The Souls Humiliation, Title page
THE SOVLES HVMILIATION.
Iob 22. verſ. 29.
And he ſhall ſave the humble Perſon.
LONDON, Printed by I. L. for Andrew Crooke, at the ſigne of the Beare in Pauls Church-yard. 1637.
THE SOVLES HVMILIATION.
Luke 15. verſ. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, &c.
14. And when he had ſpent all, there aroſe a mightie famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
15. And he went and joyned himſelf to a citizen of that countrey, and he ſent him into his fields to feed ſwine.
16. And he would faine have filled his belly with the husks that the ſwine did eate: and no man gave unto him.
17. And when he came to himſelfe, he ſaid, How many hired ſervants in my fathers have bread enough, and to ſpare, and I periſh with hunger?
18. I will ariſe, and goe to my father, and will ſay unto him, Father, I have ſinned, &c.
THAT a poore ſinner might come and be partaker of the precious merits and death of our Saviour and receive comfort thereby.
There are two things conſiderable. Firſt, a fitting and enabling of the ſoule for Chriſt. Secondly, an inplantation of the Soule into Chriſt. For howſoever it is true there is aboundance of mercy, and infinite merit in Chriſt: yet unleſſe the Soule be fitted and enabled by the hand of faith, to lay hold upon Chriſt; he ſhall never receive comfort from him, be his neceſſities never ſo many, and his miſery never ſo grievous. Therefore Iohn Baptist was ſent to prepare the way, that all thoſe mountaines of pride might be laid low, and all the ditches filled up, and all the crooked things might be made ſtrieght and all rough things might be made ſmooth, that there might be a way for Chriſt. The meaning is this: The heart of a man is the high way wherein Chriſt comes. Now there are mountaines of pride and untoward ſtoutneſſe of heart, and many windings and turnings, and devices which the heart hath, by reaſon of many luſts that are in it. This fitting and preparing, is nothing elſe but the taking away of that knotty knarlineſſe of the heart, and that pride, and all ſuch curſed corruptions, that the doore may be ſet open, and the heart made ready that the King of glory may come in.
The heart being thus fitted and enabled, then followes humiliation: for the breaking of the heart, is not all that God hath to doe with a poore ſinner, though the Lord wound the heart of a ſinner, and run him through, yet the heart will be ſtarting aſide, and will not goe out to Chriſt. Therefore I ſhall now ſpeake of humiliation of the ſpirit, yet before I come to it, give me leave to lay open two paſſages.
1. The neceſſity of this worke, it muſt needs be.
2. The nature of this worke.
Firſt, it is neceſſary that the ſoule ſhould be thus humbled; for humiliation pares away all ſelfe-ſufficiency from the ſoule by compunction: the Lord breakes the heart, and wearies it with ſinne, and then the ſoule will be no more drunke, nor looſe, nor vaine, no more fooliſh, nor diſſembling, nor hating of Gods ſervants, nor uſe no more falſe weights; by humiliation the Lord plucks away the confidence in a mans priviledges, and all his good performances, and all his duties, by which he is ready to ſhelter himſelfe, and by which he thinks to get ſome ſuccour and comfort to his owne ſoule. Now as ſinne ſhall not rule in the heart, ſo the Lord will make the ſinner ſee, that whatſoever he hath and doth, can never helpe him, except the Lord Ieſus come downe from heaven by his mightie power. For the further opening of theſe, you muſt know that there are theſe two maine lets, which hinder the comming of faith into the ſoule, and which keepe a man from beleeving in Chriſt, that Chriſt may have poſſeſſion of him.
Firſt,1. Let of Faith. when the ſoule is taken up with a ſecure courſe, and reſts it ſelfe well apaide in his owne practiſes, and therefore it never ſeeth any need of a change, nor never goes out for a change: now while he lives thus, and bleſſeth himſelfe in his ſinne, it is impoſſible that ever the ſoule ſhould receive faith, or ever by the power of faith repaire to Chriſt upon theſe termes: for ever where faith comes it works a change, all the old things are done away, and become new, he is new in heart and life; now the ſecure ſinner that ſeeth no need of a change, will never ſee need of faith, nor labour for it; and if the Miniſters of God bid ſuch a man to leave his ſinne, and to pray in his family, and forſake his ſinfull practiſes, and to ſanctifie the Lords day, and take up new courſes, he thinkes they bid him to his loſſe: now by that time the Lord hath taken away this let, and burthened the ſoule marvellous extreamely, and ſaith, is it well that you live in drunkenneſſe, and in covetouſneſſe, in cheating, in lying and the like, then take your ſinnes and get you downe to hell with them; thus the Lord is forced to breake the heart: then a poore ſinner begins to ſee where he is, and now he ſaith, and is this true, then I am the moſt miſerable creature under heaven, and except I be otherwiſe, it had beene good for mee if I had never beene borne; by this time the ſoule ſees need of a change: Therefore as they ſaid, Men and brethren what ſhall we doe, Acts 2.37.we have beene thus and thus, but if we reſt here it will be our ruine for ever, oh what ſhall we doe. Thus the ſoule comes to a reſtleſſe diſlike of it ſelfe, and ſaith, I muſt either be otherwiſe or elſe I am but a damned man for ever.
