Sweet and Soul-Persuading Inducements Leading Unto Christ, Chapter 14
CHAP. XIV.
IS it their property and practice who are indowed with the life of true holineſſe to proſtrate themſelves and all that is theirs under the feet of Chriſt Jeſus? Then here may we ſee with open face the vanity, impiety and perill 1.1. Self-admiration very dangerous. Of Self-admiration, of mans having high thoughts, an arrogant opinion of himſelfe, and an over-weening conceipt of his owne excellency and worth. Goliah much admired the tallneſſe of his owne ſtature, and the bigneſſe of his armour, vain and carnall man is often much taken, and extraordinarily lifted up with the thought of his own worth, and tranſcendency of his owne gifts, contrary to the charge of the Apoſtle, wRo. 12.16.be not wiſe in your owne conceits: Doe not dreame of a ſufficiency of a light in the lampe of your owne ſouls, take not upon you to be your owne guides and Counſellours, preſume not of a fullneſſe at home in the houſe of your owne hearts: to which agrees that of Salomon, xPro. 3.5, 7.leane not to thine owne understanding, be not wiſe in thine owne eyes: make not thine owne abilities the foundation wherupon thou buildeſt, the light by which thou walkeſt, the ſtrength by which thou ſtandeſt, nor the weapon by which thou expecteſt the conqueſt, promiſe nothing to thy ſelfe of thy ſelfe; be neither confident in, nor exalted with an opinion of thine own fullneſſe and worth,Six evils of ſelf-admirations. 1. Ignorance. For 1. Such as are over-ſwayed with ſelf-opinion and ſelf-admiration are very ignorant, they know not the ſtate and condition of their owne ſoules. Ephraim had gray hairs here and there upon him, howbeit (ſaith the Prophet) he knew it not. Self-admirers are full of the characters of profaneneſſe carry about them the ſignes and ſymptomes of ſpirituall blindneſſe, baſeneſſe, uncleanneſſe, poverty, bondage and everlaſting ruine, but they know it not: No man more ignorant of himſelfe, then he that hath higheſt thoughts of himſelfe, the Phariſees were great ſelfe-admirers, extraordinarily lifted up with the thought of their owne wiſdome, holineſſe and perfection, yet very miſerably blinde and ignorant, blind leaders of the blind, yRo. 7.9.without the law, as S. Paul confeſſeth, without the knowledge of the law in their underſtandings, without the inſcription of the law in their hearts, without conformity to the law in their lives. Without the light of the law diſcovering their ſinnes, without the power of the law humbling their ſoules; ignorance of mans owne vileneſſe begets ſelf-admirations; the Laodicean was ſtrangely puffed up with thoughts of his owne ſpirituall excellencies, and the maine ground therof was his blindneſſe, he ſaid he was zRev. 3.17.rich and increaſed in goods and wanted nothing, not knowing that he was poore, blinde, naked, miſerable and wretched, he that is of all men the worſt, is uſually in his owne opinion the beſt: carnall men thorough their blindneſſe, doe often take that for very great ſpirituall riches, which in the account of God is no other then very poverty and baſeneſſe.
2. Self-admirers are non-apprehenſive of the Majeſty and perfection of God, and tranſcendent beauties of Chriſt,2. Non-apprehenſiveneſſe of Gods & Chriſts perfections. mans opinion of himſelf is ſutable to his apprehenſion of God, the more apprehenſive the ſoule is of Gods incomprehenſible Majeſty, holineſſe and glory, the more it is abaſed in the ſenſe of its owne emptineſſe, baſeneſſe and impurity. I have heard of thee (ſaith Job unto the Lord) by the hearing of the eare, but now mine eye ſeeth thee, wherefore I aIob. 42.6.abhorre my ſelfe and repent in duſt and aſhes, he that is filled with the admiration of Gods perfections is emptied of ſelf-admiration, and made very low and baſe in his owne thought and meditation of himſelfe. When the Prophet Eſay had in viſion ſeen the Lord ſitting upon the throne, he cryed out and complained of his uncleanneſſe, then he ſaid, bIſa 6.1.woe is me I am undone, I am a man of uncleane lips, the ſight of other mens rich and coſtly apparell, makes a poore man bluſh and be aſhamed of his owne rotten rags. God and Chriſt are queſtionleſſe great ſtrangers to the thought of ſelf-admirers,Pſ. 10.4. of ſuch the Pſalmiſt ſaith, God is not in all their thoughts; were the ſoule of man well ſtudied and inſighted in, full, and frequent in the meditation of, and throughly acquainted with the Lords perfections, he could not but be much abaſed in the knowledge, ſence and feeling of his owne imperfections, His comelineſſe with Daniel would be turned into cDan. 10.8, 9corruption, and his face toward the ground, he would be humbled below the duſt, and be baſer in his owne eye than the earth: mens unacquaintedneſſe with Gods excellencies is a maine cauſe of their being ſelf-admirers.
