and bitter tiling it is to cherish such a disposition in your hearts : for, as " pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall*," you may expect the effects of a spiritual dere- liction ; you may expect, that, " being lifted up with pride, you will fall into the condemnation of the devil >'."]
2. He " giveth grace unto the humble " —
[What will he not do for those who are of an humble and contrite spirit? If there were but one such object in the whole universe, God would look through all the shining ranks of angels that surround his throne, and fix his eyes on him*: he would even come down to him, and dwell with him ; yea, and dwell with him for the express purpose of comforting and reviving his drooping soula. If he offered up a prayer, God would hear and answer itb : if, on any sudden emergency, he only poured forth a cry, God would attend to it, and not forget itc: and if there were only a desire in his heart, even that should be noted, in order to satisfy and fulfil itd. See this exemplified in King Josiah. God had determined to destroy Jerusalem : but because Josiah was of an humble spirit, he would first take him to himself, and not suffer him to witness the calamities which were coming upon his nation : " Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst /nimble thy- self before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me, I have even heard thee also, saith the Lorde." See it yet more strongly illustrated in the case of the most wicked man that perhaps ever existed upon the face of the earth, the man that made the very streets of Jerusalem to run down with the blood of innocents, and set up his idols in the very House of God : see it, I say, in the case of King Manasseh ; of whom it is said, " When he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled him greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto him :" behold! of this man it is said, " God was entreated of him, and heard his supplication f."
Say now, whether here be not encouragement enough to seek humility? Find an humble person to whom God ever refused any thing. You cannot. A humble person may be " cast down for a time ; but he shall soon be lifted up : for God will save the humble person5."]
What shall I then add to these considerations ?
[You need no other inducement to work either upon your
x Prov. xvi. IS. y 1 Tim. iii. G. z Isai. lxvi. 2.
a Isai. lvii. 15. h Job xxxiii. 27, 28. c Ps. ix 12.
d Ps. x. 17. e 2 Chron. xxxiv. 27.
f 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13. e Job xxii. 29.