When the ſoule is thus reſolved that it muſt of neceſſitie change, and there is no dallying with the Lord nor with himſelfe, and this heart muſt be altered, and this courſe muſt be amended. When it ſees that it muſt change, it begins to improve all meanes to ſee if he can poſſibly doe it by his owne ſtrength, and by his meanes uſing, as if the ſoule did ſay, good Lord cannot my wit compaſſe it, and cannot my prayers worke it, and though I am a ſinfull wretched man, yet I will be no more drunke, nor uncleane, nor the like: but by prayer, and hearing, and faſting, I will labour to mend all in this kinde; will not theſe duties doe the deed? this very reſting in a mans ſelfe-ſufficiency doth marveilouſly croſſe and hinder the worke of Faith, for this is the nature of Faith; It goes out of it ſelfe, and fetcheth a principle of life, grace, and power from another. The ſoule apprehends it ſelfe miſerable, and it falls upon the arme of Gods mercy, and meerely goes out to God for ſuccour. Now for a man to fetch all from without, and yet to ſeeke for ſufficiency from himſelfe, theſe two cannot ſtand together, they are profeſſely croſſe one to another; and therefore after the Lord hath made the ſoule ſee an abſolute neceſſitie of a change, and now the ſoule ſeeth an utter impoſſibilitie in himſelfe, to change or alter himſelfe, then he is content to goe to Chriſt for grace and power. Thus Humiliation pares away all a mans priviledges and all his hearing and praying &c. not, that a man muſt uſe theſe noe more, but he muſt not reſt upon them for ſtrength to help and ſuccour himſelfe withall. as it is with the graft. 1. it muſt be cut of from the old ſtocke 2. it muſt be pared and made fit for the implantation into an other. Soe the Soule being cut of from ſinne: then humiliation pares it, and makes it for the ingrafting into Chriſt.What humiliation is. thus you ſee this worke is abſolutely neceſſary.
But what is this humiliation of heart. It is thus much. When the ſoule upon ſearch made deſpaires of all helpe from it ſelfe: he doth not deſpaire of Gods mercy, but of all helpe from himſelfe and ſubmits himſelfe wholy to God, the ſoule ſtrikes ſale and fals under the power of Ieſus Chriſt and is content to be at his diſpoſing,
In this deſcription let me diſcover theſe three particular paſſages.
Firſt, the ſinner that is now wounded and apprehenſive of his owne miſery, makes out for ſome ſuccour and remedy els where, but he doth not goe to Chriſt.
Secondly when he uſed all meanes that he can, he ſeeth noe helpe at all, nay, he utterly deſpaires of finding any ſuccour from himſelfe or from the creature.
Then the ſoule deſpairing of all ſuccour in himſelfe, it fals downe at the throne of grace, and ſaith, if the Lord will damne him he may, and if he will ſave him he may which as yet he cannot ſee, but he reſolves to waite upon God for mercy; he ſubmits himſelfe to the Lord and is content to bee at his diſpoſing.
For the firſt part of the deſcription that the ſoule ſeeketh for remedy els where and not from Chriſt. this is expreſt here in the 15 verſe of this Chapter. The Prodigall would needs have his portion, and hee would not ever bee a ſlave in his fathers family: well he had his portion and gone he is, and he hath ſpent all, and when all was gone there fell a great famine in the Lande; and, what did he then? hee would not now ryot any more as he had done, becauſe poverty pinched him in this kind, but he turnes good huſband. and is content to uſe any meanes for his maintenance, and hee would make hard ſhift before he would goe home to his father, and therfore he joynes himſelfe to a Cittizen of the Countrie, &c.
This prodigall is a true picture of every poore diſtreſſed ſinner that hath ryotted away his time, yet at laſt when the venome of ſinne beginnes to ſcorch and pearce his ſoule, and he is famiſhed for want of Gods favour and the wrath of God purſues him, and a deſperate ſorrow ſeaſeth upon his heart, and he is wearied and burthened and tired with his ſinne, and ſees that hee hath noe helpe, hee ſets all his wits to worke to ſee if hee can tell which way to ſuccour himſelfe in theſe his grievances, and though he will not take up any baſe courſes as hee had done, but prooves a good huſband and uſeth all meanes to ſuccour himſelfe. ſoe the doctrine from hence is this.