_Recommending devotions at nine o’clock in the morning, called in scripture, the |third hour| of the day. The subject of these prayers may be |humility|._
I AM now come to another hour of prayer, which in scripture is called the _third hour_ of the day; but according to our way of numbering the hours, it is called the ninth hour of the morning.
But if the practice of the saints in all ages, if the customs of the pious _Jews_ and primitive Christians be of any force with us, we have authority enough to persuade us, to make this hour a constant season of devotion.
I have in the last chapter laid before you the excellency of _praise_ and _thanksgiving_, and recommended that as the subject of your first devotions in the morning.
And because humility is the _life_ and _soul_ of piety, the _ground_ and _security_ of all holy affections, this may be the subject of your devotions at this _hour_.
This virtue is so essential to the _right state_ of our souls, that there is no pretending to a _reasonable_ or _pious_ life without it. We may as well think to see without _eyes_, or live without _breath_, as to live in the spirit of religion, without the spirit of _humility_.
But altho’ it is the _soul_ and _essence_ of all religious duties; yet is it, generally speaking, the least _understood_, the least _regarded_, the least _intended_, the least _desired_, and _sought_ after, of all other virtues.
*No people have more occasion to be afraid of the approaches of pride, than those who have made _some advances_ in a pious life. For pride can grow as well upon our _virtues_ as our _vices_, and steal upon us on all occasions.
Every good thought we have, every good action we do, lays us open to pride.
*It is not only the beauty of our persons, the gifts of fortune, our natural talents, and the distinctions of life; but even our _devotions_ and _alms_, our _fastings_ and _humiliations_, expose us to fresh temptations of this evil spirit.
And it is for this reason, I so earnestly advise every _devout_ person to the exercise of humility, that he may not fall a sacrifice to his own progress in those virtues, which are to save mankind from destruction.
As all virtue is founded in truth; so humility is a _true_ sense of our _weakness_, _misery_, and _sin_.
*The _weakness_ of our state appears from our inability to do any thing of ourselves. In our natural state we are entirely without _any power_; we are indeed active beings, but can only act by a power, that is every _moment_ lent us from God.
We have no more power of our own to move a _hand_, or stir a _foot_, than to move the _sun_, or stop the _clouds_.
*When we _speak_ a word, we feel no more power in ourselves to do it, than we feel ourselves able to raise the _dead_. For we act no more within our _own power_, or by our own strength, when we _speak_ a word, or make a _sound_, than the _apostles_ acted within their own power, or by their own strength, when a _word_ from their mouth cast out _devils_, and cured _diseases_.
As it was solely the power of God that enabled them to speak to _such purposes_, so it is solely the power of God that enables us to speak _at all_.
This is the dependent, helpless poverty of our state, which is a great reason for humility. For since we neither are, nor can do any thing of ourselves; to be proud of any thing that we are, or of any thing that we can do, and to ascribe glory to ourselves for these things, has the guilt both of _stealing_ and _lying_. It has the guilt of stealing, as it gives to ourselves those things which only belong to God. It has the guilt of lying, as it is denying the truth of our state, and pretending to be something that we are not.
♦3. The misery of our condition appears in this, that we use these _borrowed_ powers of our nature, to the _torment_ and _vexation_ of ourselves, and our fellow creatures.
♦ Numbers 1. and 2. omitted in text.
*God has entrusted us with reason, and we use it to the disorder and corruption of our nature. We reason ourselves into all kinds of folly and misery, and make our lives the sport of foolish and extravagant passions: seeking after imaginary happiness in all kinds, creating to ourselves a thousand wants, amusing our hearts with false hopes and fears, using the world worse than irrational animals, envying, vexing, and tormenting one another with restless passions, and unreasonable contentions.