on by the judge of the sports. The apostle telleth us, our Lord ' Glorified not himself as high priest, but he was anointed of God, as Aaron,' Heb. v. 5. If you do not stay for the call of providence, but advance yourselves, it is an untimely desire of promotion. Usually men are set to soar higher and higher, without setting any period to their towering thoughts.
(2.) Vainglory. When a man earnestly desireth praise and glory from men, and bewrayeth it in all his actions ; when a man miudeth his own praise more than the glory of God, and is tickled and pleased with it, and all that he doth is to get himself a name. Gen. xi. 4. Now this is seen when you are marvellously pleased with it, as having obtained your end: Prov. xxxvii. 21, 'As a fining-pot for silver, and a furnace for gold, so is a man to his praise ; ' that is, tried by it ; for a man may know his temper according as he is affected when he is praised or dispraised by others. He that admits of all praises, whether deserved or undeserved, that greedily hnnteth after popular applause, that easily swelleth when he is commended, can bear no reproach or reproof patiently, is a weak vainglorious man ; more especially he that seeketh to bring himself into request rather than Christ, and is willing and content to take to himself the glory due to God. Certainly that instrument seeketh to undermine God who usurpeth to himself the praise due to the supreme agent. Contrarily, Joseph : Gen. xli. 12, ' God shall give the king an answer of peace ; ' and the apostle : Acts iii. 16, ' His name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong.' In short, they that debase others to exalt themselves, is a wrong done to God, to set myself in his room ; a wrong done to my neighbour, to rob one another, and blast him by rash censures, that I may set off myself alone, build my credit upon the ruins of his esteem.
Thirdly, Why must pride begin with the heart ?
1. Because the heart is the proper seat and rise of pride. There would be none in the gesture, none in the vesture, none in the life, if it were not first in the heart ; there is the root of it, and there it lietli hidden. Now why should we shake off the leaves and let alone the branches ? or lop off the branches, and let alone the root ? When the prophet would cure the brackishness of the waters, he did cast salt into the spring : 2 Kings ii. 24, ' He went to the spring of the waters, and cast in salt there.' The heart is the spring of actions : Prov. iv. 23, ' Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.' In the purging out of all sins we must begin with the heart ; so in the purging out of pride. Our Lord was angry with the pharisees for washing the outside of the platter : Luke xi. 39—11, ' First cleanse that within.' If the heart be humble, the eyes will be lowly, the speech humble, the garments humble, gait humble. If pride had a deadly wound in the heart, it would die away in the practice.
2. It is a sin of deep radication, and very powerful in the hearts of men. You will find it a very hard matter to subdue it in the heart, partly be- cause it suiteth with self-love, which is natural to all. Men love them- selves, and therefore esteem themselves and seek themselves. Selfish- ness is the life of pride, which consists in an excessive self-esteem, and a desire of excessive esteem from others, and to be magnified by them. Now self is the great idol of the world. A man is not easily dispossessed of an
Vjili. 1.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXXXI. 419
inordinate love to himself. This is a coiTuption so deep in the heart of man, that it may be called his natural inclination ; and it must be changed into a new nature, which principally consisteth in the love of God, which leadeth and directeth all our actions to his glory. Self-love is the heart of original sin, as the love of God is the heaii; of the new creature. So that, this considered, you may easily know what man is by nature, an inordinate self-lover and self-esteemer ; and as he is, so will he act. Partly because there is not such a turpitude in this as in other sins. There seemeth to be a kind of bravery in it ; therefore no sin is of such an easy insinuation and such a difficult removal. Surely a proud person is hardly cured ; there is more hope of a fool than of him. Drunkenness, adultery, unmannelh us ; this seemeth to make us gods. Indeed it is easy to prove that pride is a base sin, and there is no such weak heart as a proud imperious heart : Ezek. xvi. 30, ' How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord, seeing thou doest all these things ? ' It doth embase the spirit while it seemeth to greaten it. No temper so vile and servile as that of the proud aspiring person. Curvatur obseqiiio, ut aliis dominetur ; he basely flatters others that he may rule over them. Absalom kisseth the people, 2 Sam. xv. 5, that he may win them to him. Oscula et omnia servilUer pro imperio. They will do base things to make way for their advancement. Those spirits that are proud and insulting, none more fawning and base for their own advantage. Besides, he is so weak, he is little able to bear a scorn or a frown. Partly because it is natural. We all suck it in with our milk. That it is a very natural sin appeareth by the experiences. One is, that it taketh with us upon a small occasion, a fair garment, a lock of hair, a good horse, or a dog, &c. It is a weed that groweth in any ground ; nothing so high, nothing so low, but pride can make use of it, though never so contrary ; proud of humility ; nay, rather than not be proud, some will be proud of their sin, glory in their shame, Phil. iii. 19. A thing so catching is certainly natural. Again, it is a sin that puts us upon most self-denial. How will men travail and rack their spirits to serve their ambition or vainglory ! As charity endureth all things and suffereth all things, so doth pride. How will men pinch to feed their pomp ! Prov. xii. 9, ' He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread ; ' that is, flaunteth and maketh a fair show in the world, when at the same rate he might live comfortably in a meaner garb and equipage ; as we see many live above their rank and condition, and can part with all their solaces and con- veniences of life to supply their pomp and state, and are content with an hungry belly to clotlie a proud back.