The Arraignment of Pride, Chapter 27
CHAP. 27. Of the Cure of Pride: the firſt direction.
I Am now come to the cure of this dangerous and deſparate malady, and here ſhould I conſult with the wiſeſt and moſt experienced about the cure thereof; I doubt it would be to little purpoſe, becauſe ſcarce a man can be found, that hath an experimental knowledge of the cure of it in himſelf: therefore I ſhall gather ſome receipts out of the Scriptures, which may prove moſt likely for the curing of this diſeaſe.
Direct. 1. Set before you the condition of your bodies and ſouls, and therein you will find matter ſufficient to abate your pride.
1. Concerning our bodies; the conſideration of the matter whereof they were made, Homo ab bumo.ſhould make us low and humble in our own eyes. Its reported of Agathocles, that being advanced to the Kingdom of Cicily, Cur non humillimus cū ſis humi limus? though we have diverſam veſtem, yet we have eandem cutem.and yet but a Potters ſon, he would not be ſerved at his meals in plate, but in earthen veſſels; whereby he might be put in minde of two things: firſt, of his beginning and pedigree from whence he came, but from the potters ſhop, of mean parentage; and ſecondly of his end, that he ſhould one day fail, and could not laſt long, but himſelf and high eſtate was ſubject to caſualty; yea perhaps he might come to ruine ſuddenly, as an earthen veſſel is ſometime broken ere any body be aware: Thus we ſee, he being an Heathen, uſed theſe conſiderations to humble him: It is a foul ſhame for Chriſtians to come herein behind him: now to humble us we need but meditate on the matter whereof we were made, viz. not gold or ſilver, the pureſt of mettals, Non dicit Deus Adamo, è pulvere es, ſed pulvis es. Muſculus.nor yet of fire, aire, or water, the more pure elements; but for the moſt part, of earth, the groſſeſt and baſeſt of them all, the very bed and bread of the Serpent; why then ſhould baſe earth be proud? Abraham made better uſe of this conſideration, even checking himſelf, Gen. 18.27. Job 13.12.and craving pardon for his boldneſs to ſpeak unto God, being but duſt and aſhes: and holy Job counſelleth his friends not to think too well of themſelves, and too ill of him; for ſaith he, Mr. Weems ſaith, that the body of man is made not of the heart of the earth, which is rich in mettals; nor of the ſoil of the earth, which is rich in fruits, nor of the ſand of the earth which is good for ballaſt: but of the duſt, the moſt unprofitable thing.Your remembrances are like to aſhes, and your bodies to bodies of clay; In a word! as we were not made of gold or ſilver the pureſt of mettals, no more were we made of braſs, iron, or ſteel, the tougheſt of mettals, and the moſt laſting; but of the earth, yea the duſt of the earth, which is preſently blown away with every blaſt of wind: and as ſoon are the youngeſt and ſtrongeſt of us ſwept away from the places of our habitations, ſo that they ſhall know us no more, if the breath of God once blow upon us; for we dwell but in houſes of clay, and our foundation is in the duſt, Job 4.19. Why then ſhould we pamper our ſelves with all the dainties and delicates of fleſh, fowl, and fiſh, that the earth, aire, and ſea may afford us; when we our ſelves muſt ere long (and we know not how ſoon) become a ſervice and ſecond courſe for the worms? or why ſhould we with Diotrephes, and ſuch ambitious aſpiring ſpirits labour to be above others while we live, Willegeſi, Willegeſi, recole unde veneris. Becolcerus in anno. 1011.that muſt be laid level with the earth, nay lower then the upper part of the earth when we are dead. I have read of Willegeſius, who being the ſon of a Carpenter, and afterwards Biſhop of Mentz, had this written in his bed chamber with great letters, Willegeſius, Willegeſius, remember whence thou cameſt. The greateſt will have no cauſe to be proud, if he remember whence he came, even from the duſt.
2. Conſider that every man in the world is born a poor, naked, helpleſs creature, and born to labour and trouble. Naked came I out of my mothers womb, Job 1.21.ſaith Job; and this one thought well taken in, and fully digeſted, will lay pride in the duſt; And here I might ſhew you how nature, which ſhews her ſelf a mother to other creatures, is but as it were a ſtep-mother unto man, denying him many of thoſe natural helps wherewith they are endowed, ſending him forth weak and weaponleſs, wanting that natural inſtinct to feed himſelf, Dentetimetur aper, defendunt cornua taurum.when he is brought forth, and thoſe natural inſtruments to defend himſelf, when he is brought up: the very firſt voice and noiſe that man uttereth, is weeping and crying, being as it were a Prophet and Prognoſticator of his ſucceeding miſery; he cometh forth weeping into a vally of tears, ſeeming to be grieved, that he is a man, and not ſome other creature, aſhamed becauſe naked; to weep becauſe he is born to labour not to honour, Qui natus non eſt in dolore, putet ſe natum non eſſe ad laborem; labor eſt in Actione, Dolor eſt in paſſione; & quid non eis grave, quibus vivere labor eſt? Bern.for this is the common condition of all Adams poſterity: In the ſweat of thy face ſhalt thou eat bread till thou return to the ground, Gen. 3.19. As it was laid upon Eve and all her daughters to conceive in ſorrow, ſo was it laid upon Adam and all his ſons to live by labour: Therefore Bernard ſaith well to this purpoſe: He that is not born in ſorrow, let him think that he is not born to labour; there is labour in action, grief in paſſion or ſuffering, and what is not grievous to thoſe to whom life it ſelf is a labour? why then ſhould we paint our backs with gorgeous apparel, ſeeing we were but made of a piece of earth, from whence we came naked, and whither we muſt go again naked as Job ſaith? and why ſhould any man be proud of his poſſeſſions, and inheritances, when as he is born to nothing but the bread of affliction and the waters of adverſity?
