Let any man but look back upon his own life, and see what use he has made of his reason. What foolish _passions_, what vain _thoughts_, what needless _labours_, what extravagant _projects_, have taken up the greatest part of his life: how foolish he has been in his _words_ and _conversation_; how seldom he has been able to _please_ himself, and how often he has _displeased_ others; how often he has changed his counsels, hated what he loved, and loved what he hated; how often he has been enraged and transported at _trifles_, pleased and displeased with the very _same things_, and constantly changing from one vanity to another. Let a man but take this view of his own life, and he will see cause enough to confess, _that pride was not made for man_.
*Let him but consider, that if the world knew all that of him, which he knows of himself; if they saw what _vanity_ and _passions_ govern his inside, and what secret _tempers_ sully and corrupt his best actions, he would have no more pretence to be honoured and admired for his _goodness_ and _wisdom_, than a _rotten_ and _distempered_ body to be loved and admired for its _health_ and _comeliness_.
4. This is so true, and so known to the hearts of almost all people, that nothing would appear more dreadful to them, than to have their hearts thus fully discovered to the eyes of all beholders.
And perhaps there are very few people in the world, who would not rather chuse to die, than to have all their _secret_ follies, the vanity of their minds, the frequency of their _vain_ and disorderly _passions_, their _uneasiness_, _hatreds_, _envies_, and _vexations_, made known unto the world.
And shall pride be entertained in a heart thus _conscious_ of its own _miserable behaviour_?
*Shall a creature in such a condition, that he could not support himself under the shame of being known to the world in his _real state_; shall such a creature, because his shame is only known to God, to holy angels, and his own conscience; shall he, in the sight of God and holy angels, dare to be _vain_ and _proud_ of himself?
5. If to this we add the _shame_ and _guilt_ of sin, we shall find still a greater reason for humility.
No creature that had lived in innocence, would have thereby got any pretence for pride; because, as a creature, all that it _is_, or _has_, or _does_, is from God, and therefore the honour of all that belongs to it is only due to God.
But if a creature that is a _sinner_, deserving nothing but pains and punishments for the _shameful_ abuse of his powers; if such a creature pretends to glory for any thing that he is, or does, he can only be said to glory in his shame.
Now, how _monstrous_ and _shameful_ the nature of sin is, is sufficiently apparent from that _great atonement_ that is necessary to cleanse us from the guilt of it.
Nothing less has been required to take away the guilt of our sins, than the sufferings and death of the Son of God. Had he not taken our nature upon him, our nature had been for ever separated from God, and incapable of ever appearing before him.
And is there any room for _pride_, whilst we are partakers of _such a nature_ as this?
*Have our sins rendered us so abominable ♦to him that made us, that he could not so much as _receive_ our prayers, or _admit_ our repentance, till the Son of God made himself man, and became a suffering advocate for our whole race; and can we, in _this state_, pretend to high thoughts of ourselves? Shall we presume to take delight in our _own worth_, who are not worthy so much as to _ask pardon_ for our sins, without the mediation and intercession of the Son of God?
♦ duplicate word removed ‘to’
Thus deep is the foundation of humility laid, in these deplorable circumstances of our condition; which shew, that it is as great an offence against truth for a man, to lay claim to any degrees of glory, as to pretend to the honour of creating himself. If man will boast of any thing as his own, he must boast of his _misery_ and _sin_; for there is nothing else but this, that is his own property.
6. Turn your eyes towards heaven, and fancy that you saw what is doing there; that you saw _cherubim_ and _seraphim_, and all the glorious _inhabitants_ of that place, all united in one work; not seeking _glory_ from one another, not labouring their own _advancement_, not contemplating their own _perfections_, not singing their own _praises_, not valuing _themselves_, and despising _others_, but all employed in one and the same work, all happy in one and the same joy; _casting down their crowns before the throne of God, giving glory, and honour, and power to him alone_. Rev. iv. 10, 11.