3. Ingratitude and ſacriledge.3. Self-admirers are, very ungratefull and ſacrilegious, they rob God of the praiſe of all his gifts, they aſcribe all unto themſelves, they ſay with Nebuchadnezar, is not this great Babell that I have built by the ſtrength of mine owne arme, and for the honour of my name, as they referre all to their owne ends, ſo they looke on all as proceeding from their owne ſtrength, They dHab 1 16.ſacrifice (ſaith the Prophet) to their net, and burne incenſe to their drag. God is neglected, their own art, wit, power and induſtry are admired, they deiſie themſelves and their own abilities. God is not regarded, his honour is wholy ecclipſed; they go not like David in the e1 Sam. 17.45.name of the Lord, in the name of Gods authority commanding them, in the name of Gods wiſdome guiding them, in the name of Gods power aſſiſting them, in the name of Gods glory to honour him; but like Goliah they goe in their owne name, in the name of their, owne pride exciting them, in the name of their owne fancy leading them, in the name of their owne wit, art, and ſtrength helping them, and in the name of their owne praiſe and honour moving them, this is the Alpha and Omega of their undertaking, the firſt in intention, the laſt in execution. Self-admirers of all others are the moſt injurious unto God and Chriſt Jeſus.
4. Self-admirers are uncapable of Chriſt and his graces, 4 Uncapablenes of Chriſt.no man partakes leſſe of Chriſt,ſPro. 29.20. then he that doth moſt admire himſelfe, ſuch a man hath no right, nor cleare diſcerning of Chriſt, no ſence and feeling of his want of Chriſt, no hunger nor thirſt after Chriſt, no honorable opinion and eſteem of Chriſt, no room in his ſoule to receive and entertaine Chriſt, and therfore continues empty of Chriſt.Ioh. 9.41. There is more hope (ſaith Solomon) of a foole then of a man that is wiſe in his owne eyes: he is full of ſelf-wiſdome,Pro. 27.7. and therfore is uncapable of inſtruction, as a full veſſell of other liquor, the Phariſees had their own learning in ſuch admiration, that they utterly rejected Chriſts Doctrine. The full ſtomack (ſaith Solomon) loatheth the honey-combe, the full ſoule loatheth, ſlighteth, undervalueth thoſe Doctrines and gifts of Chriſt, which are ſweeter then the honey or the honey-combe. Self-admirers are very profane deſpiſers of Gods choyſeſt gifts and graces, and as they are full of ſelf-opinion, ſo God turns them away empty of things heavenly and ſpirituall, he ſends the rich away gLuk. 1.53.empty. God fils that mans ſoule alone with heavenly goodneſſe, who is emptied of all opinion of his own excellencies.
5. Self-admiration alienates the ſoule from God, 5. Alienation from God.cuts off all communion and acquaintance betweene the ſoule and God. God will not looke in grace and favour towards him, God oppoſeth himſelfe againſt him,h1 Pet. 5.5. he reſiſteth the proud by withholding his grace from him, by rejecting his prayer and ſupplication, by infatuating his wiſedome, by diſſipating his power, by croſſing his undertaking, by leaving him as a prey to Satan, and powring contempt upon him. The Lord is very terrible in his oppoſition againſt the proud perſon. Very great and uncomfortable is the diſtance between God and ſelf-admirers. He that admires himſelfe cannot draw nigh to God by holy and humble ſupplication, pride hath ſuch dominion within him, he cannot draw nigh to God by faith; he leanes ſo much upon himſelf, he cannot draw nigh to God by love, ſelf-love doth ſo ſtrongly overſway him, he cannot draw nigh to God by obedience, his pride will not ſuffer him to ſtoope to Gods precepts; he cannot draw nigh to God by holy hunger and thirſt after Gods gifts and graces, he is ſo tranſported with the thought of his owne fullneſſe: Self-admiration excludes man from all the wayes of communion betweene God and his children, therefore iPro ….5, 6, 7.truſt in the Lord (ſaith the Wiſe-man) and leane not to thine owne understanding, in all thy wayes acknowledge him, be not wiſe in thine owne eyes, feare the Lord and depart from evill: implying that as long as a man leanes to his owne wiſdome, and hath himſelfe in admiration, he can neither truſt in God, nor humbly acknowledge God, nor truly feare God, nor depart from evill, but continues in the ſtate of a totall and uncomfortable alienation and eſtrangement from God.
6. Shame and confuſion.6. Self-admiration is attended with ſhame and confuſion at laſt; Goliah much admired himſelf, his owne ſtature and armour,1 Sam. 17. yet was ſhamefully overthrowne in the battle, the Sword in which he gloried cut off his head. God often turnes the inſtrument and matter of mans pride, into the inſtrument and matter of mans ſhame. Nebuchadnezar magnified himſelfe above meaſure in his Palace, which he had built,Dan. 4.30, 31. but from thence he was driven to dwell and eat graſſe among the beaſts; the Lord will make the condition of proud people moſt baſe and contemptible; hee that magnifies himſelfe above men is unfit for the ſociety of men; beaſts and brutiſh creatures are the fitteſt conforts for ambitious ſelf-admirers.
Cure of ſelf-admiration.Looke then, ô man, upon the baſeneſſe and uncleannes of thy Originall, upon the abſence of all ſpirituall good, upon the preſence and plenitude of all ſin, upon thy imbondagement unto Satan, upon thy inthralment unto the creature, upon thy ſervitude under many noiſom luſts, upon the rottennes and deceitfulnes of thy heart, upon the loathſomnes of thy wayes, upon the imperfection of thy beſt ſervices, upon the ſtrict account which thou muſt make for all thy abilities; and be no more a ſelf-admirer, but a ſelf-ſhamer, a ſelf-condemner, a humbler of thy ſoule, and an admirer of God and Chriſt Jeſus, for all thy freely received favours.