3. The conſideration of the manifold pains, weakneſſes, ſickneſſes, and infirmities of the body, ſhould much abate our pride. God takes away health and ſtrength many times from his deareſt children, as from Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20.1. from David, Pſal. 41.8. and from Lazarus whom Jeſus loved, Joh. 11.3. God many times brings diſeaſes upon our bodies to cure the diſeaſe of pride. Gregor. praefat. in Moral.Gregory tells us, that while he was expounding the tragical hiſtory of Job, that he was afflicted with continual feavers; yet this good he thereby gathered, that it ſo fell out, that by Gods Providence, himſelf being ſick and wounded, ſhould expound wounded Job; theſe ſtrokes upon his body made him the better to underſtand, and with words the better to expreſs the mind of wounded Job.
God opens the ears of men, and ſealeth their inſtruction: he is chaſtened alſo with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with ſtrong pain; and the end that God aimeth at is, that he may withdraw man from his purpoſe, Job 33.16, 17, 19, 20.and hide pride from man: bodily weakneſſes many times bring down the pride and ſtoutneſs of our hearts.
4. The frequent and ſerious conſideration of death, to which the body is alſo ſubject, is of great force to pull down pride, and keep the ſpirit very humble. Death is the humble mans univerſity; no man would be proud of bodily ſtrength or beauty, did he frequently think of death; this would make the ſtouteſt to ſtrike ſail, and caſt down their proud creſts in the midſt of their greateſt jollity. O thou who art duſt and aſhes, why doſt thou wax proud? remember whence thou art and be aſhamed, where thou art and lament, whither thou art going, Quid ſuperbis pulvis & cinis? memento unde es & erubeſce; ubi es, & ingemiſce; quo iturus es, & perhorreſce. Bern. One cried to Johannes Eleemoſynarius being made Patriarch, Perfice ſepulchrum, perfice ſepulchrum.and tremble for fear, ſaith Bernard. Let us conſtantly remember our end, and we ſhall not do amiſs. Let the meditation of the death of the body be to us, as Philips Page, as Joſephs Sepulchre in his garden, a place of pleaſure. Facile contemnit omnia, qui aſſidue cogitat ſe moriturum; that man eaſily deſpiſeth all things, who daily thinketh that he ſhall die. This uſe Paul makes of it: ſeeing we brought nothing into this world, and can carry nothing out; having food and raiment, let us be therewith content, 1 Tim. 6.7, 8. Let us not proudly aſpire after great things here, becauſe ſhortly we muſt die and leave all behind us. Agnoſcat homo ſe eſſe mortalem, & franget elationem. Aug.
2. Let us conſider the ſtate and condition of our ſouls, and hence we may fetch matter enough to keep down our pride. Man was made an excellent creature, made in the image of God, in knowledge, righteouſneſs and holineſs; but this image of God in man is by his fall much weakened, and he that was by creation the nobleſt creature on earth, is now become a vagabond on earth, a child of wrath, an enemy to God: if we will view our ſelves in the glaſs of Gods law, Rom. 7.we ſhall ſee our own vileneſs and deformity, and that in us, that is, in our fleſh there dwells no good thing; that there is nothing but vanity in our minds, rebellion in our wills, ataxy in our affections, tranſgreſſion in our lives, that all our beſt righteouſneſs is as filthy rags, that our ſouls are the very proper ſubjects of miſery, our hearts the very center of fears and ſorrows, and our minds the hives and receptacles of ſwarms of thorny and diſtracting cares, which make man a ſlave to his paſſions, diſturbe his peace, and make the beſt of his earthly comforts to be but ſplendid vanities and golden deluſions; the conſideration hereof, and the miſerable eſtate we are liable to, will drive us out of love and liking with our ſelves; yea make us with Job, Job 42.6.to abhor our ſelves, and repent in duſt and aſhes; It is reported of Gregory Nazianzen, Dr. Abbot on Jonah.that when any thing fell out proſperouſly to him, whereby he feared that pride might ſeize upon him or get footing in him, Quando pavo pedes ſubito inſpicit, ſtatim remittit animum & circulum pennarum. Etſi enim habet homo, propter quod exultet; ſi tamen inſpererit ſuam originem & vitae ſuae conditiones, ſtatim remittet, &c. Franzius.that he would preſently ſet himſelf to read over the Lamentations of Jeremiah; and whenſoever the like befals any of us, or whenſoever we feel our ſelves tickled with the itching humour of ſelf-love, or ſelf-liking, in regard of our outward gifts or inward graces, let us enter into a ſerious meditation of our fouleſt ſins, and reigning deformities, that ſo we may nip this ſin of pride in the bud, and kill the ſerpent in the ſhell: when the Peacock ſpreads his circled train, turning to the one ſide, and to the other, he ſtruts it bravely, but at laſt (as it were reflecting on his hoarſe and hideous voice, and caſting his eyes on his black feet) he goes ſneaking away and lets fall his fair fan of feathers: ſo when we are apt to be pufft up with pride by reaſon of any thing we have, and enjoy, or of any thing we have done or ſuffered; let us conſider the infinite temptations and weakneſſes, Quomodo ſuperbiat qui ſecum ſemper ſentinam portat? Hieronand ſinful imperfections, that continually attend upon, and accompany even our beſt actions, and we ſhall find matter enough to empty us of our high and windy conceits. Bees flying in the aire do ballaſt their wings with little ſtones, leſt the wind blow them away; ſo when we are apt to be blown away with the wind of pride, let our minds be ballaſted with the thoughts of our ſins.